Weimar 1.4 Flashcards
What were women allowed to do before WW1?
couldn’t vote, could study for the profession but not take the exam, married women had no legal status- all mens business, women’s role seen as kinder, Kuche, Kirche
What were women doing during WW1?
took places of men in factories, 1913-18 no women in armament manufacture, but by 1918 their were over 28,000
What was the situation of women by the end of WW1?
75% of women in work, there was a surplus of women due to 1.6 m men being killed.
what happened in the 12 Nov 1918?
Emergency govt gave women the right to vote
why was the 1919 elections important for women?
because in the first elections, there was a90% turn out rate, women took seats in the Reichstag - 112 women elected in 1919-32
What did Article 109 state?
Women should have equal rights both in marriage and employment.
Why was Article 109 controversial?
the reichstag were split, some people were traditional and wanted housewives
What was work really like for women?
Very hard, there was a govt policy where jobs given to women should be returned to soldiers - this caused % of women in work to fall by 36% to 34%, they were paid 33% less than men, faced discrimination and opposition
‘New women’
young educated single women- wanted to be independent and abandon tradition, wore makeup had short hair- just like US flapper, widely criticised, not accepted by the old
How did the depression effect women and their work?
depression + rising unemployment meant hostility increased. Although both men and women were unemployed, more men were because women were paid less. Women were last to be hired, first to be fired. Bruning issued a decree where women couldn’t work if their husbands did.
At what age was education compulsory?
Ages 6-14
What schools did the upper class and the working class children go to?
- Upper class- fee paying schools
- Working class- volksschule – large classes that taught basics- (reading, writing & numeracy)
Most of the schools were what kind?
- Confessional, faith based schools
What changes were made to education after war?
- Gov (socialists) wanted fairer education system
- Compulsory grundschule set up ( ages 6-10)
Why was RE being made optional controversial?
- North approved, south objected
- Some said it taught basic morality
- So this was not agreed by other parties
What did the centre party want in terms of education?
As the Education article was a compromise, the centre party wanted confessional schools and RE.
- They kept the grundschule as well
What did the government say about Education?
A federal education law was needed to meet the needs of families
What happened until the law was passed?
- Non confessional schools were set up
- Confessional schools were made private
What happened when the government tried to introduce the federal school law in 1921?
The Reichstag disapproved
What year was the bill passed where confessional, common and secular schools were made equal?
1927
Aprox. how many schools and what type of schools were set up in 1931?
- 30,000 protestant schools
- 15,000 catholic schools
- 100 jewish schools
- 9000 common schools
- 295 secular schools
what happened to education beyond the age of ten?
- It was paid for
- The kids career was decided at 10
- They had to decide whether to go to hauptschule (for trading and apprenticeship) , realschule (for business training) or a gymnasium (university)
What was weimar’s culture like?
Vibrant and experimental, technology and modernity thoroughly influenced Germany, influential movement: Bauhaus and Neue Sachlichkeit, other parts of culture: music, art, theatre etc.
What was Art elite culture?
experimental- coming up with new ideas, first they favoured modernism but then gave it a darker twist with the new objectivity movement. these movements influenced art, music, literature. Artists, intellectuals and writers formed this group
What aspects of culture did the govt subsidise?
theatres, orchestra museums and libraries
subsidies were small
govt encouraged other cultural initiative
UFA- German film company subsidised.
what aspects of culture was the most popular?
the young were heavily influenced from US trends- Jazz
traditional music still had wide following
weimar movies like Nosferatu were widely popular
Clara Zatkino communist and women rights campaigner agreed with New objective saying that films should show reality not fantasy
What was the reaction to weimar cultural experimentation?
Weimar said free speech was a human right, censorship was only used to ban obscene movies, pornography etc. this let expressionism flourish through singing and writing
What were the attitudes towards ethnic minorities?
German nationalism and idea of Volk meant ethnic minorities were regarded as equal, although they were integrated therefore low levels of discrimination and prejudice, they received low wages and were less likely to be hired by germans
What were the attitudes towards jews?
blamed jews for consipiring with allies causing german defeat at war and causing the great depression, therefore they faced a lot of criticism
facts on the attitudes towards jews
- there was 1% of jews in german population 1918
- 5 jews held cabinet posts
- 1922 Rathenau who became foreign minister was assassinated
