Life in Nazi Germany 1933-39

Question 1

What were the Nazi views on the role of the family?

Answer 1

• Hitler promoted the importance of a stable, traditional family
• Men were to be in charge and protect the family. Women were to serve and nurture their family
• Hitler said this was “the natural order”
• Hitler wanted to use families to increase the size of the population and to ensure it was pure Aryan

Question 2

What were the Nazi views on the role of women?

Answer 2

• In public Hitler said women were “equal but different from men”, but he actually thought women were inferior
• He believed women’s lives should revolve around the three “Ks”: Kinder, Kűche and Kirche (Children, Kitchen, Church)
• The Nazi’s expected women to stay at home, look after the family and produce children in order to secure the future of the Aryan race

Question 3

What were Hitler and the Nazi’s views on employment for women?

Answer 3

• Hitler said a woman’s role was to be a mother and not to work outside the home. This was for two reasons:
  o He needed the women to raise more Aryan children
  o He needed their jobs for the unemployed men
• Measures were introduced which strongly discouraged women from working, these included:
  o Training girls at school to be housewives and discouraging them from going onto higher education
  o The introduction of the “Law for the reduction of unemployment” which gave women financial incentives to stay at home
• The Nazi’s purged women out of jobs to give them to men, for example the Civil Service and being judges
• Women were not allowed to do jury service because Hitler didn’t think they would be able to “think logically or reason objectively”
• The Nazi’s put single women under pressure to give their jobs to unemployed men
• Women were mainly allowed to work in “caring” jobs for example nursing, childcare and factories

Question 4

What was the impact of Nazi actions and policies on employment for women by 1939?

Answer 4

• Female employment initially dropped
• Those in professions were worst affected e.g. teachers and civil servants
• Only 11% of University places went to women
• However by 1939 there was a shortage of workers so more women were encouraged back into employment. This led to significant increases in women working in industry but women working in professions was still rare

Question 5

What were Hitler and the Nazi’s views on the appearance of women?

Answer 5

• Women were expected to copy traditional German peasant fashions
• They were told to wear plain clothes, flat shoes and have their hair in plaits or buns
• They were not to wear make-up, trousers or short skirts
• They were not allowed to dye or perm their hair and were not allowed to smoke in public
• They were discouraged from staying slim or dieting as it was thought that thin women had trouble giving birth

Question 6

What were Hitler and the Nazi’s views on marriage and children?

Answer 6

Hitler wanted to increase the number of Aryan marriages and increase the birth rate of Aryan children. He tried to do this in several ways:

• He introduced the “Law for the Encouragement of Marriage” in June 1933 which gave newlyweds a loan of 1,000 marks, and allowed them to keep 250 marks for each child they had
• Gave incentives to women who had many children, for example the Motherland Cross which was awarded Bronze for four children, Silver for six children and Gold for eight children
• There were tax incentives and welfare benefits for large families
• Family allowance payments to help low-income families
• Taxing single men and childless families heavily
• Making divorce easier, for example if a man already had four children with a woman, he had a right to divorce her so he could remarry and have more children. Couples could also divorce if they were childless after three years
• The Nazi’s made contraception difficult to obtain and made abortion illegal, although this was later allowed if the mother had a “defect”
• The Nazi’s used peer pressure and propaganda to increase the birth rate

Question 7

How did Hitler and the Nazi’s ensure only racially pure Aryan children were born?

Answer 7

• The Nazi’s legalised abortions and sterilisation for those with disabilities and those who were undesirables
• Encouraged unmarried women to have babies with Aryan SS men in a Lebensborn home
• Demanded proof of racial purity before a marriage could go ahead under a new law in 1935
• The Nazi’s passed the “Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honour” in 1935 which forbade marriages between Aryan’s and Jews, people of colour and Roma

Question 8

What was the impact of Nazi actions and policies on marriage and children by 1939?

Answer 8

• The number of marriages increased by over 200,000
• Divorces also increased, especially after changes to the divorce laws in 1938
• About 320,000 men and women were sterilised
• Infant mortality dropped because of improved sanitation and preventative medicine

Question 9

What were the successes of the Nazi actions and policies on women and the family?

Answer 9

• Most women complied with the Nazi’s policies
• Many women, especially the working class actually approved of the three “Ks” and accepted a traditional role
• Hitler gained supporters because of his policies on women and the family. Many women were pleased with the Nazi’s stricter rules in society, they had disapproved on the moral decline of the 1920s
• Women enjoyed the leisure activities such as evening classes, outings to the theatre and sports events run through the “Strength Through Joy” programme

Question 10

What were the failures of the Nazi actions and policies on women and the family?

