Nazi Policies Towards Women Flashcards
Describe Nazi views on Women and the Family
-The Nazis believed that women should adopt the traditional role of mother and housewife, while the man provided for the family.
-However, Hitler did not portray women as unimportant- he described the role of women as equally important as that of German men.
Describe the Role of Gertrud Scholtz-Klink
-In 1934, the Nazis appointed a Reich Women’s Leader, Gertrud Scholtz-Klink, to oversee all policies relating to women.
-She set about making German women servants of the German state and Hitler.
-Scholtz-Klink insisted that all women’s organisations would be forced to merge with a new Nazi organisation for women, called the German Women’s Enterprise (DFW).
Describe the Purpose of the German Women’s Enterprise
-If any organisations refused to join, they were banned. This gave the Nazis control of all the women’s groups in Germany. Eventually, the DFW had six million members.
-Through DFW activities, the Nazis could spread their ideas about women.
-For example, by 1939, 1.7 million women had attended Nazi courses on subjects such as childcare, cooking and sewing.
Describe the Problem of the Falling Birth Rate
-The birth rate was falling in Germany. In 1900, there had been two million births per year in Germany. By 1933, this had fallen to one million.
-The Nazis were concerned- fewer children meant fewer German workers and soldiers later on. Therefore, Nazis wanted to reverse the fall in birth rate.
-As a result, the Nazis made several changes to the law to encourage marriage, motherhood and childbirth.
Describe the Law for the Encouragement of Marriage, 1933
-Loans, worth up to 1,000 marks (about eight moths’ wages) were provided to encourage young couples to marry.
-This law also encouraged wives to stay at home and bring up children, as the loans were only available if the wife stopped work.
-It also encouraged childbirth. For each child born into a family, a quarter of the loan was written off. If a family had four children, the loan would be completely paid off.
Describe the Changes to Divorce Laws
-In 1938, the Nazis changed the divorce laws to encourage childbirth.
-If a wife would not (or could not) have children, or had an abortion, this could be used as grounds for divorce by the husband.
Describe the Mother’s Cross
-The Mother’s Cross encouraged childbirth. It was an award given to women for the number of children they had.
-A bronze medal was given for four, silver for six or seven and gold for eight.
-The Hitler Youth were ordered to salute wearers of gold medals.
-Mothers of ten children were expected to name Hitler as the godfather of the tenth child and, if it was a boy, name him Adolf.
Describe the Lebensborn Programme
-The Lebensborn (Fountain of Life) programme was another policy to encourage childbirth. This was started in 1935 by Himmler.
-At first, the policy only provided nurseries and financial aid for women who had children with SS men.
-Later, it encouraged single women to breed with SS men
-This was to create ‘genetically pure’ children for worthy German families.
-Between 1938 and 1941, one Lebensborn home alone helped over 540 mothers give birth.
Describe the Use of Propaganda to Reduce Women in Work
-Nazi propaganda tried to persuade women to behave differently. Many German women were persuaded.
-Nazis posters showed women as wives and mothers and Nazi speeches encouraged women to leave work and become housewives.
-They told women to concentrate on the ‘three Ks’- Kinder, Kuche, Kirche- children, kitchen and the church.
Describe the Use of Education to Reduce Women in Work
-Schoolgirls were trained for motherhood, not work. For example, they were taught housework, such as ironing, and other domestic tasks.
-In 1937, grammar schools for girls, which prepared girls for universities were banned.
-The number of female students starting higher education fell from just over 17,000 in 1932 to 6,000 in 1939.
Describe Nazi Policies to Reduce Women in Work
-From 1933, women were banned from professional posts as teachers, doctors and civil servants.
-By the end of 1934, about 360,000 women had given up work.
-From 1936, no woman could become a judge or a lawyer, or even do jury service.
Describe the Appearance of Women in Nazi Germany
-The Nazis never forced women to look a certain way through legislation. However, Nazi propaganda did.
-Women were encouraged to wear modest clothes including long skirts, with their hair tied back, in plaits or in a bun.
-They were discouraged from dyeing their hair wearing make-up.
Describe the Success of Nazi Policies Towards Women
-Some German women were persuaded by Nazi views and were content to accept Nazi policies towards women.
-Nazi policies towards women did have the effect the Nazis desired to some extent.
-For example, fewer women went to university, the birth rate increased and unemployment amongst German men fell.
Describe the Failures of Nazi Policies Towards Women
-The impact of some Nazi polices towards women was either minor or temporary.
-For example, by the end of the 1930s, German industry was expanding so fast that the Nazis needed women to return to work.
-Some Nazi policies were reversed. In 1937, women with marriage loans were allowed to work.
-Because of this, compared with the five million women in work in 1933, there were actually seven million in work by 1939.
Describe Opposition Towards Nazi Policies Towards Women
-Many women did not support Nazi ideas about women womanhood- and some women believed that Nazi ideas harmed the family and degraded women.
-Some women did not like the Reich Women’s Leader, Gertrud Scholtz-Klink, and others felt that the domestic status of women was demeaning.
