Transcript women in nazi germany

Women in Nazi Germany
Learning Objective: To understand
Nazi attitudes and policies towards
women and how successful these
were
Starter:
• Look at this image,
what does this suggest
about what the Nazi’s
believed was the ideal
woman?
Think about
• Role in life suggested
• Appearance of the
woman
• Setting/background to
the image
http://www.youtube.com
/watch?v=zvCZQXQsj
5M&feature=related
What do you think is meant by…
Children, Church, Kitchen
This phrase was often used by the Nazis to describe
their vision of what life for women should be like.
As the lesson progresses, see how far they succeeded in
creating this vision of a virtuous, domestic and family
orientated lifestyle for women within Germany.
Virtuous - Having good qualities. Being morally good.
Domestic - Spending a lot of time living and working in the home
It wasn’t just any type of
women wanted……….
Women….
 Were wives and mothers- had large families, four plus
children
 Did not go to work
 Aryan-blonde hair, heavy hipped, athletic, full skirt,
flat heels, no make up
 Domesticated- thrifty (cook using leftovers)
 Dressed with home produced clothes
 Behaved in a ‘womanly and motherly’ way- no smoking,
dying hair, fashion clothes, make up etc.
 Good Nazi mothers- raised their children as loyal
Nazis
What does Hitler mean when he states that
‘man’s world is the State?’
Women, as a distinct social group, had a clearly defined
place in the Nazi world. In a rally at Nuremberg in 1934
Hitler said that ‘man’s world is the State’, while the
‘world of woman is a smaller world. For her world is her
husband, her family, her children and her house.’
Stephen Lee, The European Dictatorships 1918-1945 (Routledge, 1987)
According to the Nazis how were the roles of men and
women different?
Why do you think that Goebbels refers to the animal world?
In 1929, Goebbels stated: ‘The mission of women is
to be beautiful and to bring children into the
world. This is not at all as.........un-modern as it
sounds. The female bird preens herself for her
mate and hatches eggs for him. In exchange, the
male takes care of gathering food, and stands
guard and wards off the enemy.’
What is woman’s role within society (the ‘mission of women’)
according to Goebbels?
A speech made by Hitler in 1935
The granting of equal rights to women, which Marxism
demands, in reality does not grant equal rights … it instead
constitutes a deprivation of rights, since it draws women
into realms of society where they are inferior. The woman
has her own battlefield. With every child that she brings
into the world, she fights her battle for the nation
What is woman’s role within society according to Hitler?
An advertisement in a German newspaper, 1936.
52 year old doctor. Fought in Great War. Wishes to
settle down. Wants a male child through marriage to a
young, healthy, virgin, Aryan woman. She should be
undemanding, used to heavy work, not a spender, with
flat heels, without earrings, if possible without money.
Why do you think that he wanted to get married?
Can you think of a reason why the doctor would prefer a
woman ‘without money’?
Do you think the Nazis would approve or disapprove of this
advert?
Do you think you would be allowed to place this advert in a
newspaper today?
How did the Nazis try to ‘ease’ women out of the workplace?
The initial policy was to ease women out of the top
levels of the civil service, law, medicine and politics.
Women were induced to stay at home by new ‘marriage
credits’ and child bonuses. Loans were given out to newly
married couples – the equivalent of a years wages – to
encourage them to have children. On the birth of a first
child, they could keep a quarter of the money. By the
fourth, the loan was paid off.
Stephen Lee, The European Dictatorships 1918-1945 (Routledge, 1987)
How did the Nazis encourage women to obey his aims?
Do you think he would have been successful?
The Lebensborn Flag
This flag was displayed
above homes known as
Lebensborn – the
Spring of Life. Some
called them maternity
homes – others called
them brothels!
Unmarried women could
visit and stay there with
the aim of becoming
pregnant by one of
Hitler’s ‘racially pure’
soldiers.
Task: Use pp.286-287 in Walsh and pp. 6465 in Wilkes to complete the diagram
What was life
like for
women in Nazi
Germany?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZHM4EksW14&list=PL8DC9688AFAEDC4D8
In other words……….
Nazi’s believed in the
traditional role of
women- that they should be
wives and mothers. They
intended that women’s role
(Aryan women) was to have
children and stay at home
to look after them
However, in 1937
the Nazi’s had to
rethink some of
their policies
towards women. As
men were joining the
army and Germany
re-armed women
were needed in the
factories and labour
market- so some
women went back to
Work after all
Women who had
jobs like Doctors,
lawyers and judges
were sacked.