Answer 10

• Although the birth rate increased, it was still lower in 1939 than it was in the early 1920’s
• Many women, especially manual workers, managed to keep their jobs due to lack of replacements
• The number of women in employment actually rose between 1933-39 as there was a shortage of workers for the rearmament factories
• In 1939 the Nazi’s had to reverse their employment policy and encourage women to return to the labour force
• The annual number of marriages increased at first but then the rate levelled off
• Hitler claimed to be a supporter of the traditional family but some of his policies contradicted this, for example making divorce easier

Question 11

Why did Hitler look to control and influence young people in Germany?

Answer 11

• Hitler knew that loyalty from young people was essential if the Nazi’s were to remain strong
• Youth movements were a way of teaching children Nazi ideas so they would be loyal to the Nazi Party when they grew up

Question 12

What was the Hitler Youth?

Answer 12

• The Hitler Youth was founded in 1926. Boys aged 14 and over were recruited into the movement. It became compulsory from 1936 and lasted until 1945. By 1939, 90% of German boys of at least 14 years old were members
• The Hitler Youth aimed to:
  o Control the activities of young people outside the classroom
  o Make them loyal to Hitler
  o Train boys to be soldiers and prepare girls to be wives and mothers
• Boys wore military style uniforms and took part in physical exercises preparing for war including drill, map reading and looking after a rifle
• High achieving boys might be sent to Hitler schools where they would be trained as loyal Nazi leaders
• They also went on camping trips and held sports competitions

Question 13

Why did people join the Hitler Youth?

Answer 13

• After 1936 all other Youth organisations were banned so it was almost impossible for children to avoid joining the Hitler Youth
• Young people joined because of peer pressure
• They were attracted by the exciting activities such as camping
• It was a chance to reject the authority and values of their parents
• Membership would help them get University places and a better job in the future
• Many joined hoping that by showing loyalty to the Nazi’s their families would be safe from the SS
• Some of those who took part said the organisation was fun, made them feel valued and encouraged a sense of responsibility

Question 14

What was the League of German Maidens?

Answer 14

• The League of German Maidens was the female branch of the Hitler Youth for girls aged 14-18 years old
• Girls were trained in domestic skills like cooking and sewing
• They sometimes took part in physical activities like camping and hiking which gave girls new opportunities normally reserved for boys

Question 15

What were the aims of schools and universities in Nazi Germany?

Answer 15

• Indoctrinate young people into the racial ideas of Nazism and make children loyal to Hitler
• Train girls to be good Aryan wives and mothers and prepare the boys to be effective soldiers
• Make young people “swift as a greyhound, as tough as leather and as hard as Krupp steel”

Question 16

What was the role of teachers in Nazi Germany?

Answer 16

• All teachers had to join the Nazi Teachers Association which vetted them for political and racial suitability. By 1937, 97% of teachers belonged to it
• Jewish teachers were sacked
• Teachers had to go to summer school so they could learn how to teach Nazi ideas effectively
• Pupils were encouraged to inform on the authorities if teachers did not teach and support Nazi ideas

Question 17

What happened to Textbooks and the School Curriculum?

Answer 17

• Textbooks were rewritten, especially in History and Biology to promote German “greatness”, Aryan superiority, and anti-Semitism
• The curriculum in schools was altered to reflect Nazi ideology and priorities
• Academic subjects were downgraded for example subjects like maths and chemistry were reduced
• Physical education and fitness were vital, children had at least five one-hour sessions of PE every week, often two hours each day
• Eugenics (the science of controlled breeding) was added to the curriculum
• Boys mostly studied history, eugenics, and PE. Girls mostly studied home economics, eugenics, and PE
• Jewish children were humiliated at school and in 1938 banned from education all together
• In universities, students burned anti-Nazi and Jewish books and Jewish lecturers were sacked

Question 18

What was the negative impacts of Nazi actions and policies on young people

Answer 18

• The quality and breadth of education in schools deteriorated academic subjects were most affected
• There were very few co-educational schools
• Girls’ educational opportunities decreased and their curriculum was limited to home-making subjects. Very few went to university
• Jewish children were persecuted at school and then excluded

Question 19

What was the positive impacts of Nazi actions and policies on young people

Answer 19

• Young people got to experience a range of new activities like hiking weekends in the Hitler Youth
• They helped with the collection and distribution of clothing and food for the poor in the winter
• Some were chosen to stand guard outside Hitler’s offices
• They had freedom from their parents. Slogans like “Youth must be led by youth” appealed to them

Question 20

What were the successes of the youth policies of the Nazi’s by 1939?

