nazis and women Flashcards
(20 cards)
What did Nazis believe a woman’s role in life was?
At home, caring for her family and children
What were the Nazis worried about?
The declining birth rate
Why was there a declining birth rate?
Increasing use of contraception
Women wanting paid work
Why was the declining birth rate a problem for Nazis?
They wanted Germany to become a great power again and needed a population increase
What did the Nazis do to increase the birth rate?
Launched a massive propaganda campaign promoting motherhood and large families
What did the Nazi birth rate propaganda include?
Rewarding women who did not work/ had lots of children
Encouraged home life
Promoted the ideal idea of a mother
How did the Nazis reward women who conformed to their propaganda?
The government offered special loans to brides who agreed to be jobless
The Honour Cross of the German Mother was awarded to women with four or more children
What did Nazis encourage to improve fertility?
Women were encouraged to stop smoking, lose weight and take part in sports
What could young women attend?
Motherhood and homecraft lessons
How did the Nazis stop women from working?
In all jobs directly controlled by the government, all women were sacked
This included female doctors, civil servants and 15% of teachers
How did Nazis want women to look?
Blonde, blue eyes, heavy hipped, athletic
How did the Nazis want women to cook?
Always using up leftovers
Once a month on a Sunday, they had to prepare a one dish meal made of leftovers for everyone to eat
How did Nazis want women to dress?
In a full skirt, flat heels and no makeup
How did the Nazis want women to bring up their children?
As loyal Nazis who would join the Hitler Youth
What changed in women’s employment in 1937?
More men joined the military so women needed to work instead
How did the Nazis combat the fact that women needed to work from 1937?
Abolished marriage loans
Introduced a compulsory duty year for all women entering the labour market
What was the duty year for women?
Helping out on a farm or family home in exchange for a bed to sleep in, but no pay
Why did women not want to work?
Poor working conditions
Low wages
Many employers didn’t have suitable washrooms for women
What did the Nazis do in 1938 to ensure the population was increased?
Changed the divorce laws so that a man could divorce his wife once she had had four children and have more children with his next wife
Changed the divorce laws so that it was legal to divorce if either of the people could not have children
What was the Lebensborn program?
Specially chosen unmarried women donated a child to the Fuhrer by becoming pregnant with racially pure SS men
