Volksgemeinschaft Knowledge

Question 1

Policies for the workers - successful

What happened to trade unions?

Answer 1

The destruction of the existing working class organisations including the trade unions and the socialist political parties and their replacement by the German Labour Front.

Question 2

Policies for the workers - successful

How did the Nazis attempt to win the support of the working class?

Answer 2

Through a combination of material improvement and state welfare

• the economic recovery after 1933 created around 6 million jobs and was vital in attacking the working class to the regime and its ideology
• thousands of workers got jobs in public work schemes, labour service or, after 1935, in the army

Question 3

Policies for workers - successful

What happened to the wages?

Answer 3

Most workers enjoyed increases in real wages after 1933 and skilled workers prospered with a return to full employment by 1936.

Question 4

Policies for the mittlestand - successful

What was banned with businesses?

Answer 4

Cut-price competition between businesses was banned

Question 5

Policies for the mittlestand - successful

What was given to small businesses?

Answer 5

The state and party agencies gave preferential treatment to small businesses.

Question 6

Policies for the mittlestand - successful

What was banned in 1933?

Answer 6

The establishment of new department stores was banned on 12th May 1933

Question 7

Policies for the mittlestand - successful

What did the state make available?

Answer 7

The state made available low interest loans and a share of confiscated Jewish trade

Question 8

Policies for peasant farmers - successful

What was the policy of ‘Blood and Soil’?

Answer 8

The Nazis put forward a policy of ‘Blood and Soil’ in an attempt to protect a healthy and economically secure rural community

Question 9

Policies for peasant farmers - successful

What was placed with imported foods?

Answer 9

Tariffs on imported foods were increased and farmers debt was cancelled; an attempt was made to safeguard small and middling sized farmers by the Reich Entailed Law of 29th September 1933 which identified farms of 30 acres as being hereditary farms which had to be passed onto the eldest son without being broken up.
- as a result of such interventions farming income from post-1929 levels

Question 10

Policies to exclude ‘racial undesirables’ from the german volk - successful

What was the Law for the Restoration of the Civil Service?

Answer 10

The Law for the Restoration of the Civil Service, April 7th 1933, banned all Jews from employment

Question 11

Policies to exclude ‘racial undesirables’ from the German volk - successful

What was the Nuremburg Laws of September 1935?

Answer 11

The Nuremburg Laws of September 1935 forbade marriage between Jews and ‘Aryans’ and deprived Jews of citizenship

Question 12

Policies for the ‘racial undesirables’ from the German volk - successful

Answer 12

• the ‘Kristallnacht’ program of November 1938
• the Decrees for the Exclusion of Jews from Economic Life of November 1938

Question 13

Policies for women - successful

What did the Nazi ideology stress?

Answer 13

Nazi ideology stressed that women should be confined to the domestic sphere and that their duty was to produce healthy Aryan children, uphold conservative family values and comfort their husbands in their service to the state, based on Kinder, Kuche and Kirche (Children, Kitchen and Church).

Question 14

Policies for women - successful

What was the Women’s Front?

Answer 14

On the 10th May, Robert Ley announced the creation of the Women’s Front. All 230 of Germany’s women’s organisations had to expel Jewish members and integrate into the Women’s Front or be disbanded.

Question 15

Policies for women - successful

What happened to women’s employment?

Answer 15

In the first years of the regime, the number of women in employment generally was low

Question 16

Policies for women - successful

What was the marriage loans?

Answer 16

In 1933, marriage loans of up to 1000RM were offered to newlyweds on the grounds that the wife would not work outside the home. By 1937, 70,000 married couples had received a loan.

Question 17

Policies on the church - successful

What was the concordat?

Answer 17

The concordat with the Roman Catholic Church July 1933, Church and state agreed to respect each other’s roles

Question 18

Policies on the church - successful

What was the Reich Church?