Answer 20

• Seven million joined the Hitler Youth movement
• Most young people didn’t oppose the Nazi’s. Many obeyed the Nazi’s rather than their parents. Some even informed on their parents to the SS
• Germany had a more disciplined youth than in other European countries
• The Nazi’s succeeded in ending most rival organisations such as the Catholic Youth movement
• Overall young people were the most easily attracted to the Nazi’s and became some of its most active supporters

Question 21

What were the failures of the youth policies of the Nazi’s by 1939?

Answer 21

• Some rival groups to the Hitler Youth were established such as the Edelweiss Pirates and the Swing Group
• Indoctrination (influencing) was not totally effective. It reinforced existing beliefs but was less successful at getting young people to accept new ideas
• The Nazi’s were less successful at influencing University students than school children
• Overtime, children became less interested in the youth movements. The repetitive marching and propaganda took the fun out of it

Question 22

What was the National Labour Service (RAD) and how did it reduce unemployment?

Answer 22

• Hitler’s first Economics Minister Dr Schacht set up the National Labour Service (RAD)
• RAD used unemployed men between 18-25 years old to build government funded motorways (known as Autobahn), hospitals, schools and other buildings including the 1936 Olympic Stadium
• The men spent six months in camps, wore uniforms and received a small amount of pay to send back to families
• RAD was compulsory for men in 1935 and was extended to women in 1939
• To create as many jobs as possible manual work was favoured over the use of machines
• RAD was beneficial to the Nazi’s as it:
  o Provided them with cheap labour
  o Reduced unemployment
  o Led to a network of motorways which could be used to mobilise the army during the war
  o Kept the young occupied

Question 23

What was Conscription and Rearmament and how did it reduce unemployment?

Answer 23

• From 1935 onwards, young men between the ages of 18-25 were conscripted to the army for two years. The army increased from 0.4 million in 1935 to 1.4 million in 1939
• Rearmament was responsible for millions of jobs created in factories producing new weapons. It started as soon as Hitler came to power but was only announced publicly in 1935

Question 24

What was the New Plan and how was it supposed to help Germany recover economically?

Answer 24

• The “New Plan” was created by Hitler’s first Economics Minister, Dr Schacht, in 1934
• The aim of the New Plan was to:
  o Get Germany out of Economic depression
  o Reduce unemployment which was six million in 1933
  o To rebuild Germany’s armaments industry, rearm the military
• It prioritised government resources on industry
• It cut welfare payments to reduce costs
• It introduced trade agreements which were rigorously controlled

Question 25

What was the Four Year Plan and What Were Its Aims?

Answer 25

• Hitler appointed Gȍring as his second Economics Minister
• Speed up rearmament
• Gȍring’s job was to make Germany self sufficient in four years, a policy known as autarky. This policy would ensure Germany’s economy was self sufficient and not vulnerable to an economic blockade

Question 26

What were measures introduced in the Four-Year Plan?

Answer 26

• The establishment of the Reich Food Estate. This regulated what farmers could produce, guaranteed prices for farmers’ produce and gave subsidies to encourage more food production
• Tighter controls on imports so German’s had to buy more products made in Germany
• Synthetic versions of rubber, oil, and petrol were produced from within Germany and iron and coal was mined and stored
• Forced labour from concentration camps and labour transported from countries occupied by Germany
• Spending on the army increased by 160%

Question 27

What were the positive impacts of the National Labour Service, New Plan and Four-Year Plan on Workers

Answer 27

• The number of unemployed people dropped from six million in 1933 to a labour shortage by 1939
• Wages for most workers eventually improved slightly. Some employers got around Nazi wage controls by giving Christmas bonuses
• Big businesses were the main winners:
  o By 1937 they controlled 70% of production
  o Rearmament boosted profits of big weapons companies
  o Managers of major industrial companies saw their incomes rise by 50% between 1933-39
• Some farmers benefited, by 1937 agricultural prices had increased by 20%. Agricultural wages grew more quickly than those in industry

Question 28

What were the negative impacts of the National Labour Service, New Plan and Four Year Plan on Workers

Answer 28

• Less women were employed, and it tended to be mainly in manual jobs or low paid agricultural work
• Women were not allowed in the professions
• Single women were expected to confine themselves to “caring jobs” e.g., nursing
• There was a lot of hidden unemployment, for example amongst Jews
• Workers lost their rights to negotiate wages and improvements in working conditions
• Workers couldn’t change jobs without permission and the maximum working hours went from 60-72 hours
• The number of serious industrial accidents and illness significantly increased
• Many farmers left their land due to poverty despite having benefits from the government
• Small businesses suffered significantly. Rules on opening and running small businesses were tightened. They couldn’t compete with the large businesses

Question 29

How effective were the economic policies of the Nazi’s?

