Social issues from 1918-1932 FINISH IT Flashcards
Women in Germany BEFORE 1914?
German civil code of 1900: women could not vote, single women could not take exams to qualify and practise for a profession
Married women had no legal status (man had to do all legal business)
anyone who campaigned for equality was dismissed as ‘socialist’
‘Kinder, kuche, kirche’
Women of Germany during ww1
During war, women took the place of men in factories and farms
e.g. Krupp 1913 there were 0 women working but by 1918 there were over 28K
Women of Weimar (1918-1932): how were they different to pre-1914 in the Reichstag?
Weimar govt was very liberal in theory yet traditional in practise:
- 1918 Nov 12: emergency govt gave women the vote (parties wanted women’s votes and campaigned to educate them)
From 1919-1932, 1123 women were elected into Reichstag
Women of Weimar (1918-1932): What was article 109?
In principle, women had equal rights, marriage should be an equal union and women should be able to enter professions
–> did not change legal status under civil code (most wanted women to return to being wives and mothers)
Women of Weimar (1918-1932): why were Birth rates/ divorces issues?
Birth rate fell from 128 per 1000 women in 1911 –> 80 in 1925 and then 59 in 1933
Divorce rates increased from 27 per 100,000 people in 1913 –> 65 per 100,000 in 1932
Women of Weimar (1918-1932): How was work?
By 1925 % of women in workforce was 36% but due to increasing amount of work itself, actual number of working women increased
–> started doing more ‘white blouse’ jobs e.g. clerical/ shop work
–> women were payed 1/3 less than male counterparts in areas like office work
Women of Weimar (1918-1932): women and professions
Women could become lawyers (by 1933 there were 36)
Women working lower levels of legal profession increased from 54 in 1925 to 251 in 1933
1925 over 2500 female doctors
Many women faced hostility and discrimination from male colleges (double earner families were seen as opposition)
Weimar’s new women: who were they
young educated unmarried women who wanted independence and worked in ‘white blouse’ industries and manual labour (male dominant roles)
They wore more revealing clothing, short hair, smoked and drank
lesbian and heterosexual activities
Weimar’s new women: where did they originate and how did people react to them?
city based & part of racy city culture
–> heavily criticised by politicians and media, called immoral
–> popular with advertising and film culture
How were ethnic minorities treated in weimar?
mostly accepted yet low-level discrimination existed
e.g. lower pay, less likely to be hired by ‘German man’
conservative elite like army and landowners were less welcoming
What was article 113?
groups that spoke a different language could not legally be stopped from using this language or preserving their national identity
–> law that was not implemented
Weimar’s Jewish people
only 1% of German population in 1918 (around 500k in 1933 only)
2/3 of the population lived in cities and 1/3 lived in Berlin (huge influence on culture and some were politicians)
How did Weimar people treat jews?
Rathenau who became foreign minister in 1922 was assassinated (lots of criticism towards govt for hiring jews)
–> govt began banning anti-semitic organisations e.g. German Peoples Offensive and Defensive Alliance
–> organisation had 25k members in 1919 and 170k when disabled in 1923
Jewish people and the depression
Due to desperation, people saw Jewish members as someone to blame for the misfortune
Weimar attitudes to Gypsies?
discriminated against despite article 113 because they moved around so much& did not contribute to the country by working
- avoided paying taxes pr becoming involved in life outside of own community
NO federal legislation but Länder parliaments passed many legislation
e.g. Bavaria 1926: laws against gypsies mostly controlling movement and aiming to get children in schools and adults to work
Bavaria 1927: all gypsies should carry identity cards
