Germany: Democracy to Dictatorship 1890-1945

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what was Germany like before WW1?

  • was a constitutional monarchy

  • before unification of Germany in 1871, Prussia was the most powerful German state → militarism v important to them (had good army + weaponry)

  • when Germany was unified, Prussian army formed basis of new German army

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constitutional monarchy

form of government where the monarch is head of state, but the law-making process is undertaken by an elected government

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bundesrat

  • federal council (representatives from each German state)

  • introduced laws to the Bundestag and power to approve them

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kaiser wilhelm

  • 1888-1918 (abdicated)

  • dreamed of making Germany as great as Britain (large empire)

    • began building Germany’s industry → industrialisation

    • by 1913 → making as much steel + coal as Britain

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kaiser’s personality

  • frequently changed his mind + unpredictable

  • hurried + reckless decisions

  • v competitive with Britain

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growth of socialism (problem within Germany)

  • success of German industry made some very rich but many workers were unhappy because their wages were low, working conditions were bad + food was £££ → many people joined trade unions

  • SDP (socialism) grew as workers wanted equal power + wealth

    • ~ 1 in 3 Germans voted for the SDP

  • some people more extreme → wanted to rebel against kaiser

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social reforms

  • rise for support of SDP troubled the kaiser + others

  • Bismarck introduced several liberal reforms to reduce support for the SPD + pushed through laws to weaken their influence

  • however a number of social reforms were also passed to improve workers’ lives + keep them happy:

    • 1891 - the Social Law banned Sunday working and the employment of children under 13

    • 1900 - the length of time accident insurance could be claimed for was increased

    • 1901 - industrial arbitration courts were introduced to settle disputes between workers and employers

    • 1903 - health insurance was extended and further restrictions were placed on child labour

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weltpolitik (world policy)

  • kaiser wanted an empire abroad + to transform Germany into a global power

    • late 1800s → Germany took over other nations, mostly Africa

    • wanted ‘a place in the sun’

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weaknesses of parliamentary govt

  • chancellor had to stay in the kaiser's good books → could be dismissed

  • 25 individual states controlled income tax → central govt struggled to raise enough tax to cover spending

  • poor living + working conditions ignored

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influence of Prussian militarism

  • army was led by Prussian officers, who reported directly to the Emperor

  • Prussia provided 17 out of 58 representatives in the Bundesrat → 14 votes needed to veto any laws passed by the Bundestag

  • Germany’s legal system, civil service and diplomatic corps were dominated by powerful Prussian noble landholders, known as the Junkers

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industrialisation (problem within Germany)

  • poor workers’ conditions bc of industrialisation

  • made more people support SDP

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chancellor Bismarck

  • is dismissed as the kaiser thinks he is too powerful

  • appoints ‘yes men’ → agree with everything he says → not the best decision as he does not get good advice

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naval laws

  • passed 5 naval laws from 1888-1914, 38 battle ships by 1900

    • did this to turn Germany into a world power by building an overseas empire

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positives of naval laws

  • pleased the kaiser, who was determined that Germany would become a world power

  • increased support for the kaiser and his government by appealing to German people’s sense of patriotism

    • won the govt support from a majority of deputies in the Reichstag

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negatives of naval laws (problems with Germany + other countries)

  • German government’s budget went into deficit as it spent more money on the army, the navy and its new colonies → national debt grew to 490 billion marks by 1913

    • taxes increased to pay for development of navy

  • threatened Britain’s navy → started an arms race with them as both sides built massive dreadnought battleships → worse relationship

  • increased opposition from socialists → thought it was a waste of money

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life in Germany during WW1 (hope)

while life was hard, people were hopeful that they would win the war → made defeat hard to accept for German soldiers → blamed democratic politicians, communists + Jews for having stabbed Germany in the back

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British blockade

  • British used their large navy to stop supply ships getting to Germany → terrible shortages of food, medicines and clothing → people grew weary and tired of it (war weariness)

  • 1918 → surviving on turnips + bread

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war weariness

  • 1915 → 500 women gathered in front of the German parliament buildings and said that they wanted their men back from the trenches

