Studied by 1 person
nazi views on women
Women should Stay at home to raise the family
Women should adopt a ‘natural‘ look
Birth rates should increase and all women should know housecraft
nazi policies towards women
all womens organisations were merged to form the German Womens Enterprise
Loans of up to 1k marks (8 months wages) were given as part of the Law for the Encouragement of Marriage
Men could divorce their wives if they were infertile
The mothers cross was awarded to mothers with 4(Bronze) 6(Silver) or 8(Gold) children
How effective were Nazi policies towards women
Some german women were content to accept the policies towards them, however many women believed nazi ideas harmed the family
The policies did have the desired effect as therer were less women in employment and the birth rate increased
Nazi views of the young
Boys and Girls are equal but different
Gaining support of the young could secure the future of Hitlers “Tausendjähriges Reich” (Thousand year reich)
Nazi Youth Groups For Boys
6-10: Pimpfe (little fellows)
10-14 Deutsche Jungvolk (German young people)
14-18: Hitler Jugend (Hitler youth)
Hitler Youth
Political training
Oath of loyalty to Fuhrer
Physical training
regional sports comps
Military Training
practiced map reading and signalling + use of small arms
Character training
activities stressed need for comradeship but also ruthlessnes
Nazi Youth Groups For Girls
10-14 : Jungmädel (Young Maidens)
14-21 : Bund Deutsche Mädel (League of German Maidens)
League of German Maidens
included similar activities to the Hitler Youth like political activities and character buiding
Alternatively to the Hitler youth Girls were trained to be a housewife
they were also taught the importance of racial hygiene and that they should only marry german men
Did Nazi youth groups acheive their aims?
Some young people were enthusiastic members while others disliked being forced into activities
Some parents felt they were being undermined as the groups taught that loyalty should lie with the NSDAP over their families
Nazio Control of Teachers
headteachers and teachers the NSDAP didnt approve of could be sacked
All teachers had to swear an oath of loyalty
by 1939 over 200k teachers had attended political education courses
Nazi control of Curriculum
new subjects such as race studies added to curriculum
traditional subjects were altered topush nazi ideas
PE time doubled
curriculum differed for boys and girls (girls learned home economics)
Mein kampf made a compulsory school text
Unemployment in 1933
In January 1933, 25% of all people eligible to work were unemployed
unemployment was politically dangerous to hitler as if he coukd not help the unemployed they may begin to support the communist party
Labour service (RAD)
provided paid work for the unemployed
initially voluntary but became mandatory to do a six month service from 1935
422,000 in 1935
unpopular
low rates of pay
very military style
Public works projects
Autobahns
7,000 mile dual carriageway network
125,000 men employed building autobahns by 1935
Other public works included
bridges, coastal walls and sports facilities
created many jobs in the construction industry
Rearmament
Hitler announced conscription in 1935
by 1939 there were 1.36 million men in the armed forces
Hitler increased military spending as he needed more arms and equipment
3.5 billion marks in 1933 to 26 billion in 1939
4000 in air industry in 1933 to 72,000 in 1935
Invisible unemployment
Jews and women weren’t counted on unemployment figures
people in part time work were counted as fully employed
high amounts of people in prisons and concentration camps made unemployment look lower
Changes in the standard of living
wages increased but the price of food increased by a similar amount, negating the increase
the length of the work week went from 43 hours (1933) on average to 49 hours (1939)
The Labour Front (DAF)
replacement to trade unions
DAF set out:
workers right
max working hours
min salary
max working hours went up 6 hours
DAF could punish workers who disrupted production
workers lost right to negotiate with employers
Strength Through Joy (KdF)
provided leisure activities for workers such as sports events, films and even foreign travel
workers encouraged to give 5 marks a week to get their own car, although it never ended up coming
Beauty of Labour (SdA)
campaigned for workers to get better facilities
gave employers tax breaks to help with building costs
however work usually had to be done by employees
Nazi Racial beliefs
Eugenics (selective breeding) became a school subject
reproduction by the ‘best‘ germans was encouraged
Aryan race hailed as superior to all others
children were taugh aryans should only reproduce with other aryans
Slavs
painted as untermenschen
Nazis threatened Slavic countries to the east in search of Lebensraum
slavs were persecuted less than other minorities
‘Gypsies‘
Nazis believed they didnt contribute enough to society
from 1933 some were arrested as ‘public nuisances’
from 1936 some were forced to live in speical camps
in 1938 they were banned from travelling in groups
in 1939 orders were given to deport all ‘Gypsies’
Homosexuals
Nazis Blieved they lowered moral standards
in 1936 4,000 males arrested for homosexuality
in 1938 8,000 were arrested
Nazis encouraged castration
People with disabilities
Law passed in 1933 which made it mandatory for the mentally ill, allcoholics, eplileptics and deaf or blind people to be sterilised
From 1939 babies with severe mental or physicsl disabilities were killed with starvation or through drug overdose
eventually juveniles up to 17 were included
Anti semitism
Jews had different religions and customs that most other people
There was heightened opposition to Germany’s ‘enemies’ after unification in 1871
Jews were scapegoated after ww1
Moderate germans were influenced by Nazi proaganda
Early persecution of Jews
Nazi propaganda calling them Vermin and filth increased
1933: banned from all civil servant jobs and from inheriting land
banned from the army in may 1935
restricted in some public spaces
Official boycott announced in April 1933
The Nuremburg Laws
Jews lost citizenship and had to wear yellow stars
they were banned from having relationships with Germans
From march 1938 they had to register all of their posessions
From july 1938 they had to carry identity cards
Kristallnacht - Buildup
a 17 year old Jew shot a german in Paris
Goebbels used the incident to stir up anti jewish sentiment in Germany
Small scale violence against Jews by the SS and SA begin on the 8th
Kristallnacht
Violence against Jews turned Nationwde
gangs smashed and burned jewish property and attacked jews
814 shops, 171 homes and 191 synagouges destroyed
100 Jews Killed
Jews fined 1 billion marks in the aftermath to pay the damage