Women were
discouraged from
getting qualifications
and professional
jobs
What was life like
for
women in Nazi
Germany?
They introduced the
Honour cross of German
Mothers on the celebration
of Hitler’s mother.
these women were awarded
medals. Women with
8 children got the gold
cross
Contraception
and
abortion
was banned.
Women were banned
from wearing make up and
smoking because it was
considered unladylike.
wearing make up, trousers
and high heels was
discouraged
Women were
encouraged and
bribed with offers
of money to have
children. Loans
were given to the
newly married
couples to persuade
them to have
Children and women
to leave their jobs
especially middle
class professional
women
They set up the Nazi Women’s
Bureau headed by Gertrude
Scholtz Klink- it helped women
To be better mothers and support
The Nazis i.e winter aid.
What is the message of
this poster?
Think about the meaning
of these areas
The National Socialist
German Workers Party
safeguards the National
Community
The Party ensures
togetherness of the
people in the Community.
The eagle represents
the Nazi Party.
Notice that its wings
are wrapped around
the family suggesting
the family are being
protected.
The eagle looks very
powerful.
The father is shown as
the head of the family.
He rises above his family
with his shirt sleeves
rolled up. He is the
worker protecting the
family.
His arms are wrapped
around the family,
further suggesting he is
looking after them.
The mother is shown with
a scarf holding her hair
back – as if she has been
carrying out domestic
chores.
She is gently cradling
her baby and looks both
healthy and happy to be
surrounded by her family.
The baby provides the
central focus of the poster.
All of the children conform
to the Aryan ideal (blonde
hair and fresh complexion,
etc). The little girl is close
to the mother, and the boy
next to his father. They are
portrayed as a happy family,
with the baby illustrating
that this is a growing family.
Comrades, if you need
help and assistance ask
your local branch of
the NSDAP
So, how successful were Nazi
policies towards women?
Nazi policy towards
Nazi policy towards
women was successful women was a failure
Was Nazi policy towards women confused?
Nazi policy towards
Nazi policy towards
women was successful women was a failure
•
•
•
•
•
Lots of women in Germany were
•
already traditional- they
accepted Nazi ideas about women.
Many women were keen
supporters- life was good for
some Aryan women (safer, money, •
husbands had jobs)
Some women fully embraced the
idea and were role models to
others like Gertrude Scholtz
Klink
All other women groups were
dissolved and absorbed by the
Nazi women’s equivalents.
In 1936 there were 30% more
births than there were in 1933
(successful policies?)
800,000 newly married women
took up the Nazi offer to return
to the home in favour of money
Professional women resented their
exclusion and they didn’t manage to
get rid of all women from the
professions- there were still women
teachers, nurses and doctors
They didn’t manage to get all women
to return to the home, in fact more
women were needed to work- it was
claimed they just did less skilled
work than before.
•
More women went to work as the
1930s progressed. 11million in 1933
to 12.7million in 1939
•
Not all women were supporters- in
1938 they set up a concentration
camp for women called Ravensbruk
•
Despite trying to get women to stay
at home, statistics show that
around 20,000 women went to
university in 1934.
Exam Practise
How successful were Nazi policies towards
women? (10) (June 2010)
Write out a plan for this
question
Follow the example below
• Introduction- make a judgement and answer the
Q- how successful were policies towards women?
• Point one: Explain one way that policy was successful
• Point two (and three) explain two other ways that
Nazi women policy was successful
• On the other hand, the Nazi’s were not completely
successful………… Explain a way they were not
successful
• Now explain two other reasons
• Conclusion with a judgement- answer the Q
Mark scheme
•
•
•
Level 1 General answer lacking specific contextual knowledge (1-2
marks)
Level 2 Identifies AND/OR describes reasons about treatment (24 marks)
Level 3 Explains success OR failure (4-6) (Developed explanation
to be given two marks within L3 and L4)
The Nazi’s were successful in encouraging women to return to the
home. In 1933 the Nazi’s introduced the Law for the Reduction of
Unemployment. This encouraged young married women to leave
their jobs, in return for cheap loans that would be paid off when
they had children. This was successful because 800,000 women
took up this offer and returned to the home.
•
•
Level 4 Explains success AND failure(6-9) (both sides)
Level 5 Conclusion at the end that answers ‘how far’ (9-10)
Loans given to
encourage women to
leave work. These did
not have to be paid
back after 4 children.
Medals were
given to women
with at least 4
children
Plenary…
Propaganda
Contraception
and abortion was
made illegal.