  • 1916 → 10,000 workers assembled in Berlin to shout, ‘Down with war, down with the government!’. The police quickly moved in to make arrests and calm the situation

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high taxes

  • Germany were in debt + needed money for the naval ships

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flu epidemic

  • 1918 → deadly flu epidemic, killing 1000s who were already weak from a poor diet

  • made worse bc of blockade → lack of food + medicine

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kaiser’s abdication

  • in early 1918, Germany were given a chance to surrender by America → kaiser rejected this

    • oct 1918 → sailors at Kiel mutinied, refusing to follow orders to attack British ships → some soldiers supported this

    • 1918 → kaiser forced to abdicate as support for his govt collapsed

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impact of WW1 by 1918

  • govt debt

  • families w/o fathers faced poverty → 60,000 war widows + 2 million children w/o fathers

  • division between rich + poor → factory owners benefitted from production, workers had restrictions of wages

  • support for communism → wanting equal wages

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treaty of Versailles

  • allies met in 1919 at Versailles, Germany not invited but presented with a diktat → rejection of this would have re-started the war

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what did German people hope for?

  • hoped for a fair treaty

  • hoped that after the kaiser’s abdication, countries would want to treat the new democratic govt in Germany more fairly

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what did Germany get?

  • people were horrified at the terms

  • Germany not allowed to join LoN

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why did they get such harsh conditions?

  • France + Britain wanted to seriously weaken Germany

    • France had been devastated bc of trench warfare + wanted revenge

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who got the blame?

  • most Germans did not blame the kaiser

    • blamed the new leaders of the Weimar Republic → called them November Criminals

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terms of the ToV (LAMB)

Land

  • overall, Germany lost 10% of it’s land, 13% of it’s population

  • this included all of its overseas colonies (German empire)

  • also lost 26% of its coal resources with this

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terms of the ToV (LAMB)

Armed forces

  • Germany not allowed any tanks, submarines or an air force

  • navy could only have 6 battleships

  • army reduced to 100,000 men

  • conscription banned

this was mostly done to make other nations feel safer as Germany’s armed forces were previously seen as a major threat.

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terms of the ToV (LAMB)

Money

  • Germany forced to pay reparations → £6.6 billion

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terms of the ToV (LAMB)

Blame

  • ToV contained a ‘war guilt’ clause → Germany accepted full responsibility for all the damage + devastation caused during WW1

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establishment of weimar republic

  • 1919-1933 → voted into power

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positives of weimar republic

  • all men and women over the age of 20 were able to vote

  • German citizens elected the President and the Reichstag (Parliament)

    • Reichstag made the laws and appointed the government

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negatives of weimar republic

  • proportional representation → meant that extreme parties could still get into the Reichstag (nazis later on) + also since there were so many parties, it was difficult to agree on things

  • article 48 → in an emergency, the President could take control of Germany and issue laws and decrees → would potentially allow for a dictatorship to develop

    • unstable govts since there were so many

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1919 Spartacist Uprising (threat from the left)

  • Rosa Luxemburg + Karl Liebnecht (from Spartacists: Germany’s communist party)

  • tried to take over Berlin → wanted a communist revolution after the kaiser’s abdication

    • tried to organise mass strike

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was this a threat?

  • not that much of a threat, poorly organised + failed

  • crushed in 5 days by Freikorps (ex-WW1 soldiers paid by govt)

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1920 Kapp Putsch (threat from the the right)

  • extreme nationalist Dr Wolfgang Kapp, 5000 Freikorps → attempted revolution after ToV → hated November Criminals + democracy

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was this a threat?

  • would have succeeded if it were not for the workers in Berlin going on strike + refusing to help the Freikorps

  • Weimar Republic fled Berlin

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1923 Occupation of the Ruhr

  • 60,000 French + Belgium troops marched into Ruhr to take goods such as coal

  • seized control of mines, factories + railways

  • Germans reacted with passive resistance → went on strike and refused to make the goods that the French + Belgium wanted

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was this a threat?

