Nazi economic, social and racial policy Flashcards
What was Hitler’s aim regarding economic policy?
He aimed for full employment to recover the German economy
Rearmement
Self-sufficiency
Autarky
A closed economy. Hitler’s ideology that wanted Germany to cease trade with the outside world and rely entirely on its own resources.
Self-sufficiency
Example of the public works that Hitler built:
1936 Olympic Stadium
The construction of 7,000 kms of
autobahns (Created work for 80,000 men)
Autobahn
German Motorways
How many men gained work from building atubahns?
80,000 men
How many kilometres of autobahns did Hitler implore to build?
7000 kms
What was responsible for the bulk of economic growth between 1933 and 1938?
Rearmament - Manufacturing arms and increasing the army.
How many marks were spent on producing tanks, aircrafts and ships in 1933?
3.5 billion marks
By 1939, 26 billion marks
Unemployment Relief Act (June 1933)
This helped establish an important organisation, the National Labour Service (RAD) which aimed to reduce unemployment and indoctrinate the workforce. Voluntary at first but compulsory from 1935
When did joining the RAD become compulsory?
1935
RAD
Reichsarbeitsdienst - National Labour Service
What did men aged between 18-25 have to do in the RAD?
Complete six months training at the RAD
Wear military uniform
Live in camps
Receive pocket money only - no wages
Do military/physical exercise every day such as planting forests and digging ditches on farms
What did the RAD aim to do?
Reduce unemployment to strengthen the German economy.
Indoctrinate the workforce
What is Invisible employment in regards to Germany?
Although Germany claimed to have full employment by 1939, many groups of people were not included in the statistics:
-The were 1.4 million men in the army (AGAISNT TREATY OF VERSAILLES)
-Jews who were sacked had to give their jobs to non-Jews.
-Women were to give up their jobs to men.
Impact of Nazi economic policies on Big Businesses
Boosted profits of big weapons companies, and managers of the major industrial companies saw their incomes rise by 50 per cent
Impact of Nazi economic policies on Small Businesses
Rules on opening and running small businesses were tightened, which resulted in 20 per cent of them closing.
Impact of Nazi economic policies on Farmers
Having been one of the main sources of their electoral support during their rise to power, farmers benefitted under the Nazis.
Agricultural prices had increased
The Hereditary Farm Law of 1933 prevented farms from being repossessed from their owners, which gave farming families greater security.
Impact of Nazi economic policies on German people OVERALL
Despite the loss of freedom, life improved in Germany for many ordinary people who were prepared to conform in order to have a job and a wage
The Labour Front (DAF)
This was a Nazi organisation that replaced trade unions, which were banned. It set wages and nearly always followed the wishes of employers, rather than employees.
What organisation replaced trade unions in Nazi Germany?
The Labour Front (DAF)
Strength through Joy (KdF)
This scheme gave workers rewards for their work - evening classes, theatre trips, picnics, and even very cheap or free holidays.
Purpose of the KdF
To support the Führer and thank him and to keep everyone happy after abolishing the trade unions.
INDOCTRINATION
Most popular KdF scheme
Volkswagen - The people’s car
It was possible to pay for the car in instalments
Beauty of Labour organisation
This organisation was to help Germans see that work was good, and that everyone who could work should.
What did the Beauty of Labour organisation achieve?
It advocated for improved conditions
Soon they improved workplaces with improved canteens, toilets and sports facilities
Did living standard of German workers in non-armament industries improve?
NO
-Wages fell
-Workers could be blacklisted by employers for questioning the working conditions
—>Beauty of Labour Organisation
The Three K’s
Kinder (Children)
Kuche (Kitchen)
Kirche (Church)
What did the Nazi’s expect from women/
Stay home, and produce children to secure the future of the Aryan race.
How did Hitler try to achieve a high birth rate to ensure that the Aryan population would grow?
Introducing the Law for the Encouragement of Marriage in 1933
Mother’s Cross
Lebensborn
What did the Law for the Encouragement of Marriage in 1933 do?
