Topic 4 - Life in Nazi Germany Flashcards
What was Hitler’s aims for families
-Increasing birth rates because births had decreased by 50% by 1900 meaning later on there would be less workers and soldiers
What was the Law for the Encouragement of Marriage
-In 1933 a 1000 mark loan given to married couples.
-For every child they had 1/4 of the loan was written off
When was divorce banned until and what was the exception
-Banned until 1938
-Permitted if woman could not have children or had an abortion
What was the Mothers Cross and what are the requirement for each one
An award given to women for the amount of children women had
-Bronze for 4/5
-Silver for 6/7
-Gold for 8
What was expected of mothers when they had their tenth child
-Hitler to be named the godfather and if it was a boy name him Adolf Hitler
What was Lebensborn
Aryan women who were single and were encouraged to breed with SS men to create ‘genetically pure children.’ They were given accommodation
Between 1938-41 how many mothers did one Lebensborn home help
540
What appearance were women encouraged to have (5 points)
-Natural look
-Clothing had to be plain and covering the body, shouldn’t dress to attract men
-Hair not worn down but in buns, plaits or tied back
-Discouraged from dyeing their hair/wearing makeup
-Discouraged from wearing trousers and being slim as it was bad for child bearing
Why did the Nazis believe women should be out of work
-They believed they should be in the home otherwise they would be taking men’s jobs
What were the three K’s
-Kinder, Küche and Kirche
- Children, kitchen and church
What were women banned from in 1933
Teaching, the civil service and being doctors
What were women banned from in 1936
They couldn’t be judges or lawyers
What was banned for girls in 1937
Grammar schools
How did the number of women in higher education change between 1932-37
-Decreasee from 17,000 to 6,000
What was the German Women’s Enterprise
-Women’s branch of the the party which had 6 million members
-This was to spread Nazi ideas about women by educating them on how to be a mother/wife
-Did this by holding sewing and cooking classes
How did the Nazis have success in changing the lives of women
-Fewer attended universities
-Fewer men were unemployed
-Birth rate rose
-More women were married
How did the Nazis have failure in changing the lives of women
-Not all women agreed with Nazi ideology
-Number of women employed increased, although they let women with marriage loans return to work from 1937 as the need to get ready for war so more industrialised workers needed
-Divorces increased
-Moringen and Ravensbruck - womens concentration camps had over 2000 prisoners
How did the Nazis encourage women to re-enter the work place from 1937?
-Abolished marriage loans
-Introduced compulsory duty years for all women entering the labour market (non paid work)
What problems did the Nazis encounter during trying to get women back into work 1937
-Many women didn’t want to work in factories (low wages and bad conditions)
-Employer’s preferred foreign labour
-Hitler himself was concerned about women working - it went against his beliefs
How did the Nazis control the young through textbooks
-All rewritten to fit Nazi view of history and racial purity
-All had to be approved by the Ministry of Education
-Mein Kampf became a standard text
How did the Nazis change lessons to meet Nazi views
-Geography lessons showed how Germany was surrounded by hostile neighbours
-In History lessons, students were taught about the evils of communism and the severity of the Treaty of Versailles
-Before and after each lesson students saluted and said ‘Heil Hitler’
-Maths problems dealt with social issues
How were teachers controlled to try control youth
-Teachers had to swear an oath of loyalty to Hitler and join the Nazi Teachers’ League. By 1937 97% of teachers has joined.
-Teachers had to promote Nazi ideals in the classroom and many were dismissed if they didn’t show they were committed to Nazism
-By 1936 36% of teachers were members of the Nazi party
What were the National Political Training Institutes
-Took boys from 10-18 and on graduation many went into the army or Nazi paramilitary group and were taken over by the SS
What were Adolf Hitler Schools
Adolf Hitler Schools wear for students 12-18 and mainly for the elite of the Hitler Youth
What were Order Castles
-For graduates of the Adolf Hitler Schools and entrants were usually in their 20s. Live ammunition was used in war games and there were times students were killed during these
In German schools how much time was devoted to PE
15% of the time
What were students told about the Aryan race?
They were superior and should not marry inferior races such as Jews
What new subjects were introduced by the Nazi regime?
-Race studies, measuring their skulls and classify racial types
What was the educational focus for boys
-Preparation for the military
-More emphasis on Germanys Nazi ideas
What was educational focus for girls in Germany
-Needlework
-Home crafts
-Cookery
-To become good mothers
What did the Germans learn about in Religious Studies
To hail the Fuhrer who was given from God
What did the German youth learn in science
Superiority of Aryans
What did the Germans learn in Maths
-Social issues in problems they had to solve
What were Hitler’s four economic aims
-To reduce unemployment
-To control the economy
-To make Germany self-sufficient
-To prepare Germany for war/rearmament
Why was rearmament important to Hitler
-He was determined to make Germany ready for war again.
