CIE IGCSE History - Life in Nazi Germany

what were Nazi aims for youth?

• to turn youth into committed, loyal Nazis

• to prevent death of the party - ensure future stability for 1000 years

• to educate youth in the Nazi cause/indoctrinate them

• to prepare youth physically for war

who was the Hitler Youth for?

boys and girls aged 10-18

what subsections of the Hitler Youth were there?

• girls 10-14: Young Girls’ League

• girls 14-18: League of German Maidens

• boys 10-14: German Youngsters in the Hitler Youth

• boys 14-18: Hitler Youth

what happened in the Hitler Youth?

• camps were held

• lectures on Nazi ideas and policy held

• lots of physical activity

who was the leader of the Hitler Youth?

Schirach

how was membership of the HJ regulated?

• all other youth organisations banned

• membership heavily encouraged

what was the key aim of the Hitler Youth (HJ)?

to keep youth away from their families for as long as possible to prevent them being taught non-Nazi ideas

how did membership of the HJ change from 1933-38?

increased from 30% of youth to 82%

what was the curriculum like in Nazi Germany?

• focus on PE - 15% of time

• biology - eugenics and racial theory

• history - wrongs of Jews and Communists, injustices at the ToV

• geography - lebensraum

• girls also had domestic science and marital eugenics lessons

why did the Nazis change the school curriculum?

• to prepare for war

• to indoctrinate youth

what Nazi organisation was set up for teachers?

Nationalist Socialist Teacher’s league

what did Nazi teachers have to do?

teach Nazi ideals

what percentage of teachers joined the Nationalist Socialist Teacher’s league?

97%

what special schools were set up?

• Napolas - for educating future political and military leaders - focussed on education

• Adolf Hitler Schools - for educating future political and military leaders - focussed on indoctrination

which group was not allowed to go to school in Nazi Germany?

jews

was Nazi youth policy a success?

• yes - HJ membership, only a few children involved in resistance

• no - resistance emerged

what were Nazi aims towards women?

• wanted women to have lots of healthy children who were able to populate Greater Germany and increase the declining birth rate

• wanted to have loyal women

• wanted women to bring up loyal Nazi children

• wanted to reverse weimar idea of free/emancipated women

how many female doctors were there in weimar germany?

3000

what policies did the Nazis have towards women originally?

• contraception and abortion illegal

• set up Nationalist Socialist women’s league

• young women encouraged to stop smoking

• mothercraft classes provided

• Honour Crosses of the German Mother (1933) awarded - differing levels for differing numbers of children

• marriage loans - financial incentive for women to leave the workforce and get married

what were the outcomes of Nazi policy towards women’s labour?

• as men joined the army, Nazis needed women to join the workforce - did not have enough

• abolished marriage loans

• introduced a compulsory ‘duty year’ - worked on a farm or as a nanny in return for bed and board

• in 1939 less women were working than in Weimar although more than 1933

how many women joined the German Armed Forces in some capacity by the end of WW2?

500,000

how did marriage and divorce rates change in Nazi Germany?

• both increased from 1933-39

• divorce actually encouraged for couples with no children - allowed to divorce and remarry in order to have more children (1938)

how did births change from 1933 to 1939?

• absolute: 1 million → 1.5 million

• rate: 14.7 per 1000 → 20.3

what was the ‘lebensborn’ programme?

a programme where unmarried women could go and get pregnant with ‘racially pure’ SS men

how did women view Nazi policies towards them?

• many appreciated the recognition of their motherly work

• women felt safe and supported the Nazis

• however, some disliked due to not being allowed to work, particularly in high-skilled professions - lost weimar freedoms, and the focus on motherhood