Women, Workers and the Youth in Nazi Germany Flashcards
1
Q
What was the meaning of Volksgemeinschaft, and what connotations did it have?
A
- People’s community
- It had racial connotations, so it was actually a community of ‘racially pure’ people
2
Q
What slogan did the Nazis adopt to show their expectations of the role women had, and why?
A
- Kinder, Küche, Kirche (Children, Kitchen, Church)
- This slogan had existed pre-Weimar, and so the Nazis showed that they wanted women to return to traditional roles
3
Q
What did the Nazis want women to do?
A
- They wanted them to have many ‘pure’ Aryan children
4
Q
What were 4 expectations the Nazis had of women?
A
- They expected them to choose the ‘right partner’ to have children with
- They expected them to be responsible consumers (since they did the domestic shopping), which included not buying from Jewish shops
- For them to not be involved in politics
- For them to have a ‘natural’ look
5
Q
What were 5 policies the Nazis introduced to reduce behaviour that had become common among women in Weimar (particularly New Women)?
A
- Contraception was severely restricted
- Higher taxes for childless couples
- Abortion was illegal and there were harsh punishments in place
- University enrolment for women limited to 10%
- Punishments for perming hair, and slimming and smoking discouraged
6
Q
What 3 policies did the Nazis introduce to increase the number of traditional families? When were they introduced?
A
- 1933
- The Law for the Reduction of Employment; limited women’s employment
- Marriage loan scheme; a quarter of the loan was cancelled after each child born
- Law for the Prevention of Offspring with Hereditary Diseases; made it possible for those with mental and physical disabilities to be sterilised, secretly extended to include non-German groups
7
Q
Give 2 examples of how the Law for the Reduction of Unemployment limited women’s employment.
A
- Top female civil servants and doctors were dismissed
- Female teachers could no longer teach in secondary schools
8
Q
What 2 laws did the Nazis pass to limit inter-racial marriage? When were they passed?
A
- 1935
- Marriage Law; couples needed a certificate showing their genetic and racial fitness to be able to get married
- Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honour; forbade marriage between Germans and Jews, gypsies and black people
9
Q
What was the Lebensborn programme? Who created it, and when?
A
- A programme created by Himmler to increase the number of ‘Aryan’ children born
- 1935
10
Q
Describe 3 aspects of the Lebensborn programme.
A
- It provided sexual partners from the BDM for the SS (in hopes that these women would then get pregnant)
- It offered adoption services for unmarried Aryan women who would have terminated their pregnancy otherwise, and these children would then be given to ‘suitable’ infertile couples
- During WW2 SS officers were told to abduct children with Aryan features from occupied territories, and they were then ‘Aryanised’ by German foster parents
11
Q
What was the BDM?
A
- Bund Deutscher Mädel: the League of German Girls
- It was the older female Nazi youth group
12
Q
What other group existed for women in Nazi Germany, and what was its purpose?
A
- The NSF: Nationalist Socialist Women’s Union
- It had been created in 1931 to attract female support for the Nazi Party
13
Q
What change was made to the Marriage Law, and when?
A
- Under the change, divorce was made easier to obtain in the cases of infertility, having an abortion or refusing to have a baby
- 1938
14
Q
What was introduced in 1939 to encourage women to have more children?
A
- The Mother’s cross was given to women with more than 3 children
- 4-5: bronze
- 6-7: silver
- 8+: gold
15
Q
When did attitudes towards women working change, and what were 2 reasons why?
A
- During WW2
- There was more pressure on production
- Men were being conscripted
16
Q
How did the percentage of women working change in WW2 compared to before the war?
A
- It went up by 27% between 1933 and 1939, but by just 2% during the war
17
Q
Give 2 reasons why the percentage of women working during WW2 did not rapidly increase.
A
- Previous Nazi propaganda had been that effective
- Germany used people from occupied territories (including women) and prisoners of war to replace the men who had been conscripted
18
Q
What were 2 measures introduced by the government to facilitate women returning to work in WW2?
A
- There were 31,000 crèches and kindergartens by the end of 1942
- There were paid incentives
19
Q
What proportion of the Germany’s agricultural and war production workforces were foreign by 1944?
A
- 1/3
20
Q
What order did Himmler issue to do with women in 1940? Was this a big change from before?
A
- He ordered that women who were known to be unfaithful could be sent to a concentration camp for at least a year, since soldiers’ morale dropped when they believed their wives were being unfaithful
- The SS and Gestapo had policed women suspected of having affairs since the start of the war
21
Q
What change was introduced for women from October 1940 and lasted throughout the war? Give 4 details.
A
- They were allowed to join the army in women’s units that did clerical and support work
- It was compulsory for BDM members to serve for 6 months- after that period of time they were free to leave or stay
- By 1941, there were not enough women in these auxiliary services, so it was made compulsory for women from 18 to 40, although this was not strictly enforced
- By 1944 there were so few men that women were being trained to use anti-aircraft guns
22
Q
What aspect of the Nazi regime was the most significant for workers?
A
- The reduction in unemployment
23
Q
What proportion of the workforce were unemployed by 1939?
A
- Only 35,000 out of 25 million male workers were unemployed (0.14%)
24
Q
What was the biggest negative aspect for workers under the Nazis?