  • quite a big threat

  • worsened Germany’s already bad economy

  • less support for the govt

  • caused hyperinflation → govt printed more money to pay striking workers

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1923 Hyperinflation

  • printed more money to pay workers

  • prices rose massively

  • jan 1919 → $1 = 9 marks

    nov 1923 → $1 = 200bn marks

  • German mark became practically worthless

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was this a threat?

  • large threat

  • major food shortages → starvation

  • crime increased

  • middle class suffered greatly → lost all savings → resentment

  • turned people away from govt

    • BUT Stresemann creates new currency (Rentenmark)

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1923 Munich/Beer Hall Putsch

  • Nazis, led by Hitler + army general Ludendorff held an important politician (von Kahr) at gunpoint + forced him to declare his support for the Nazis

  • marched to centre of Munich expecting to take control of city → poorly planned, easily defeated → Hitler sentenced to 5 yrs in prison

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consequences

  • short term failure

  • long term success

    • Hitler’s speech against corrupt + weak govt gained reputation → good publicity

    • used death of the 16 nazis as propaganda

    • sentence went down to 9 months

    • wrote Mein Kampf while in prison

    • Hitler reconsidered tactics → taking power legally

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was this a threat?

  • quite a big threat in the long term

  • NSDAP gained more votes

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Stresemann era (golden years)

  • 1924-28 → recovery of the Weimar republic

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cultural achievements

  • Bauhaus movement gained international attention in architecture

  • in cities, nightclubs + cabarets became popular

  • shows criticised politicians + discussed sex → freedom of speech

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cultural weaknesses

  • many (more traditional) people disapproved of the new open culture

  • saw Berlin as sleazy, corrupt + sex-obsessed

  • people who wanted more trad. German culture joined the Wandervogel movement → hikes + camping, simple way of life

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political achievements

  • poor election results for communists + nazis → 1928, SDP joined a govt coalition with parties committed to the WR

    • showed middle class were not suspicious of socialists

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political weaknesses

  • 1925 → Hindenburg criticised the WR → weak support

  • huge instability, govts had to form coalitions to add together votes → could not make agreements

    • 25 govts in 14 years

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foreign policy achievements

Locarno Treaty, 1925

  • Stresemann accepted Germany’s western (not eastern) borders

  • all countries decided to renounce the use of invasion and force, except in self-defence

  • reassured France about its borders and Germany about any French invasion/occupation, as had happened in 1923

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foreign policy achievements pt2

Joining the LoN, 1926

  • Stresemann steered Germany into LoN

  • status as great power recognised + was given a permanent seat on the League’s Council → had power to veto decisions

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foreign policy achievements pt3

Young Plan, 1929 → better economic growth

  • payments reduced from £6.6bn to £2bn

  • length of time Germany had to pay was extended to 59 years

  • reparations reduced to 37,000 million marks

  • Germany had to pay of the amount required each year as part of a compulsory agreement – about $157 million

  • other only had to be paid if Germany could afford to do so in a manner that would not harm her economic development

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foreign policy weaknesses

  • some people wanted to completely get rid of the ToV, not just have it revised

  • Locarno Pact made permanent the land that was lost under the Treaty of Versailles

  • number of troops were still limited, therefore Germany still felt weak and defenceless

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economic achievements

  • Dawes Plan, 1924 → Germany was lent 800 million marks by USA to help economy recover

  • economic growth → 1928, industrial production surpassed pr-WW1 levels

    • 1930 → Germany was one of the world’s leading exporters of manufactured goods

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economic weaknesses

  • Dawes Plan → Germany’s economy became dependent on the loans from USA, they could be withdrawn at any time

  • unemployment

  • some sectors in trouble, e.g. farming

  • extremes of wealth + poverty

  • concentration of power in hands of few industrialists who ran more than half of Germany’s industry

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impact of the depression

  • wall street crash 1929 → US banks recall loans → German firms go bankrupt (dependency on Dawes Plan) → unemployment rises → less money to spend → demand for German goods fall

  • wall street crash → foreign countries do not want to invest in businesses → decline in world trade → demand for German goods fall

  • Weimar dealt with it badly → raised taxes + refused to print more money

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how many unemployed during the depression?

