Life in Nazi Germany Flashcards
List 4 features of the ‘ideal’ Nazi woman:
-Did not wear make-up
-Took up household duties
-Did not smoke
-Dressed modestly
List 3 ways that the Nazis tried to increase birth rate:
-Medals were awarded to women with large families (a gold cross was awarded if you had 8 or more children)
-Launched a propaganda campaign to promote motherhood
-Limited female university enrolment to 10%
Why was there an increase in divorce rate by 1939?
Divorce was legalised if couples could not have children
How much did births increase from 1933 to 1939?
From 1 million to 1.4 million
What were the 3 Ks that women had to follow?
‘Kinder, Kuche, Kirche’- Children, kitchen and church
How old did you have to be to join the Young Girls League?
10-14 years old
How old did you have to be to join the League of German Maidens?
14-18
What did the Reich Mothers’ Service do?
Trained midwives and housewives
How much did female employment increase by in the years 1933 to 1939?
From 11.6 million to 14.6 million
Why did female employment increase in the years 1933 to 1939?
Germany began to rearm, so after 1937, women were allowed back in employment to fill the posts previously filled by men who were now in the army
What was the Law for the Encouragement of Marriage?
Permitted newly wed couples a loan of 1000 marks. For every child they had, they could keep 250.
Who was the head of the Hitler Youth?
Baldur von Schirach
When was Hitler Youth membership made compulsary?
1936
How many members of the Hitler Youth were there by 1939?
7 million
How old did you have to be to join the Hitler Youth?
14-18
What was the name of the subsection of the Hitler Youth for younger members (10-13)?
The German Young People (Deutsches Jungvolk)
What was the Reich Labour Service?
A programme designed to offer manual labour-based work to young men between 18-25. 6-month service was made compulsory in 1935.
What was life like in the Reich Labour Service?
Men lived in camps, received low salaries and carried out military drills in addition to working
How did the Nazis ensure that unemployment appeared low?
The figures discounted:
-Jews dismissed from work
-Women dismissed from work
-Women who gave up work for marriage
When was conscription reintroduced?
In 1935
How much did the army grow between 1933 and 1939?
from 100,000 to 1,400,000
How much did coal and steel production increase in the years 1933-1939?
Doubled and tripled respectively
How much was invested in rearmament in 1933?
3.5 billion marks
How much was invested in rearmament in 1939?
26 billion marks
What was Strength through Joy (KdF)?
An organisation set up as a division of the German Labour Front. Under this scheme workers were offered rewards like theatre visits and sporting events to compensate for the lack of wage increases.
What was Beauty of Labour?
A department of the KdF that set out to improve working conditions
What was the Volkswagen scheme?
A scheme organised in 1938 by the Labour Front- workers could pay 5 marks a week to a fund and could eventually purchase a car
How much did weekly wages rise between 1932 and 1938?
From 86 marks to 109 marks
What was banned under the Labour Front?
-Negotiating pay
-Negotiating hours
-Striking
What happened to the Volkswagen scheme?
No one ended up receiving a car- it was a con
Why did the cost of living increase in 1939?
Agricultural production was reduced to keep prices high for farmers
How much did the average working week increase from 1933-1939?
From 42.9 to 47 hours
What was meant by the term ‘Herrenvolk’?
The ‘master race’ as viewed by the Nazis
How did the Nazis plan to ensure the ‘racial purity’ of the nation?
Through selective breeding and persecution of Jews and other minorities
How were Jewish people portrayed in Nazi propaganda?
As cunning, materialistic and subhuman
List 3 reasons why Jewish people were persecuted:
-Seen as ‘racially impure’
-Blamed for hyperinflation and the Depression
-Hitler spent several years in Vienna were anti-Semitic attitudes were commonplace
How did the Nazis use education to promote anti-Semitism?
-The Ministry of Education permitted the teaching of anti-Semitic ideas in lessons and textbooks
When were Jewish children expelled from German schools?
1938
When were Jewish shops boycotted?
Saturday the 1st of April 1933
What happened during the boycotting of Jewish shops?
SA members stood at the front of Jewish owned stores, discouraging entry
Why did the boycott of Jewish shops not last very long?
-It was on a Saturday- and most of the shops were closed
-Many people ignored the boycott
When were the Nuremberg laws imposed?
1935
What were the Nuremberg laws?
-The Reich Citizenship Law- only those of ‘German blood’ could be considered citizens
-The Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honour- banned intimate relationships between Jewish people and ethnic Germans
When was Kristallnacht?
9th November 1938
What event acted as a catalyst for Kristallnacht?
Polish Jew Herschel Grynszpan shot a German diplomat to protest against the treatment of Jews. This was exploited by the Nazis to launch a wide-scale anti-Semitic campaign.
What happened during Kristallnacht?
Jewish properties, shops, homes and places of worship were attacked. 100 were killed, 30,000 were arrested and 267 synagogues were destroyed.
How did the Nazis portray Kristallnacht?
As a spontaneous retaliation from the people of Germany
What did Hitler pronounce in the aftermath of Kristallnacht?
The banning of Jewish businesses and the restriction of education for Jewish children
How did the Nazis ensure that Jews could be easily identified?
They had to carry identification cards and had the letter ‘J’ stamped on their passports
Whom did the Nazis consider to be ‘asocial’?
The unemployed, ill/disabled and beggars
When was the sterilisation law passed?
July 1933
How many people were sterilised by the Nazis?
About 350000
Who were sent to concentration camps?
Asocial people, homosexual men, prostitutes and Jews
When did the Nazis begin their euthanasia campaign?
1939
How many children were killed as part of the euthanasia campaign?
Around 10,000
Why did the Nazis persecute Romani people?
-They were ‘not racially pure’
-Considered ‘work-shy’
