women in Nazi Germany

Question 1

What was the role of women in Nazi Germany?

Answer 1

The Nazis believed the role of women was to provide children and support their families at home.

Question 2

When were women banned from being lawyers?

Answer 2

They were banned from being lawyers in 1936. The Nazis also tried to prevent women from getting other professional jobs.

Question 3

What are the 3 K’s?

Answer 3

1. Kirche (church)
2. Kuche (kitchen)
3. Kinder (children)

Question 4

What did the Law for Reduction of Unemployment do?

Answer 4

Offer financial benefits for women who stayed at home.

Question 5

From what type of jobs were women purged (removed) in 1933?

Answer 5

The civil service

Question 6

What was a motherhood cross?

Answer 6

The Mother’s Cross was introduced in 1938 and it was an award given every year on the 12th August 1938, to encourage women to have more children.

Question 7

What were the name of buildings where single women could meet SS men to become pregnant?

Answer 7

Lebensborn

Question 8

Which law forbade marriage between Aryans and Jews?

Answer 8

The Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honour 1935.

Question 9

Which organisation couldn’t women belong to and why?

Answer 9

The Reichstag because Hitler believed that women were not able to think logically or reason objectively. He also didn’t want women to do jury service as they were supposed to stay at home and do domestic house jobs.

Question 10

Who was taxed the most heavily:

• single men
• married men
• businessmen?

Answer 10

single men

Question 11

What was Hitler’s real view of women?

Answer 11

They were inferior to men.

Question 12

Why did Hitler want women to have more children?

Answer 12

This was because the German Reich needed a growth in population and he wanted to encourage Germans to have large families.

Question 13

What was the League of German Maidens?

Answer 13

This was a women’s organisation for girls aged between 14 and 21, where they were taught that there role was to be mothers in the future. Membership become compulsory in 1936.

Question 14

How were women expected to look in Nazi Germany?

Answer 14

Women were expected to dress plainly and were discouraged from wearing make-up. They would have their hair in a bun and would wear long skirts.

Question 15

Why did the number of women working increase from 11.6 million to 14.6 million?

Answer 15

the increase in women employment happened because of male conscription into the armed forces.

Question 16

Why did the number of marriages and births increase in Germany after 1933?

Answer 16

Awards would be given to women for having large families and women who gave up work for marriage were given loans (1000 marks).

Question 17

What type of jobs were women encouraged to do?

Answer 17

caring jobs such as nursing and childcare. Sometimes factory work.

Question 18

What was the Law for the Encouragement of Marriage?

Answer 18

this was introduces in June 1933 which gave married couples a loan of 1000 marks and allowed them to keep 250 marks for each child they had.

Question 19

How much children was needed for a bronze, silver or gold Motherhood Cross?

Answer 19

bronze- 4 children
silver- 6 children
gold- 8 or more children

Question 20

what were some incentives (motivation) for women to have more children other than the Motherhood Cross?,

Answer 20

• tax incentives
• welfare benefits
• cheap theatre tickets
• being allowed to jump queues

Question 21

What other ways did Hitler try to increase the birth rate and Aryan marriages?

Answer 21

• taxing single men and childless families heavily
• family allowances for low income families
• ensuring contraception was hard to get
• making abortion illegal in 1933 (this was allowed if the mother had a defect)
• propaganda and peer pressure

Question 22

How did Hitler try to ensure only Aryan children were born?

Answer 22

• legalising sterilisation and abortions to those who had disabilities
• encouraging unmarried women to have babies with Aryan SS men in a Lebensborn home
• demanding proof of racial purity before marriage could happen (under a new law in 1935)
• • the Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honour of 1935

Question 23

Why did infant mortality rate drop?

Answer 23

Because of improved sanitation and preventative medicine.

Question 24

What percentage of women were encouraged back into work by 1939?

Answer 24

there was a 50% increase in women working in industry because of the shortage of men due to the war.

Question 25

why did some women enjoy the Nazi rules on society?

Answer 25

women enjoyed the leisure activities like evening classes, outings to theatres and sports events, run by the Strength Through Joy movement.