Theme 4- Aspects of Life 1918-1933

Question 1

What is meant by the phrase ‘new woman’?

Answer 1

They were younger women in Germany who were different in their appearance, behavious and employment from the older generation. Their clothes were less traditional either shorter dresses or masculine clothes, they had shorter hair (Bubikopf), smoke and drank, worked, had strong political beliefs and became more important and inflential in society.

Question 2

How many women were elected in the Reichstag in 1920 and how did this change over the years?

Answer 2

Over 100 but this declined over the years, e.g. only 26 in 1926.

Question 3

What percentage of women worked in the paid labour force in 1925?

Answer 3

Around a third of all women.

Question 4

What did the League for the Protection of Mothers campaign for?

Answer 4

Free abortion and government financial assistance for unmarried mothers.

Question 5

What sort of jobs did women do?

Answer 5

Welfare inspectors, child and family counsellors, health officers, teachers, nurses, factory jobs, office jobs, retail etc. Mostly in caring and nurturing roles and even the SPD assumed women would still take on caring roles.

Question 6

Which women did and didn’t experience change?

Answer 6

In 1925, almost all female white-collar workers were single and 2/3 were under 25. Only young single women in cities really experienced change while married women were generally expected to stay at home. Women in rural areas were typically more traditional so kept their traditional roles.

Question 7

What happened to women as a result of the Great Depression?

Answer 7

Women were blamed for the cultural degeneration and economic crisis. Many men saw the new woman as a threat to the very existence of the nation and race.

Question 8

Were abortion and contraception illegal?

Answer 8

Abortion was illegal although they still took place- 1 million abortions in 1930. Contraception wasn’t illegal but it was hard to come across and it was illegal to advertise it until 1927.

Question 9

How did women’s political rights change?

Answer 9

They gained the right to vote in the Weimar constitution and could be elected into the Reichstag.

Question 10

What did Article 113 of the Weimar constitution say?

Answer 10

It guaranteed the rights of ethnic minorities, covering their culture, religion and language.

Question 11

Who in particular was persecuted during the Weimar years despite Article 113?

Answer 11

Gypsies- in 1930 Frankfurt passed an Act to remove the ‘gypsy plague’.
Eastern European Jews- the majority of judges were traditional nationalists and many were anti-semites, not always willing to uphold Jewish rights. There were over 700 anti-semitic journals in circulation in Weimar Germany.

Question 12

Were Jews well integrated into society?

Answer 12

Most German Jews were well integrated into society but Eastern European Jews were not and they faced discrimination. Many Germans would only accept Jews who renounced their religious and cultural heritage. Some Germans thought Jews were a race and could never be truly German because they were naturally different.

Question 13

What was the League of German Defence and Defiance?

Answer 13

A strongly anti-semitic group that had over 200,000 members when it was banned in 1922.

Question 14

What was education like before Weimar?

Answer 14

Most schools were confessional (organised by churches) schools. It was difficult for poorer children to progress to higher education or enter the professions. Universities were very conservative both in curriculum and organisation. School teaching was rigid and authoritarian.

Question 15

How was religious control of schools reduced?

Answer 15

Through the removal of clerical inspections and the dominance of confessional schools. Churches no longer had the right to run state schools.

Question 16

How was teaching improved?

Answer 16

Some progressive teachers replaced authoritarian rote-learning methods with more child-friendly styles of teaching. Teachers were also required to have reached the Abitur (A Level) standard to teach in schools.

Question 17

How was access to education increased?

Answer 17

Elite prep schools were abolished and replaced with Grundschulen which was compulsory for all children and lasted 4 years. The Aufbauschule was introduced which gave a Gymnasium style education to academically gifted poor children. Girls were given greater access to higher education.

Question 18

In what ways did religious influence remain in schools?

Answer 18

By 1930, still 80% of primary education was in ‘confessional’ schools. No national, uniform system of primary education was imposed, partly because of the religious issue with opposition from groups like the Catholic School Organisation. Churches retained the right to run private schools.

Question 19

How did teaching stay the same?

Answer 19

Universities were not reformed and 3 out of 4 types of state funded secondary schools continued the pre-war approach to education like the prestigious Gymnasium.

Question 20

How did access to education remain the same?

Answer 20

The class divide remained and only 2.3% of graduates were working class.

Question 21

What were the main barriers to changing education?

Answer 21

Wealthy, privileged families wanted to keep the advantage of better education for their children. The traditional religious influence meant that many private schools in particular were not reformed.

Question 22

What did Article 118 of the Weimar constitution say?

Answer 22

It gave all Germans freedom of speech and expression and abolished censorship.

Question 23

How did culture differ in urban and rural areas?

Answer 23

Urban areas were more radical with cabaret, nightlife, naked dancers, female wrestling, homosexuality, expressionism, theatre, poetry etc. Rural areas were more conservative and they feared the alternative sexual lifestyle. They were typically church going, nationalistic, anti-communist and anti-semitic. They believed that decadence was leading to moral and cultural decline.

Question 24

What was architecture and design like?

Answer 24

The Bauhaus school merged geometric shapes with new materials like glass, steel and reinforced concrete. It used international modernist styles instead of traditional German styles.

Question 25

What was literature like?

Answer 25

All Quiet on the Western Front was an anti-war novel and became a bestseller. Some novels romanticised the past such as Storm of Steel but most embraced the new culture and were very popular.

Question 26

What was art like?

Answer 26

Art was expressionist and could be very shocking. It was more about the artist than the object and key figures included Otto Dix and George Grosz. Examples are The War Invalid and John the Sex Murderer by Otto Dix.

Question 27

What was cinema like?

Answer 27

Weimar was the centre of exciting film making and cinema used new techniques to create visual sequences that reflected the expressionist movement. An example is Fritz Lang’s Metropolis which was an expressionist sci-fi film.

Question 28

What was the impact of Weimar culture?

Answer 28

Artists like Grosz were KPD sympathisers and were anti-Weimar. While they attacked the Nazis, they also attacked the republic. Weimar culture was also strongly criticised by the extreme right and the Nazis and DNVP said that the experimentation in the arts as a symptom of decadence and decline. In the late 1920s, right wing extremists campaigned against the ‘filth’ and ‘rubbish’ that artists were producing.

Question 29

In what ways did German culture not change in the 1920s?

Answer 29

Rural areas were not exposed to cultural change- by 1932 radio reception was available in only 10% of small villages so these people wouldn’t hear jazz music.
Traditional culture like choral singing, folk dancing, church festivals and beer halls were still more popular than new culture like cabaret clubs.
Modernist architecture ideas using steel and glass had been introduced before the war although they became more popular later.