Theme 4- Aspects of Life 1945-1989 Flashcards
What were trummelfrauen?
Literally means rubble women. They were important in rebuilding Germany after the war and were involved in manual labour jobs. However, this was often seen as temporary and many women were forced to give up their jobs after Germany had been rebuilt.
What was the social attitude towards women in the FRG?
Attitudes to women were very conservative and traditional marriage became society’s ideal again despite the surplus of 7.3 million women. A 1963 poll also showed that 59% of male and female respondents would have supported a law banning mothers with children under 10 from working.
What did the Basic Law say in relation to women’s rights?
It stated that men and women were equal although Article 218 criminalised abortion.
How did women’s employment change?
Women’s employment was discouraged and war work was seen as temporary. Even in the early 1950s, women could lose their civil service job on marriage. Most women also worked in caring roles and comprised 75% of hospital workforce but only 4% of physicians. Despite this, women in employment increased from 44.4% in 1950 to 50% by 1970.
How did women’s rights in marriage change?
A law was passed in 1977 which granted women equal rights in marriage such as abolishing the automatic rights of husbands to manage their wives’ property and a no fault divorce law was also introduced in 1977.
What did the Indication Law 1976 do?
It legalised abortion although it was very restrictive (more so than other Western European countries).
What were women’s political role?
In 1972, women comprised only 5.8% of Bundestag representatives and lacked political outlets until the Green Party rose in the 1980s.
Did women receive equal pay?
No- they earned 65-78% of men’s salaries in the same job in the 1970s.
What was the Feminist Movement?
It gathered momentum in the 1970s with radical magazines like Emma, protest rallies and political lobbying.
How did women’s lives improve in the 1980s?
Equality officers from the National Office for Women’s Affairs were appointed to address issues of unequal treatment.
Were women’s lives more similar to Nazi or Weimar times?
Government policies were more similar to Weimar but attitudes towards women were more similar to Nazi. The status of women was very similar to Nazi and women were expected to stay at home and look after children. Women were forced to give up jobs in both FRG and Nazi and women in work had caring roles. Women’s employment increased during labour shortages in both but they had little political role in both. While there was a feminist movement in the 1970s this only changed women’s lives to a small extent and was unlike the radical change some women experienced in Weimar.
What was the legal status of guest workers?
The Basic Law said they had no rights of citizenship and could be sent back home as soon as their contract was over. This meant that children of guest workers suffered as they also had no citizenship; they were not allowed to work in paid employment.
How many guest workers were there in Germany in 1973?
2.5 million
How many guest workers were agreed would come from Italy in 1955?
100,000
How did the lives of guest workers improve in the early years of the FRG?
They played an important role in economic recovery and by 1964, DM50 million had been allocated for extending family accommodation for guest workers and their dependants. Newspapers like Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung also encouraged employers and others to treat guest workers well.
What happened to guest workers in 1973?
A ban was placed on further labour recruitment from abroad because of the oil crisis.
What was the likelihood of guest worker redundancy 1973-1976?
41% compared to 15% for German workers.
What were conditions like for children of guest workers?
From 1977, children of guest workers were not allowed to work in paid employment and a 1978 report showed that 70% of children of guest workers failed Abitur.
What racism took place in the FRG?
Foreign workers often struggled to integrate into society and Koran schools were treated with hostility by some Germans. Between 1979-1980, there were at least 6 bombings of Jewish memorials and guest worker accommodation.
How did guest workers’ lives improve again after the economic problems ended?
A government office was set up to help guest workers in 1979 and cheap housing was provided for eastern migrants in 1988.
What sort of jobs did guest workers do?
They mostly took up unskilled, low status and menial jobs. Almost 90% were in the lowest income bracket and in the 1970s, around half of Germany’s toilet cleaners and garbage collectors were foreign born.
What were living conditions like for guest workers?
They often lived in the poorest neighbourhoods and a survey in the 1970s showed that 89% of guest workers were dissatisfied with their living conditions.
What were the Allies’ main aims for education?
Denazification, inculcating liberal Western ideals and trying to change the structure of the German system.
How did the Allies deal with teacher shortages?
Britain and France sent teachers to their zones. Pro-Nazi teachers who had initially been fired went back to work- 85% of teachers in Bavaria who lost their jobs due to Nazi views were back at work by 1947.
