The experiences of Germans under the Nazis 1933-45 2

Question 1

How did education help to indoctrinate the young

Answer 1

Certain subjects became more important for example History to show how successful the Nazis had been and Biology to explain Nazi racial beliefs
The amount of time given to PE trebled in the 1930s to create a fit future generation capable of joining the army or mothering the ‘master race’
Other subjects such as Race Studies and Ideology were added to timetables as Nazi beliefs were taught ad accepted facts

Question 2

How was education different for boys and girls

Answer 2

A greater emphasis was placed on domestic science and other subjects suitable for motherhood in girls’ schools, whereas the importance of military training was emphasized in boys’ schools

Question 3

How did the Nazis use education to encourage Nazi views

Answer 3

Textbooks were rewritten to conform to Nazi beliefs and all lessons were taught by teachers who were members of the Nazi party National Socialist Teachers League
Examples used in class work encouraged support for Nazi views
A major message that was continually repeated in schools was the supremacy of the Aryan race and the inferiority of Jews, Black and Eastern Europeans
Even maths lessons for young children were sometimes about bombing Jewish gehttos

Question 4

How did the Nazis view women

Answer 4

The Nazis aimed to reinforce the traditional view of the role of women to become wives and mothers as their primary goal in life
It was their duty to remain at home as child-bearers and as supporters to their husbands
They were not considered equal
Employment opportunities for women declined as the Nazis felt that women should not be in the workplace

Question 5

How did Hitler stop the declining birth rate

Answer 5

Nazis thought women should be encouraged to have as many children as possible
Hitler was alarmed at the declining birth rate so contraception was discouraged and financial rewards were given to married couples who had at least 4 children
Women got a ‘Gold Cross’ for having 8 children and got a special seat at Nazi meetings
The birth rate did increase from 15 per 1000 in 1933 to 20 per 1000 in 1939

Question 6

Problems with limiting womens opportunities

Answer 6

Married professional women were forced to give up their jobs and stay at home with their families
However in the late 1930s the Nazis were forced into reversing their policy on women working as they suddenly needed more women workers
This was because the supply of male workers had dried up as the vast majority of men were in the army

Question 7

Examples of people who were better off under the Nazis

Unemployed

Answer 7

In 1933 unemployment stood at 6 million
By 1938 unemployment had been reduced to 218,000

Hitler’s rearmament policy led to increased production in the iron and steel industry, and in companies making weapons
Conscription into the army also dramatically reduced unemployment after 1935 when it was reintroduced
It is estimated that Germany’s army had 750,000 more soldiers in 1938 than 1933

The Nazis also helped to create jobs by spending money on public works
For example a network of public motorways across Germany was begun

As well as bringing economic recovery these measures boosted Hitler’s popularity as they boosted national pride

Question 8

Examples of people who were better off under the Nazis

Workers (Strength through Joy)

Answer 8

Schemes such as ‘Strength through Joy’ gave workers cheap cinema and theatre tickets and organized courses, trips and sports events
Thousands of workers saved 5 marks a week to buy a Volkswagen Beetle and felt that they were part of a modern, prosperous new Germany (However no workers ever received a car because all car production was halted by the war in 1939)

Question 9

Examples of people who were better off under the Nazis

Workers (Beauty of Labour)

Answer 9

The Beauty of Labour scheme introduced features not seen in many work places like washing facilities and low cost canteens

Question 10

Examples of people who were better off under the Nazis

Farmers

Answer 10

In 1933 Hitler set up the Reich Food Estate which bought agricultural produce from the farmers and distributed it to markets across Germany
This benefited farmers as they had a guaranteed market for their goods at guaranteed prices

Question 11

Examples of people who were better off under the Nazis

Big businesses

Answer 11

Big businesses did not have to worry about troublesome trade unions and strikes
Companies such as IG Farben gained huge government contracts to make explosives
Other companies like Mercedes and Volkswagen prospered from Nazi policies

Question 12

Examples of people who were not better off under the Nazis

Workers (wages and living)

Answer 12

Unemployment fell in all European countries as the depression came to an end so it might not have just been the Nazis
There was no improvement in the level of wages
Peoples’ average working week r
se from 45 hours in 1928 to 50 in 1939 and over 60 towards the end of the war - Yet wages were lower in 1938 than they had been in 1928
For many workers their standard of living was still lower than it had been before the depression
There was also a shortage of consumer goods for Germans to buy as the German economy became increasingly linked to the war

Question 13

Examples of people who were not better off under the Nazis

Workers (Loss of SDP)

Answer 13

Workers lost their main political party the SPD
They also lost the right to have their own trade unions and were not allowed to go on strike for better wages and conditions
All workers had to join the General Labour Front
This organization kept strict control of workers and sometimes prevented them from moving to better paid jobs

