Volkgemeinshaft- Women

Question 1

What was the role of women in Weimar?

Answer 1

They got the vote, were encouraged to go and work non-agriculture jobs, eg lawyers and doctors due to the surplus of women.

Question 2

What did Nazi’s think about women? (2)

Answer 2

They were crucial to helping the thousand year Reich by producing offspring.
Hitler personally argued a women’s role was more traditional, staying home and looking after the house and children.

Question 3

What does Bock believe about women?

Answer 3

They were repressed by the state and were victims

Question 4

What happened to child/ childless couples?

Answer 4

Every time a couple had a child they didn’t have to pay back 1/4 of their marriage loan- after 4 would have nothing to pay back.
Higher taxes for childless couples

Question 5

What was the mothers cross? (3)

Answer 5

Given on August 12th, Hitler’s mother’s birthday
Women awarded with Bronze 4-5 children, silver 6-7 or gold 8+ children
Estimated over 4 million mothers received it by 1941

Question 6

What was the ‘life springs’ program?

Answer 6

Essentially state run brothels, where SS men could have babies with ‘aryan’ women that could then be put up for adoption.
11,000 children born under this program

Question 7

What happened to the birth rates?

Answer 7

They rose, but marginally and did not reach the levels of pre-depression

Question 8

What does Tim Mason believe?

Answer 8

The birth rate rise was down to the end of the depression

Question 9

What happened to the average number of children women were having?

Answer 9

Dropped from 3.6 children in 1933 to 3.3 in 1939

Question 10

Why were married women in medicine, law and the civil service dismissed?

Answer 10

For being ‘too emotional’

Question 11

What happened to the number of female doctors?

Answer 11

Rose from 5% in 1930 to 7% in 1939.

Question 12

What happened to girls at uni? (2)

Answer 12

There was a quota of 10% put on

There was a fall in numbers of women attending uni, 1933 18,000, 1939, 5000.

Question 13

What did Koonz believe about women?

Answer 13

They preferred to have a more traditional role

Question 14

What happened to girls at school?

Answer 14

Less emphasis on academic subjects and more domestic classes, eg sewing

Question 15

What was ran the by the NSF?

Answer 15

Courses on motherhood and house keeping- 1.7 million attended in 1939

Question 16

What was the NSF?

Answer 16

National socialist women’s league

Question 17

What was set up to help women’s welfare? (3)

Answer 17

Harvest kindergartens, so women could work
Rest homes to allow women to recuperate after giving birth
Vast expansion of healthcare offices

Question 18

How many harvest kindergartens were set up?

Answer 18

600 in 1934 to 8700 in 1941

Question 19

How much did infant mortality drop by?

Answer 19

1933- 7.7% to 6.6% in 1936

Question 20

What was given to newly-wedded couples?

Answer 20

Interest free loans, providing the women did not go out to work

Question 21

What happened to divorce?

Answer 21

Divorce was easier to obtain and less stigmatised, so divorce rates went up after 1938

Question 22

What happened to the number of marriages?

Answer 22

Increased, 516,000 1932 to 740,000 in 1934

By over 200,000

Question 23

What did Pine believe about mothers?

Answer 23

They were no longer seen as ‘degenerates’ if they were single

Question 24

What did Frevert believe?

Answer 24

Much of what was introduced was appealing to women.

Question 25

What marriage loan were couples given?

Answer 25

Intrest free, if the couple had a child then they would not have to pay back 1/4 (25RM) of their loan
Abolished after 1937