Woman in Nazi Germany

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  • Created by: llizzie
  • Created on: 27-05-15 08:30

Women in Weimar Germany

Things were better for women during the Weimar Republic;

  • over 20yo could vote
  • 20 females in Reichstag
  • more likely to work
  • often paid equally to men
  • enjoyed more social activities
  • freedom in fashion
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Nazi view of women

To be good mothers;

  • stay healthy
  • learn how to cook/needle work
  • marry Aryan men
  • have children, bring them up as `good Germans`
  • prioritise domestic matters
  • no make-up, trousers, dye or perm hair
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Nazi policies

Nazi organisiation; The German Women`s Enterprise

-organised classes, radio talks etc

-teaching good mothership:

  • encouraged women to leave work
  • 3 K`s; church, kitchen and children
  • professional women forced to leave jobs (free up jobs for men)
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Marriage and childbirth

The birthrate was falling under Nazi rule, introduced policies to reversr this:

1933- Encouragement of Marriage Law, encouraged marriage/large families

  • loans given to encourage young couples to marry(wife had to leave work)
  • first 4 children kept some of loan

The Mother`s Cross, encouraged large families

  • medals were distributed to women for the number of children they had e.g. 8+ children was worth a gold medal

1935- Lenbensborn(fountain of life) programme, encouraged childbirth 

  • provided nurseries and financial aid to ** men`s wifes
  • later made `single women available for fertilisation by ** men`, `genetically pure` children for adoption 
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End of 1930s

Late 1930s: industry expanding so fast, ready for war, the Nazi`s needed some women to work, some earlier policies reversed

-more women worked in the early 1920s than late 1930s

Hitler thoight these policies were fair;

  • some women who`d progressed from Weimar Republic stongly opposed, joined Social Democrats and Communists 
  • many women accepted the policies, especially those with more traditional values of themselves

During WW2;

  • women needed in factories, men needed to fight etc
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