Answer 29

The overall economic results of the Nazi policies were mixed
The positives were:
o The New Plan helped the German economy recover from the Great Depression within 2 years
o By 1939 there was virtually no unemployment, in fact there was a labour shortfall
o Germany had a modern motorway network, new public buildings and had rearmed the military
o The economy was 40% larger than under the previous Government
The negatives were:
o Autarky (German self-sufficiency) was not successful. Germany was still importing 20% of its food and 33% of its raw materials
o Synthetic products were more expensive and inferior to the products they replaced
o Germany had rearmed in breadth, having a great variety of armaments but limited numbers of each type
o There was a huge national debt, Hitler stopped publishing it because it was so large
o There was a serious shortage of agricultural workers which meant food production was below requirements

Question 30

How did the Nazi’s change their economic policies during the war years?

Answer 30

• Until 1942, Hitler was reluctant to change his economy from a peacetime one to a wartime one to ensure there wasn’t too much hardship on the public to retain support
• However, by the end of 1941 the war was going very badly. There was a stalemate between Germany and the Soviet Union and the USA had just joined the war on the side of the Allies
• Hitler appointed Albert Speer as Minister of Armaments and War Production in February 1942. From then on the whole economy and society was mobilised for war production
• Key changes included:
  o Mass production techniques to make more munitions more quickly
  o Working hours rose but there was more equitable pay
  o Women started being employed
• As a result of these changes:
  o Panzer battle tanks were produced twice as quickly
  o Output of workers making munitions went up 60%
  o Weapon production increased by 130% between 1941-43

Question 31

Why was the German economy collapsing by 1945?

Answer 31

• Hitler ordered the destruction of factories about to be taken over by the allies as they advanced into Germany
• Machinery was worn out from being used 24/7
• Allied bombing limited the increase in production caused by Speers plan
• Food ration cards were no longer always honoured meaning people went hungry

Question 32

Why did Hitler want to control the lives of workers?

Answer 32

• He wanted to ensure their loyalty and obedience to his regime
• Before 1933, workers tended to vote for left-wing parties
• He needed to ensure that productivity increased so he could achieve his ambitious foreign policy
• The Nazi’s aimed to control the lives of workers through three programmes:
  o The German Labour Front (DAF)
  o Strength Through Joy (KdF)
  o Beauty of Labour (SdA)

Question 33

What was the German Labour Front (DAF)?

Answer 33

• This was a Nazi organisation that replaced trade unions which were banned in 1933
• Workers could not strike, bargain for wages or leave their jobs without permission
• The DAF nearly always followed the wishes of employers rather than employees
• The maximum working hours per week was increased from 60 to 72 hours
• Workers could not change their jobs without permission
• Councils of Trust were set up in firms with 20 workers or more to discuss working conditions
• 20 million workers joined the DAF within two years

Question 34

What was Strength Through Joy (KdF)?

Answer 34

• The Strength through Joy scheme was set up in November 1933
• Its aim were to make workers support Hitler by offering them rewards to keep them occupied outside the workplace with organised leisure activities e.g.
  o Evening classes
  o Theatre trips
  o Picnics
  o Mass participation sporting events
  o Very cheap or free holidays
• The KdF also started a savings scheme for workers who wanted to buy a VW Beetle. They could save 5 marks a week until 750 marks had been paid into the scheme

Question 35

What was the Beauty of Labour (SdA)?

Answer 35

• The role of this organisation was to help German’s see that work was good and that everyone who could work should do so
• It also encouraged factory owners to improve conditions for workers, for example better lighting and washing facilities

Question 36

What was the positive impacts of Nazi actions and policies on the lives of workers?

Answer 36

• Despite the loss of freedom, life improved in Germany for some ordinary people
• People enjoyed the varied activities of the KdD
• By 1938, 10 million people had enjoyed a state financed holiday
• There was full employment

Question 37

What was the negative impacts of Nazi actions and policies on the lives of workers?