6 million Germans unemployed by 1933

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nazi strengths

  • Hitler’s leadership + order

    • decisive leader, skilled at creating simple messages

    • Munich putsch speech famous → trust in Hitler

    • Nazi rallies well planned + ran smoothly

  • Nazi opposition to communism

    • Nazi SAs broke up communist meetings and attacked their offices

    • gained support as many were worried about rising support for communism

  • Nazi scapegoating minority groups

    • blamed Jews, November criminals + communists

    • most people accepted this as it was easy to put blame onto other people + also were worried about communism

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nazi strengths pt2

  • Nazis were traditional

    • rejected new Weimar culture + USA influence

    • agreed with conservative Germans who thought foreign ideas were influencing German culture too much

  • Nazi propaganda + campaigning won them votes

    • Hitler travelled widely + Goebbels exploited new tech to spread Nazi views

    • Nazis owned 120 daily or weekly newspapers

    • Hitler also made speeches at mass rallies + on radio

  • Nazis promised they would make Germany great again

    • said they would overturn the ToV + invade lebensraum in the east

    • people hated having to pay reparations when they were already poor → Weimar had betrayed people ‘November Criminals’

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nazi strengths pt3

  • won support due to depression

    • promised ‘work and bread’

    • 1928: 12 seats

      1932: 230 seats

    • planned to create jobs

  • problems with Weimar democracy

    • proportional representation = weak coalition governments → no party strong enough to challenge Nazis

    • Nazis promised strong leadership

    • President Hindenburg had to start running Germany using Article 48 (emergency powers) which was unpopular → Nazis organised + strong

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role of the SA

  • marched through rallies → appeared organised + disciplined

  • violence against opposition (e.g. communists)

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how did Hitler become chancellor in 1933?

Fear of communism

Leadership

Opposition weakness

Propaganda

Political deal

Economic problems

Depression

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political deal 1933

April - Presidential election → Hitler came second to Hindenburg, who won 53 per cent of the vote to Hitler’s 36.8 per cent.

May - Brüning’s government became very unpopular and he resigned → Hindenburg appointed von Papen

July - Reichstag elections → Nazis became largest single party w/ 230 seats, still did not have a majority → Hitler demanded to be made Chancellor but von Papen remained

November - von Papen forced to call another Reichstag election to win a majority in parliament.

  • Nazis lost 34 seats but remained the largest party with 196 seats.

  • von Papen suggested abolishing the Weimar constitution → Kurt von Schleicher (Minister of Defence) persuading Hindenburg that if this happened there could be a civil war

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political deal pt2

December - von Papen resigned → von Schleicher made Chancellor + tried to split the Nazis by asking a leading Nazi called Gregor Strasser to be his Vice Chancellor, Hitler forced Strasser to decline.

  • von Schleicher also could not get the majority in the reichstag

January 1933 - von Papen agreed a deal with Hitler (political scheming) and persuaded Hindenburg to allow a Hitler/Papen government to be formed

  • Hitler appointed as Chancellor of Germany with von Papen as Vice Chancellor on 30th Jan 1933

  • von Papen claimed that Hitler could be controlled as Chancellor

  • both Hindenburg + von Papen underestimated Hitler

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how did Hitler go from chancellor to dictator?

Political parties banned

Army oath

Night of the Long Knives

Trade unions banned

Hindenburg’s death

Enabling act

Reichstag fire

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Political parties banned

  • July 1933

  • Law Against the Formation of Parties banned any party other than the Nazis → impossible for the Nazis to lose power

    • this is a consequence of the Enabling Act

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Army oath

  • August 1934

  • allowed Hitler to use the army, which was much more organised + powerful than the SA to become führer

  • agreed to stay out of politics + serve Hitler

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Night of the Long Knives reasons

  • 100,000 army men vs 2.5million SA

  • Hitler wanted the support of the army as they were better trained + disciplined → SA were working class + anti capitalist (opposite of army) → made the army suspicious of them + Nazis in general

  • Hitler also feared Röhm’s control over the army + was worried they would get out of hand

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Night of the Long Knives

  • June 1934

  • squads of SS men broke into the houses of Röhm + other leading figures + arrested them