Question 14

Examples of people who were not better off under the Nazis

No rights

Answer 14

Unemployment had been reduced and brought political stability at a heavy cost
Hitler’s totalitarian regime had abolished many rights
There were no opposition parties and no trade unions
The media was censored, workers had longer hours for less pay and there was no freedom of speech
Education, the Churches and local govt were strictly controlled
However none of this compares to the treatment of minority groups in Germany especially Jews

Question 15

Examples of people who were not better off under the Nazis

Farms

Answer 15

The Reich Entailed Farm Law meant that only the eldest child of a farmer inherited the farm
As a result many left the land to work for better pay in Germany’s industries
This resulted in rural depopulation running at 3% per year in the 1930s

Question 16

Examples of people who were not better off under the Nazis

Small businesses

Answer 16

If you were a small business owner producing consumer goods or if you ran a small shop you would probably struggle
Despite Hitler’s promises the large department stores which were taking business away from local stores were not closed

Question 17

How did WW2 impact German lives

The Early stage 1939-1941

Answer 17

In the first 2 years the German army was very successful
It was easy to keep up high levels of civilian morale as the German people celebrated victory over the French
People were very happy that they had gained revenge for their harsh treatment in the Treaty of Versailles
Germany was now in control of most of Western and Eastern Europe - there had been little cost to Germany
The raw materials, captured land and slave labourers opened up the prospect of Germany becoming a very rich and powerful country
Food and clothes rationing had been introduced at the end of 1939, but this seemed a small price to pay

Question 18

How did WW2 impact German lives

The turning point 1941

Answer 18

In 1941 the German army invaded the Soviet Union
This campaign went badly and for the next 3 years Germany was stuck in an increasingly expensive war against the Russians
As things got worse for the army the civilians lives got more and more disrupted
They had to cut back on heating, work longer hours and recycle their rubbish
They began to realise how difficult war was when you were not winning
Supplies were needed for the armed forces and sacrifices had to be made at home

Goebbels stepped up his propaganda campaign to raise morale and ask for sacrifices
When a call went out for warm clothing for the troops in the Soviet Union, the German people donated 1.5 million fur coats

Question 19

How did WW2 impact German lives
1942-1945
Economy

Answer 19

In 1942 Albert Speer was made armaments minister and began to direct Germany’s war economy
He organized the country for total war and the country’s economy was converted to a war economy
German factories were forced to work longer hours and food rations were cut
More and more women were drafted into the factories to keep production uo
All effort focused on the armaments industry
Postal services were suspended and letter boxes were closed
All places of entertainment were closed (except cinemas which Goebbels needed to show propaganda films)
Support for the Nazis weakened

Question 20

How did WW2 impact German lives
1942-45
Bombing

Answer 20

From 1942 the Allies began to bomb German cities
They intended to destroy important factories and disrupt the production of goods for the war
However they also caused civilian casualties and broke the morale of the German people
Bomber raids by the British and American air force poured bombs on German cities and killed over half a million civilians
In one raid alone, on Dresden in February 1945, 135,000 Germans died
By April 1945 Berlin was in ruins and starving

Question 21

How did WW2 impact Germans lives

1945

Answer 21

By 1945 the German people were in a desperate state
Food supplies had nearly ran out and 3.5 million German civilians had died
Refugees were fleeing the advancing Russian armies in the Eqast
This caused opposition to the Nazis to grow dramatically

Question 22

What was the July bomb plot 1944

Answer 22

In July 1944, a group of army officers tried to assassinate Hitler.
A bomb was planted by Colonel Stauffenberg at a meeting attended by the Fuhrer. It exploded, but Hitler survived.
In retaliation, Stauffenberg was shot the same day and 5,000 people were executed in the crackdown on opposition that followed.

The great German general Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was implicated in the plot and was forced to commit suicide as punishment for his involvement

Question 23

What were the Edelweiss pirates and what did they do

Answer 23

Children of working class parents
They opposed to the Nazis on political/ideological grounds
They changed lyrics of songs to mock Nazi/taunted Hitler Youth/sometimes attacked them
In 1942 over 700 of them were arrested

In 1944, Cologne pirates attacked the Gestapo
12 were publicly hanged over the attack

Question 24

What was the White Rose and what did they do

Answer 24

A very small group (under 10) of middle-class university students based in Munich
They were against the Nazis for political reasons - they opposed the war and the mass murders of Jews

They distributed anti-Nazi leaflets in at Munich University
They were caught and executed in 1943

Question 25

Who were the Swing kids and what did they do

Answer 25

Middle-class, well-off, often with conservative parents
Group of thousands across Germany but mostly in Hamburg and Berlin
They objected to Nazi control over all areas of their lives

They mixed with Jews, wore their hair long, wore English or US style clothes, listened/danced to English language music
Crackdowns from 1941 onwards
Ranging from compulsory haircuts to imprisonment in concentration camps for the ringleaders