Social Impact of the Nazi State Flashcards
1
Q
What was life like for women + young people in the 1920s?
A
Weimar gov. in charge during roaring 20s, relative prosperity (after hyperinflation) + new freedoms.
Freedom - women could chose career + wear what they liked. Young people free to chose leisure activities outside of school.
2
Q
What did the Nazis want women to be like/do?
A
Kinder, Kirche, Küche - Children, Church, Kitchen
- Wanted women to stay at home + have children whilst men worked.
- Women had to wear simple, traditional clothing. No high-heels, trousers, dyed hair, or makeup.
- Women had to be strong + healthy for child bearing. Slimming seen as bad.
3
Q
How did Nazis make women do what they want?
A
- 1933, all women employed by state sacked. Employers were told to favour men.
- To encourage women to have children they offered medals. Broze - 5, Silver - 6, Gold - 8.
- Used propaganda to persuade women to follow their ideas. Used leaflets, newspapers, and films.
- Local wardens reported women who weren’t following Nazi ideals. Made it difficult for women who dressed fashionable or smoked to do so in public.
- Women’s organisations set up by Nazis, such as Nazi Women’s League. Used propaganda to encourage women to embrace the 3 Ks.
4
Q
Were Nazi policies towards women successful?
A
Yes:
- Birth rate in Germany increaded between 1933 and 1939.
- In 1930, number of married women in employment fell.
- Around 6 million women joined Nazi women’s institutions, which many found rewarding.
No:
- Number of women workers increased between 1933 and 1939 because economy was doing well and they didn’t want to give up their jobs.
- Employers hired more women because their wages were lower than men’s.
- Most married Germans still only had an average of 2 children per family.
5
Q
What did the Nazis want young people to be like/do?
A
- To control the youth of Germany so they grew up loyal to the Nazis.
- To train girls to be housewives and boys to be workers or soldiers.
6
Q
How did the Nazis achieve their ideals for what young people should be like?
A
Schools:
- News subjects introduced, such as Race Studies. This taught pupils how the German race was superior and how other races were inferior.
- Only German history was taught. History was rewritten to support Nazi ideas, depicting Jews + communists as evil. History textbooks also rewritten.
- Boys were taught mostly science, military drill, and maths to prepare them for life as soldiers.
- Girls taught subjects that would help them be housewives. E.g. Needlework + domestic science.
Hitler Youth
- Girls joined League of German Maidens + were taught domestic chores such as cooking, cleaning, + raising children. Also did physical training to prepare them for motherhood.
- Boys joined Hitler Youth. Activities included camping, war games, rifle training, and cross country marching. All useful training + preparation for joining armed forces or doing manual labour.
7
Q
Were Nazi policies towards young people successful?
A
Yes:
- Hitler Youth activities kept young people happy + physically fit.
- Many young people developed good friendships with others in group.
No:
- In spite of the activities, 1 in 5 Germans never joined.
- Other groups like the Edelweiss Pirates used to clash with the Hitler Youth + fight were common.
- Some of those who did join found focus on military drill + obidience boring.
- Some parents worried about family life as children swore oath of alligence to Hitler before them.
- During WW2, the Hitler Youth had to do mundane tasks such as collecting scrap metal. Added to unpopularity amongst some young people.
8
Q
How did WW2 affect policies towards women?
A
- Nazis still believed that only unmarried working-class women should be employed, but due to the war they needed more women to work in factories.
- The focus of the DFW/NSF (the National Socialist Women’s Organisation) changed from ‘women as mothers’ to ‘women as important members of the war effort’.
- This included organising women’s work in munitions factories, instructing women on feeding families on rations, and assisting in the evacuation of children.
9
Q
How did WW2 affect policies towards young people?
A
- All members of society were expected to help in the war effort, including young people.
- Many boys + girls helped on farms and in other areas of the war effort, including evacuation, fire-fighting, and looking after younger children.
- Older members of the Hitler Youth recieved military training and some boys as young as 13 were enlisted as soldiers by the end of the war.
- Those who didn’t join Hitler Youth were seen as acting against the state + were treated harshly. This included groups such as the Edelweiss Pirates.
10
Q
What were the Nazi’s policies for reducing unemployment?
A
Hjalmar Schacht’s ‘New Plan’ (1933-37) and Hermann Göring’s ‘Four-Year Plan’ (1936-39) aimed to reduce unemployment by:
- Starting huge building programmes to build new motorways (autobahns), hospitals, and houses.
- Re-arming Germany, creating millions of jobs in ammunition factories.
- Increasing the armed forces to 1,400,000.
- Forcing all men between the ages of 18-25 to work.
- Removing women + Jews from the employment register to make figures look better.
11
Q
What were the effects of Nazi economic policies on workers?
A
- No trade unions, all workers joined Nazi DAF (German Labour Front). Was supposed to negotiate rights for workers…
- *But:** instead the DAF often supported employers who wanted lower wages + increased working hours.
- DAF set up ‘Strength through Joy’ programme that organised holidays + other leisure programmes for workers and their families. Nazis believed happy workers worked harder…
- *But:** in reality not many holidays were organised and usually the rewards only consisted of cheap cinema/theatre tickets.
- The ‘Beauty of Labour’ scheme was set up to improve working conditions. It did negotiate some improvements such as better lunches + toilet facilities…
- *But:** many workers didn’t like the scheme as these improvements were made by them in their spare time!
12
Q
What were the effects of Nazi economic policies on farmers?
A
- Farmers had supported the Nazi party enthuiastically as they benefited from the regime as Hitler guaranteed high food prices + offered them security if they fell behind on their rent.
- *But:** work schemes encouraged many to head for the towns/cities to seek better wages. This made it increasingly harder for farmers to find workers in the countryside.
13
Q
What was the effect of WW2 on Nazi economic policy?
A
- Rationing was introduced as soon as war broke out, although shortages didn’t affect many for the first 2 years of war.
- From 1942 onwards Germany put more and more resources into its unsuccessful war against the USSR. This meant it restricted shops from opening and ordered factories to make things for the war effort and not for civilians.
- By the end of the war, there were food shortages for most people.
- A black market existed outside of the rationing system and was used by some.
- Heavy bombing of German cities resulted in huge casualties. Many homes were destroyed, so many citizens needed re-housing.
- There was looting and crime increased in some areas as citizens tried to survive the food shortages and Allied bombings.
14
Q
What does untermenschen mean?
A
Sub-humans. This is what the Nazis called other races, including Jews + Slavs.
15
Q
What did the Nazis believe about race?
A
- That the German people were the master race - Aryan - and that the Aryans were superior to all other races.
- Hitler believed he could create this master race by carefully breeding those with Aryan features, such as blond hair + blue eyes. Germans who fitted this description were encouraged to marry + have children.