It gave newlywed couples a loan of 1,000 marks, and allowed them to keep 250 marks for each aryan child they had
Mother’s Cross
5 children were given a bronze medal.
6 or 7 children earned a silver medal.
8 or more earned a gold medal
THIS ENCOURAGED WOMEN TO HAVE BABIES IN ORDER TO SECURE THE FUTURE OF THE ARYAN RACE
Lebensborn
Women could volunteer to have a baby for an Aryan member of the SS
How were women discouraged from working?(conscription)
Women were forbidden from being conscripted until 1943
Appearance of the ideal Nazi woman
Traditional German fashions
Plain peasant costumes, hair in plaits or buns and flat shoes.
Discouraged from staying slim so that they could have healthy babies
From what age did boys have to join the Hitler youth?
10
When was Hitler youth made compulsory?
1936
By 1939, 90% of Germany boys aged 14 and above were members
Why was the Hitler Youth important to Hitler?
To ensure German children were thoroughly
indoctrinated in Nazi ideology.
Girls’ wing of the Nazi Youth organisation
League of German Maidens
What did boys do in the Hitler Youth?
Wore military style uniforms.
Activities centred on physical exercise and indoctrination.
Its aim was to prepare German boys to be future soldiers
What did girl’s do in the League of German Maidens?
Wore a uniform consisting of a blue skirt, white blouse and marching shoes.
Activities centred around domestic skills and some physical exercise
Its aim was to prepare German girls for future motherhood
Curriculum at a Nazi German school
History
Biology
Race study and ideology
PE
Geography
Lebensraum
Germany’s living space
What organisation did teachers have to join?
Nazi Teachers’ Association, which vetted them for political and racial suitability.
How did every lesson start at a German Nazi school?
Every lesson started with “Heil Hitler!”
What was Hitler’s aim when he changed German education systems?
To brainwash children so that they would grow up accepting Nazi ideas without question.
Which groups did Hitler target for persecution?
Jewish people
Slavs
Gypsies
Gay people
Disabled people
Untermensch
Sub-human.
Nazi’s believed that the Aryan race was superior race and some other races were untermensch.
Hitler’s policy of persecution
Sterilisation
Concentration camps
Sterilisation Policy of persecution
Many groups were prevented from reproducing
The mentally and physically disabled, including the deaf, were sterilised, as were people with hereditary diseases.
Concentration camps Policy of persecution
Homosexuals, prostitutes, Jehovah’s Witnesses, gypsies, alcoholics, pacifists, beggars, hooligans and criminals were often rounded up and sent away to camps.
When was Kristallnacht?
November 1938
The Nazis’ persecution of the Jews in 1933
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.
The Nazis’ persecution of the Jews in 1935
Nuremberg Laws
What did the Nuremberg Laws state?
Stripping Jews of German citizenship
Taking away from Jews all civil and political rights
The Nazis’ persecution of the Jews in 1938
Kristallnacht
Jewish children were forbidden to go to school.
Jews could not be doctors.
What happened on the 9th November 1938?
Kristallnacht
What happened during Kristallnacht?
The SS organised attacks on Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues in retaliation for the assassination of the German ambassador to France by a Jew.
Kindertransport scheme
Scheme of fleeing Jewish Children in Germany to Britain
How many months of training did men have to complete at the RAD?
6
What was the name of the agreement the Catholic Church signed with the Nazis in 1933?
The Concordat
- The agreement stated that the Catholic Church would stay out of politics in Germany.
-However, in 1937 Pope Pius XI publicly criticised the Nazis.
What was the name of the Protestant Church established by the Nazis?
The Reich Church
- Under the leadership of the Nazi bishop, Müller, it was established to unify the different branches of Protestantism. Many protestants opposed the Reich Church.
What did the three Ks stand for?
Kinder, Küche, Kirche
The Nazis expected women to have children (Kinder), staying at home to cook and provide, (Küche) and attend the Reich Church(Kirche).
