Social And Cultural Developments 1924-28 Flashcards
What social welfare reform was introduced in 1924?
Public assistance system was modernised
What social welfare reform occurred in 1925?
State insurance system was extended
What social welfare reform occurred in 1927?
National unemployment insurance system introduced
What was the issue with the welfare state?
It was very expensive
Needed a large bureaucracy
Taxes could not be increased
How many war veterans, war widows and war orphans were supported?
2.06 million
How did the government try to save money at a local scale?
Mean tests tightened up
Delays in benefits
Snoopers to check no one was cheating the system
What did the governments attempt to save money result in?
Those in need of support felt they were being humiliated and insulted
Undermined support for the republic
How did workers maintain living standards?
Negotiating wage increases
Who had bad living standards between 1924-1928?
Those who lost savings in 1923
Farmers due to decreasing agricultural prices
What was the ‘New woman’?
Free
Indépendant
Sexually liberated
Visible in public life
What had the Weimar constitution done in relation to women?
Equal voting rights
Equal access to education
Right to equal pay
Equal opportunities
What was the civil code of 1896?
Husband had the right to decide on all matters in family life
What was the league of German Women (BDF)?
Had over 900,000 members
Promoted traditional women values
What was employment like for women 1924-28?
Greater equality in employment rights
1925-36% of German workforce women
1933- 100,000 women teachers and 3,000 women doctors
What was the reality for women’s employment 1924-28?
• Demobilisation laws required women to give up jobs for ex soldiers
• Required to give up employment when married (double-earners)
• Women often paid much less than men in the same role
What was sexual freedom like for women 1924-28?
• Birth control more widely available
• Divorce rates increased
• 1 million abortions a yr by 1930
What was the reality for women’s sexual freedom 1924-28?
• Abortion was still a criminal offence and 10-12,000 died from it each yr
• Decline in birth rate was attacked by conservative
• Church vehemently opposed birth control, abortion and divorce
What was politics and public life like for women 1924-28?
• Women gained equal voting rights and right to be Reichstag deputies
• 1919, 41 women elected to reichstag
• Very active in local government
What was the reality for women in politics and public life 1924-28?
• No women representatives in Reichstat
• No women cabinet members
• No political party had a female leader
• Only KPD made equality a focus
• Women voted for parties with traditional views like the centre party
What percentage of unemployment did 14-21 age group make up?
17%
What tried to decrease youth unemployment?
• Benefits
• Day centred
How was education split?
• By class
• By religion
What was the Wandervogel group?
• Spent time in wilderness
• Highly nationalist
• Romanticised view of German past
• Hated industrialisation and big cities
What political youth groups are there?
• Social Democratic Youth movement
• Youth communist league
• Bismarck Youth
• Hitler Yourh
What percentage of Jews lived in cities?
80%
What industry’s did Jews dominate?
• Coal, steel and chemicals in Silesia
• Cloth trade
What percentage of private banks were owned by Jews?
50%
What did Berlin nightclubs bring about?
• Increased sexual freedom
• Greater access to music
• Greater American influence
What was the predominant art movement at the time?
Expressionism
What influenced music in this period?
Expressionism
What was the focus in German literature in this period?
The internal mental state
What new architecture occurred?
Bauhaus
What was theatre mainly?
Political
What was film like in Weimar?
Became increasingly popular