-He wanted to conquer Ukraine and use its resources to make Germany self-sufficient in food and raw materials
-Forbidden by the TOV so Hitler had to conceal his actions
What was the work creation programme
-Building new runways, barracks and motorways. Only provided a few highly skilled jobs
By 1935 how many men were employed in building autobahns
-125,000 men
What industry + one other thing benefitted from the public works
-It created many jobs in tree construction industry
-Led to quicker and cheaper transport for German industry and agriculture
How much did the army grow between 1933-39
from 100,000 men to 1,400,000
How much was spent on weapons and equipment for the army and what did this create?
-46 billions marks
-Created jobs in the arms industry
Why did Hitler ban trade union?
They could disrupt trade through strikes
What did the German Labour Front do?
-Protected the rights of workers by setting out their rights, maximum length of the working week and minimum pay
Why were workers worse off under the German Labour Front
-They lost the right to negotiate pay improvements
-Maximum working hours went up by six house per week
-The DAF had the power to punish workers who disrupted production
What was the National Labour Service
-Set up in 1933 and provided paid work for the unemployed. The RAD provided workers for public works such as repairing roads, planting trees and draining marshes. They both provided and were good for Germany.
Was the National Labour Front voluntary?
-It was at first however after 1935 it was made compulsory for all young men to serve six months in the RAD
-By 1935 422,000 men were apart
was the National Labour Service popular?
-No as it was organised like an army.
-Workers wore lived in camps and did military drills.
-Rates of pay were low and some complained of poor food and working conditions
Why did the the rearmament being temporary mean that the Nazis didn’t achieve an economic miracle
By 1939 many jobs depended on producing weapons. These jobs would not exist in peace times
Why did the the army being temporary mean that the Nazis didn’t achieve an economic miracle
By 1939 over 1.3 million were in the armed forces - in peace time these men would need jobs
Why did invisible unemployment mean the Nazis didn’t achieve an economic miracle
-They forced women and Jews to give up work and didn’t count them as unemployed
-The Nazis had to put hundreds of thousands into concentration camps which also helped the unemployment statistics look lower
How did ‘reducing’ unemployment mean the Nazis didn’t achieve an economic miracle
-Public works : The Nazis had a huge programme of public and involved projects like building motorways, these workers were not counted as unemployed
-The Labour Service : By the middle of the 1930s there were 1/3 a million unemployed people in labour service. These people did not count on the unemployment figures.
What was the Strength through Joy Programme
-Created by Nazis to improve leisure time for German workers. Offered a wide range of activities such as : holidays, cruises, cultural trips and sports trips.
-In 1938, more than 10 million people went on a KdF
How did the cost of living mean living conditions did not improve during the Nazi rule
-It went up under the Nazi and all basic groceries, except fish, cost more in 1939 than they had in 1933.
-In order to keep prices high for farmers Nazis reduced production so many food goods were in short supply.
How did the DAF mean living conditions did not improve during the Nazi rule (4 points)
-Increased working week
-Punished anyone disrupted productions
-Did little to improve the pay and conditions of workers
-Strikes were banned and workers who opposed sent to concentration camps
How did the KdF programme mean living conditions may not have improved for some during the Nazi rule
-Very few could afford the more expensive KdF activities
What was the Beauty of Labour movement and how did it improve living conditions
-Set up by the KdF to improve working conditions so they installed canteens, swimming pools and sports facilities. It also improved lighting and noise levels in factories.