Answer 37

• No one received the “People’s car”. When war broke out in 1939, car production was stopped and replaced with making tanks
• Workers lost the right to negotiate wages, to strike and to change jobs freely
• The Councils of Trust did little to increase mutual trust in factories between employers and employees

Question 38

How effective were the Nazi actions and policies on the lives of workers?

Answer 38

Hitler had an almost obedient workforce. For example:
* They accepted the ending of Trade Unions which had protected their rights
* They worked longer hours
* They had to ask permission to change job
Control of the workers was not completely successful
* Workers were more enthusiastic about the Strength Through Joy programme than the Labour Front
* Some workers and employers were successful at getting around the Nazi restrictions
* There was also persistent opposition by ordinary German workers, often helped by communists. They posted anti-Nazi posters and graffiti or organised strikes even though they were illegal

Question 39

What was the Nazi Race Theory?

Answer 39

• Hitler and the Nazi’s had strong views on race
• They believed the Aryans were the strongest and most superior people in the world, the “Master Race”
• They were blonde haired, blue eyed and were tall and strong
• Inferior races such as Jews and groups such as gypsies, homosexuals and disabled were targeted for persecution as they weakened the country
• Many Nazi scientists believed in eugenics, the idea that people with disabilities and social problems were degenerates whose genes needed to be eliminated from the human bloodline
• Hitler and the Nazi’s wanted more Aryan’s to be born so Germany could become a world power again

Question 40

How did the Nazi’s persecute minorities?

Answer 40

• Workshy – As they would not work they were seen as lazy and not useful to Germany. The were sent to concentration camps and many were sterilised
• Mentally and physically disabled – Between 1939-41, 100,000 physically and mentally disabled Germans were killed in secret without the consent of their families. Victims were often gassed, a method later used in the death camps of the Holocaust
• Homosexuals – Ideal German’s married, had children and created stable families. Homosexuals were stripped of their civil rights. 15,000 were sent to concentration camps, sterilised and thousands died
• Gypsies – The Nazi’s saw the gypsies as like the Jews, they were a problem that Germany need to be cleansed of. 44,000 gypsies were sent to concentration camps, 85% of German gypsies were killed by the Nazi regime

Question 41

How did the Nazi’s begin persecuting the Jews in 1933?

Answer 41

• When the Nazi’s came to power they began to persecute and discriminate against the Jews
• The Nazi’s organised a boycott of Jewish businesses
• Books by Jewish authors were publicly burnt
• Jewish civil servants, lawyers and teachers were sacked
• Race science lessons were introduced, teaching that Jews were sub-human

Question 42

What were the Nuremberg laws brought in by the Nazi’s in 1935 to persecute the Jews?

Answer 42

• The Nuremberg Laws formalised anti-Semitism into the Nazi state
• The laws stripped Jews of German citizenship and didn’t allow them to vote
• Outlawed marriage and sexual relations between Jews and Germans
• Removed political and civil rights from Jewish people

Question 43

How did the persecution of the Jews increase in 1938 including Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) in 1938?

Answer 43

• Jews could no longer be doctors
• Jews had to add the name Israel (men) or Sarah (women) to their name
• Jewish children were forbidden to go to school
• The SS organised attacks on Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues in retaliation for the assassination of the German ambassador to France by a Jew on the 9th November 1938. This became known as Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass
• Many Jews saw Kristallnacht as the turning point. Until then it had been erosion of their rights, but they hadn’t been threatened or attacked. Those able to fled Germany, children escaped on Kindertransport to Britain

Question 44

How were the Jews persecuted between 1939-41?

Answer 44

• In 1939 Jews were evicted from their homes without reasons
• Between 1939-41, all Jews in Nazi controlled territory were put into ghettos in Poland where the German’s tried to starve and work them to death
• From 1941 all German Jews were forced to wear the yellow star of David
• From 1941 Killing Squads (Einsatzgruppen) went into Polish and Russian territory to hunt down Jews. They killed around 1.5 million Jews between 1941-43

Question 45

What was the “Final Solution” decided in 1942?

Answer 45

• In 1942 the “Final Solution”, an answer to the “Jewish Question” was discussed at the Wannsee Conference
• The outcome was that Himmler and the SS were put in charge of the setting up of Death Camps where the Nazi’s gassed or worked Jews to death
• Six million Jews were gassed, worked to death, or shot