Controlling women

Weimar policies

• No restrictions on appearance

• Allowed to work

• Treated as equals

• Right to vote

The 3 k's

• Kinder = children

• Kuche = kitchen

• Kirche = church

Goebbels view

“ The mission of women is to be beautiful and to bring children into the world“

Marriage and family

• Hitler wanted a high birth rate so the Aryan population would rise

• Introduced the law for the encouragement of marriage which gave newlyweds a loan of 1,000 marks

• Mother's cross = award given to women with large number of children

• Women allowed to volunteer to have a baby for an Aryan SS member

Employment

• Introduction of the law for the reduction of unemployment = gave women financial incentives to stay home

• Not conscripting women until 1943

• However, between 1933-1939 employment rose by 2.4 million

Appearance

• Women expected to emulate traditional German peasant fashion

• This meant plain peasant costumes, hair in plaits or buns and flat shoes

• Not expected to wear makeup, trousers, dye hair or smoke

• Discouraged from staying slim - thought slim women had trouble giving birth