  • Hitler accused Röhm of conspiring against him → Röhm + 400 others executed

  • army was satisfied → army oath

  • used this opportunity to also kill critic von Schleicher

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Trade unions banned

  • May 1933

  • meant that workers could not join together to oppose Nazis in a strike

  • Länder (regional parliaments representing 18 different stats of Germany) also banned

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Hindenburg’s death

  • August 1934

  • Hitler combined role of Chancellor + President and became supreme leader (Führer) of Germany

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Enabling act

  • March 1933

  • promised to protect Catholic rights → Centre’s party leader advocated that the Catholic party should support Enabling bill

  • however SDP planned to boycott votes for the EA to be passed by not showing up → President of the Reichstag Hermann Goering introduced a new procedure that any absent member would be in favour

  • also a lot of intimidation in the small Opera House

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Enabling act pt2

  • more votes in favour + Hindenburg also agreed to it

  • gave full powers to the Cabinet, more specifically the Chancellor (Hitler) to enforce emergency powers w/o needing the consent of the Reichstag or the President

  • July 1933 → signed Concordat with Pope → stopped political activity of German priests that may oppose Hitler in return for Hitler’s promise to protect the status of the Catholic Church in Germany

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Reichstag fire

  • February 1933

  • news came that the Reichstag building had been set on fire → inside building, police found Dutch communist van der Lubbe → he was arrested

  • allowed Hitler to use this as evidence that communists were plotting against his govt

  • Goering’s Prussian police imprisoned 4000 communist leaders

  • more people voted for the Nazis in march 1933 election BUT nazis still not the majority

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Reichstag fire pt2

  • Hitler persuaded Hindenburg to pass an emergency decree, suspending all articles regarding freedom → gave police emergency powers to search houses, confiscate property + detain people → could round up political opponents + send them to CCs

  • since the Reichstag building was gone, Hitler used the Kroll Opera House → small enough to make any SA presence look very menacing → intimidating Reichstag members

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how did Hitler get rid of unemployment?

  • creation of massive public work programmes → building of the autobahns (German motorways), schools, hospitals etc. → millions of men given jobs here although they were paid poorly

  • RAD (National Labour Service) 1935 → men 18-25 made to join this for 6 months → did hard manual labour

    • armed forces increased from 100,000 → 1,400,000

  • all workers joined the DAF (German Labour Front) →

    controlled workers + settled disputes between them and their employers → BUT no rights for workers (not strikes/protests)

  • Beauty of Labour → to help Germans see that work was good + that everyone who could work should

    • encouraged factory owners to improve conditions for workers.

  • KDF (Strength through Joy) organisation set up to organise leisure time of workers → cheap theatre tickets, cruises, skiing holidays + saving up for VW Beetles → encouraged them to work harder

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autarky (self-sufficiency)

  • Hitler wanted Germany to be completely self-sufficient → not relying on international trade w other countries for any raw materials

  • created jobs

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rearmament

  • huge increase in manufacturing arms + army

  • created jobs

  • decreased unemployment bc men forced to join military

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how were jobs created for non-Jewish men?

  • women + Jewish people fired

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new plan 1933-35

  • control imports to try and make Germany more self-sufficient

  • reduce unemployment by creating work

  • mostly successful as unemployment reduced → HOWEVER in 1935, Hitler demanded an increase in speed of production → Schact (economist who introduced it) said this couldn’t be done w/o damaging economy → sacked + ended up in a CC

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four year plan 1936

  • implemented by Hermann Göring

  • production of oil, rubber, textiles + fuel increased → industry more focused

  • longer working hours + forced labour to achieve this

  • somewhat successful → production of military goods increased, HOWEVER it was impossible to make Germany an autarky

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did Hitler fulfil his promise on reducing unemployment?

  • yes → 6 million unemployed to 0.5 million in 1939

  • HOWEVER invisible unemployment:

    • Jewish people

    • women

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did Hitler achieve his goal on rearmament?

  • yes → production largely focused on weapons instead of consumer goods

  • 1936 → ⅔ of govt spending went on rearmament

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did Hitler achieve his goal on autarky?