-By 1938 the Nazi party claimed that nearly 34,000 companies had improved their facilities
What was the problem with the Beauty of Labour Programme
It caused resentment as workers had to carry out improvements in their spare time without pay
How did the Nazis guiding eating help living conditions
-Peoples diets became healthier as they ate ‘Eintopf’ (a one-pot dish comprising meat and vegetables)
How far did wages rise for workers between 1932 and 1938
From 86 marks to 109 marks
How did the prices of goods mean living conditions did not improve during the Nazi rule
-It rose and some estimate rose 20% between 1933 and 1939
-This cancelled out the benefit of higher wages for some workers
What was the Volkswagen car scheme and what was the problem with it
-Workers given the opportunity to save for a car and they could save 5 marks a week to buy it
-It was a con as not one car was delivered by 1939 and there was no money refunded
How much did the average working week increase
-From 42.9 hours in 1933 to 47 hours in 1939
What impacted the Nazis policy towards minorities and what book did this reflect
-The belief that for Germany to be strong the population had to be strong
-Reflected Mein Kampf
What race did Hitler describe as sub-human
Eastern Europeans
What are eugenics and what policies were implemented because of this
-Science of selective breeding
-Nazis took these ideas and encouraged reproduction by the ‘best Germans’
-Prevented those who were ‘unsuitable’ by sterilising them so they couldn’t children
What was the idea of racial hygiene
-Nazis wanted the best parents from the superior Aryan race
-The aryan race was described as coming from a specific part of Europe
-In schools, Hitler youth and in propaganda the Nazis taught Aryan should only reproduce with other Aryans
-Lead to laws being passed that prevented mixed-race marriages
Why was Anti-semitism common in Europe
-Christians blamed them for Jesus’ death
-Some are successful in finance leading to jealousy
-Their religion made them stand out as ‘different’
What were Jews blamed for and who by
-German defeat in WW1, Treaty of Versailles and the economic depression
-By German nationalist politicians such as a hitler
What percentage of Germanys lawyers and doctors were Jewish in 1933
16% of Lawyers and 10% of doctors despite only making up 1% of the population
Nazi Persecution : Slavs
-Ancient tribes of people from East Europe
-Nazi propaganda and school lessons taught they were sub-human and needed to be treated differently
-The Nazis threatened to invade slavic countries for living space
Nazi Persecution : Gypsies
-Nazis believed the Roma people did not work enough or contribute enough taxes and threatened the racial purity of Germany
-After 1933 arrested as social nuisances and sent to concentration camps
-From 1936 some forced to live in special camps
-In 1938 they were banned from travelling in groups. Were rounded up, put on a register and tested for racial characteristics, if they failed they lost German citizenship and social benefits
-In 1939 orders given to prepare gypsies for deportation
Nazi Persecution : Homosexuals
-Nazis believed they lowered moral standard and spoiled purity of German Race
-Laws against it were strengthened, in 1934 766 males imprisoned and in 1936 the number was over 4,000. In 1938 it was 8,000.
-Released prisoners sent to concentration camps and 5,000 died
-Nazi laws encouraged voluntary castration
Nazi Persecution : People with disabilities
-Believe they were a burden on society and weakened racial purity
-In 1933 Law for the Prevention of Hereditary Diseased Offspring. So it was compulsory to be sterilised if someone was mentally ill, alcoholic, deformed, epileptic, deaf or blind. 400,000 sterilised under this law by 1939
-In 1939 ordered babies with severe disabilities should be killed by starvation or lethal overdose of drugs. Eventually 5000 were killed. (T4 programme)
Boycott of Jewish Shops 1933
-March 1933 announced that on 1st April there was an official boycott against German businesses, doctors and lawyers.
-Guarded by SA and had ‘Jude’ written on the windows
-First point of segregating the Jews meaning they couldn’t make any money
Nuremberg Laws 1935 (what happened)
-Took away Jewish citizenship so they had no vote, passport was not valid + loss of rights
-Couldn’t hold government office
-Law for Protection of German Blood meant Jews couldn’t marry German citizens and forbade sexual relations
Nuremberg Laws 1935 (results)
-Makes harder to leave country
-Lost any right to oppose their treatment
-In 1938 Jewish people had to carry identity cards and register all possesions
Eviction 1939
-In January Nazis decided to evict all Jews from Germany. The Reich office for Jewish Emigration was set up under Reinhard Heydrich, head of the Gestapo. In April orders went out that all Jews should be evicted from their homes and collected for deportation
What caused Kristallnacht 1938
-A 17-year-old Polish Jew went into went into the German Embassy in Paris and shot a random German
-Goebbels used this to stir up trouble against Jews in Germany. Ordered local papers in his home town condemning the shooting
-Used the police state to attack synagogues and houses of local Jews.
-On the 9th vom Rath died and Nazi leaders arranged the attacks in Hanover to begin all over Germany
What happened during Kristallnacht
-Police were told to not prevent any violence against Jews by members of the public and SS told to arrest as many Jews as possible
-Gangs smashed and burned property and were violent some wore Nazi uniforms
-814 shops, 171 homes and 191 synagogues and around 100 Jews were killed.
What were the results of Kristallnacht
-Goebbels blamed Jews and said they would be punished
-They were fined 1 billion marks for the damage
-By 12th November 20,000 Jews were sent to concentration camps
