Section 3.2 - Building the future: Women, education and young people in Nazi Germany

Question 1

Weimar era for Women

Answer 1

• Gave women the right to vote
• Women could become members of the Reichstag
• Number of employed women rose sharply after the war
• More social freedom
• Right wing very against the “new woman”

Question 2

Women in Nazi Germany

Answer 2

• Nazis hated the ideal of the “new woman” as it contradicted their view of the woman’s role childbearing and rearing
• Whilst denying its implication of women being inferior, there was much less opportunity for women in terms of working - as well as their obvious interpretations that woman over a certain age were expendable and to be given the most dangerous jobs in factories during the war

Question 3

“Pronatalism”

Answer 3

• Policy or practice of encouraging child bearing and glorifying parenthood, to which the Nazis were strongly committed
• Wanted a much larger German population as they deemed it necessary to increase manpower to achieve their goals
• Financial incentives to have children were offered in 1933 onwards so 1000 marks could be claimed for engaged couples, and the amount to be paid back was reduced with more children
• Propaganda campaign to glorify motherhood, which awarded medals for more children born
• Banned abortion and birth control clinics in 1933, then relaxed divorce laws in 1938
• Training courses for mothers offered, to which millions attended between the 1930s and 40s

Question 4

Impact on women

Answer 4

• Limited success in increasing the birth rate, but probably had more to do with the improving economic climate instead of Propaganda and Nazi influence - 1930 18 children born per every 1000 people, 1939 20 children born per every 1000 people
• Most couples who used the Marriage loan scheme did not go on to have large families
• Women found it increasingly hard to win promotions, however the number of women in paid work actually increased
• Work now encouraged for women after war and the military started expanding, leaving many jobs empty

Question 5

Educational priorities

Answer 5

• Turn young people into committed Nazis
• To prepare young men for military service, while secondarily preparing young women for motherhood and family life
• No place for independence of mind and critical thought, so academic study became a lesser priority

Question 6

Change of school curriculum

Answer 6

• Dismissed Jewish or politically unreliable teachers, however many teachers were supportive or indifferent to the Nazi cause
• Core subjects were lessened in frequency while subjects such as biology, history and physical education increased greatly
• Biology and History used for indoctrination: Biology taught about “Nazi race theory” and “racial hygiene” while History was based on German heroes and defacing Jews/communists as war criminals
• Boys forced into competitive sports and boxing became compulsory
• All syllabuses were focused around Nazi ideology and preparation for war, all of which lead to a decline in educational standards

Question 7

Elite schools

Answer 7

• Nazis set up elite schools to produce future leaders and officials
• 16 in existence in 1939

Question 8

Hitler Youth

Answer 8

• Nazis thought it easier to individually indoctrinate the members of a household, So the Hitler youth was created to separate sons from their parents
• Fed Nazi propaganda and the Hitler youth was the only legal youth movement due to the bans in 1933
• In 1936 there were 4 million members, just as membership was made compulsory
• Boys indoctrinated from the age of 6-18 through different groups
• Girls indoctrinated from 10-18

Activities included political education classes, physical exercise, military training for boys and motherhood training for girls