Answer 18

The creation of a Reich Church to co-ordinate all Protestant churches

Question 19

Policies on the Church - successful

What did the Nazis ban?
What happened to the Catholic priests?

Answer 19

Catholic newspapers were banned and four hundred Catholic priests were sent to Dachau concentration camps.

Question 20

Policies for the youth - successful

What was the Hitler Youth?

Answer 20

• the establishment from 1933 of the Hitler Youth for boys aged 11-18
• the Hitler Youth offered a wide range of activities to its male members from outdoor pursuits to music interspersed with lots of drill and PE. This was an attempt to prepare boys for military service later on

Question 21

Policies for the youth - successful

What was the League of German Girls?

Answer 21

• the establishment from 1933 of the League of German Girls for girls aged 14-17
• The League of German Girls was designed to prepare girls for a purely domestic role later in life and so focused activities related to keeping house and rearing children

Question 22

Policies for the youth - successful

What was the co-ordination of school teachers?

Answer 22

By 1937, 97% of teachers had joined the National Socialist Teachers League. Members had to attend one month training courses that stressed Nazi ideology and physical fitness

Question 23

Policies for the youth - successful

What was the nazification of the cirriculm?

Answer 23

For example, history and biology became vehicles for the inculcation of nationalism and racism

Question 24

Policies for workers - unsuccessful

When was there worker discontent?

Answer 24

By 1936, there were growing signs of workers discontent expressed in, for example, goslows, absenteeism and rapid turnover of staff.

Question 25

Policies for workers - unsuccessful

What were the boredom levels with workers?

Answer 25

By 1936, there were increasing levels of boredom, mistrust and indifference to the regime among the workers.

Question 26

Policies for workers - unsuccessful

Why didn’t the workers like the Nazis ideology?

Answer 26

Although there was economic recovery, workers increasingly resented the regimentation of their lifestyle and did not trust state propaganda.

Question 27

Policies for the mittlestand - unsuccessful

What was the policy of rearmament?

Answer 27

The policy of rearmament after 1936 favoured big businesses and the small craft industries could not compete

Question 28

Policies for the mittlestand - unsuccessful

What happened to the number of self-employed craft workers?

Answer 28

The number of self-employed craft workers - the backbone of the Mittlestand - fell by half a million between 1936 and 1939

Question 29

Policies for peasant farmers - unsuccessful

What happened to farming income?

Answer 29

After 1933, farming income did recover but from 1937 it fell again as labour costs rose yet prices stayed fixed

Question 30

Policies for Jewish citizens - unsuccessful

Were some policies less successful?

Answer 30

Although the Nazis successfully excluded Jews completely from political, economic, social and culltural life, other policies designed to create a racial state were less successful

Question 31

Policies for Jewish citizens - unsuccessful

What was the boycott of 1 April 1933?

Answer 31

The boycott of 1 April 1933 was stopped quickly when it became clear that people were in fact extremely uncomfortable by its violent edge.

Question 32

Policies for women - unsuccessful

What happened with employment?

Answer 32

Nazi policies on women in fact failed to keep women out of the labour market.
- between 1933 and 1939 the number of women working actually increased from over 11 million to over 14 million

Question 33

Policies for women - unsuccessful

What happened with the birth rate?

Answer 33

The birth rate did not rise dramatically as a result of Nazi policies but in fact remained fairly constant throughout the 1930s.

Question 34

Policies for the Church - unsuccessful

Was the Nazis successful in replacing Christianity?

Answer 34

The Nazis attempt to replace the influence of Christainity failed

Question 35

Policies for youth - unsuccessful

What happened to initial enthusiasm?

Answer 35

Initial enthusiasm for the youth organisations gave way to increasing disillusion with the Nazi ideology and repetitive quasi-military aspects of activities.

Question 36

Policies for the youth - unsuccessful

Why was Hitler Youth compulsory?

Answer 36

They had to make the Hitler Youth compulsory in 1939, which shows that this wasn’t as popular as they had hoped it would be