A
- The DAF (German Labour Front)
25
Give 5 details about the DAF.
- Set up in 1933 after independent trade unions were banned
- It was controlled by the government, so it would not organise the working class to resist the government
- Some radical Nazis thought the DAF would use its powers to advance the rights of workers
- Senior Nazis wanted to maintain the support of business owners, so they did not allow the DAF to negotiate wages
- It was led by Robert Ley
26
Give 5 details on how Robert Ley's leadership affected the DAF.
- He was very obedient to Hitler, and had his trust
- He wanted to build up the DAF to make it a power base for himself
- He also wanted to improve conditions for workers
- However, he was unsuccessful due to his own personal limitations, and the opposition of elites and party leaders
- The DAF also did not develop its inherent social radicalism as a result
27
What were 2 reasons why Hitler wanted to limit the power of the working class?
- He wanted rearmament to proceed smoothly, without strikes or drawn-out negotiations
- He was also aware of the power that strikes had had in causing the abdication of the Kaiser
28
What impact did Hitler's desire to control the working-class have on their standard of living?
- It caused it to deteriorate on average
29
Give 2 examples of how the living standards of workers worsened.
- The average working week rose from 43 to 47 hours between 1933 and 1939
- Average hourly wages decreased by 2% between 1932 and 1939
30
What were 2 organisations and 1 scheme ran by the DAF, and when were each of them introduced?
- KdF (Strength through Joy) in November 1933
- Beauty of Work, 1934
- The Volkswagen scheme, 1938
31
Why was the KdF created?
- To win working-class support
32
What were 4 things that the KdF did?
- Subsidised theatre and opera tickets
- Subsidised holidays within Germany, or to some European countries, like Italy
- Set up art exhibitions
- Organised touring orchestras
33
How big of a scale did the KdF operate on? Give 2 examples.
- They were responsible for half of theatre bookings in Berlin
- They subsidised over 1.7 million short holidays for workers
34
What were 2 limitations of the KdF?
- KdF holiday facilities often had very basic facilities with little privacy and poor sanitation
- Workers also had no choice in the entertainment provided
35
What was the purpose of Beauty of Work?
- To improve work facilities
36
How did the Volkswagen car scheme work? How successful was it?
- Workers would give 5 marks weekly, and they would eventually be able to buy a car with this money
- No workers ever received a car as production was switched to military needs in 1939
37
What was the school system like under the Nazis?
- Most of the Weimar school system was kept in place, but some new types of secondary school were introduced
38
Which types of school did the Nazis introduce?
- Adolf Hitler schools
- NAPOLAS (National Political Institutes of Education)
39
Describe 4 aspects of Adolf Hitler schools.
- There were 11 of them
- They largely enrolled working-class and lower middle-class students who had passed fitness and academic tests
- They also had to prove their family's racial history for 130 years
- Nazi ideology was taught there
40
Describe 5 aspects of the NAPOLAS.
- There were 39 of them
- Their standard of education was similar to that of Gymnasia
- Their purpose was to educate future SS leadership
- Most of the students were from the middle-class, and had to be physically and racially 'fit'
- 3 of the NAPOLAS educated female students
41
To what degree did the Nazis change the school system? How can this be proven?
- Not much, as most leading Nazis sent their children to Gymnasia anyway
42
What were the 3 important roles of schools for the Nazis?
- To teach:
- loyalty to Hitler and Germany
- physical fitness for either fighting or childbirth
- racial purity
43
What were 4 ways in which the Nazis ensured teachers taught what they wanted them to?
- From 1933 teachers had to join the Nationalist Socialist Teachers' League
- They purged the teaching profession; 20% of teachers were sacked in 1933
- From 1935 the Nazis issued instructions on what should be taught in all years in all subjects
- By 1937 it was impossible to get a job as a teacher unless you were in the union, and 97% of teachers were
44
What were 7 ways that the Nazis changed the curriculum?
- Textbooks were either replaced, censored or burned
- There were new areas of the curriculum such as race studies, which taught that Aryans were the superior race and that others were inferior
- Sport was increased for both boys and girls (became 15% of the curriculum)
- Biology focused on eugenics and motherhood for girls
- History was focused on an idea of nationhood, and German history as as a succession of great male leaders
- Physics and chemistry focused on the military application of science
- Geography focused on the wrongs of Versailles and the need for Lebensraum
45
Which youth groups existed for boys, and which ages was each intended for?
- Pimpfen: 6-10
- Jungvolk: 10-14
- Hitler Jungend (Hitler Youth):14-18
46
Which youth groups existed for girls, and which ages was each intended for?
- Jungmädel: 10-14
- Bund Deutscher Mädel (BDM): 14-18
- Glaube und Schönheit: 18-21
47
In what 2 ways did the Nazis ensure participation in youth groups?
- In 1936 all non-Nazi ones were banned
- In 1939 it became compulsory for all 'racially pure' children to go
48
What were 2 purposes of the youth groups?
- They continued the indoctrination from school
- Members of these youth groups were also expected to report on anyone (including their family) that did anything against Nazi teachings
49
How effective were youth groups? Give 2 details.
- Rich families could avoid sending their children as long as they paid the subscription
- In 1934, fewer than half of children in the south of Germany had joined, while this figure was over 80% in the north