  • no → measures introduced, such as tighter controls on imports and subsidies for farmers to produce more food, were not successful

  • by the outbreak of WW2, Germany was still importing 20% of its food + 33% of its raw materials

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did Nazi economic policies actually work?

  • YES:

    • Big businesses - Rearmament from 1935 onwards boosted profits of big weapons companies + managers of the major industrial companies saw their incomes rise by 50% from 1933-1939

    • Farmers - 1937, agricultural prices had increased by 20% + agricultural wages rose more quickly than those in industry

  • NO:

    • Small businesses - 20% of small business closed → many Jewish small businesses also forced to close

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did living conditions improve?

  • for those not working in the rearmament sector, not really

  • from 1933-39:

    • wages fell

    • number of hours worked rose by 15%

    • serious accidents in factories increased

    • workers could be blacklisted by employers for questioning their working conditions

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how was the Nazi police state run? (fear + intimidation)

methods of control:

  • informers + block wardens

  • SS + the Gestapo

  • concentration camps

  • police, judges + law courts

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informers + block wardens

  • each town divided into blocks

  • block wardens (local Nazis) visited them weekly, checking up on them + collecting donations

  • acted as eyes + ears of party

    • could report anyone doing the slightest ant-Nazi actions (e.g. not waving a Nazi flag on celebration day)

  • network of informers

  • children in Hitler Youth were expected to spy on parents + neighbours

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SS + the Gestapo

  • SS → Schutz-Staffel, protection squad

    • 5000 Aryan ‘supermen’

    • terrorising + intimidating into obedience

    • almost unlimited power

    • ran CCs

    • lead by Himmler

  • Gestapo → state police

    • spying, arrested any opposition

    • could arrest at any time

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concentration camps

  • in 1933, were mainly used for prisons

    • 1941 onwards → were used as death camps

  • some specialised in specific kinds of prisoners e.g. political

  • questioning, torture, ‘re-education’, hard labour

  • lied to families about prisoners’ deaths

  • later became scenes of mass genocide

  • especially for opponents

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police, judges + law courts

  • took control of legal systems

  • police under control of SS

  • judges took an oath of loyalty to Hitler

  • courts could be used by Nazis against opponents

  • number of crimes punishable by death:

    • 1933: 3

    • 1943: 46

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how were women affected by the Nazis?

  • many of their liberties during the Weimar period were lost → had to be modest, simple, feminine + motherly

  • ‘mother’s cross’ → medal awarded for how many children they had

  • smoking + drinking rejected for women.

  • 1933-36 → married women banned from top professions

    • 15% of all teachers + female doctors + civil servants sacked

  • Kinder, Küche, Kirche

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how were women affected by the Nazis? pt2

  • Lebensborn - women could ‘donate’ a baby to the Führer by becoming pregnant by racially pure SS men

  • 1936 - 30%+ more births than in 1933

  • 1939 - over 1 million live births

  • Law for the Encouragement of Marriage - gave newlywed couples a loan of 1,000 marks, and allowed them to keep 250 marks for each child they had

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what happened to women’s employment in 1937?

  • compulsory duty year → to help prepare for war

  • women’s employment actually grew by 2.4million during 1933 and 1936 → cheaper labour, women still needed on the workforce

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Hitler’s aim?

the idea that his 3rd Reich would last for 1000 years

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how did Hitler control children?

  • through indoctrination into Nazi ideology → taught about Aryan superiority + the inferior race (Jewish)

  • changed education so children would be taught according to Nazi ideology

  • raised young boys to be soldiers

  • raised young girls to be mothers

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Hitler Youth

  • began in 1926

  • gave children an opportunity to socialise + lead

  • aim → to prepare German boys to be future soldiers

  • boys wore military-style uniforms

  • activities centred on physical exercise and rifle practice + political indoctrination

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League of German Maidens

  • began in 1930

  • learned the basics of domestic life + child bearing skills

  • taught at an early age that their place in society was to raise children + keep homes

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evidence for successful control

  • 1933 → 100,000 members

    • 1936 → 4 million members, BUT also became compulsory

  • Hitler coming to power → youth movements abolished → HY grew quickly

  • indoctrination of children

  • occupied young peoples’ time