Nazi Society

1
What Was German Society Like Under The Nazis?
2
The Three Ks
Kinder
Kirche
Kuche
What do you think was the role of women in Nazi
Germany?
3
The Role of Women
For Hitler, a womens purpose was to extend the
German race. Women were taught to be proud of
their bodies and to be satisfied with life as a
homemaker. Here is a quote from a principal of a
German girls school every class in school was
built around the course called Frauenschaffen,
activities of women. This general subject was
divided into Handarbeit (handwork),
Hauswirtschaft (domestic science and gardening),
and most important, the Pflege course (eugenics
and hygiene, devoted to a study of the
reproductive organsconception, birth, racial
purity, infant care)the Fuhrer wanted the girls
to feel that their bodies were more important for
the State than their minds from Education for
Death, G. Ziemef, 1942. Describe how different
things are for girls in Britain today.
4
Lebensborn (Fountain of Life)
Hitler was obsessed with race and a belief that
the main function of women was to bear children.
The Lebensborn programme encouraged German
women to bear the children of SS officers whether
they were married or not. By studying the graph,
how successful would you say this policy was?
5
The Treatment of Women
Women also had a role to play in reducing
unemployment. Married women doctors and civil
servants lost their jobs, and were not allowed to
be judges. Courses in schools changed their
emphasis towards cooking and sewing, rather than
gaining qualifications to obtain a well-paid job.
Women have the job of being beautiful and
bringing children into the world. Like a female
bird she should preen herself for her mate
Goebbels, 1934
The Fuhrer was charming with his ministers
wives, kissing their handsbut there was no
mistaking that he regarded women as decoration
Ian Kershaw, 2000
6
Divorce
The Nazis claimed to be supporters of the
traditional family. Look at the graph below and
see whether you agree with them.
What effect did the following laws have on
divorce? 1934 judges granted the right to legal
separation on racial grounds. 1938 men were given
greater grounds on which they might divorce
including immorality, racial incompatibility and
refusal to have children.
7
The Nazi Church
Although Hitler said the church was to be part
of every womans life, religion didnt do well
under the Nazis. On Saturday eveninggroups of
young men belonging to the SAbegan to arrive at
the Stephansplatz in parties of five armed with
ladders and bludgeonsOnce inside they destroyed
every religious picture to be seensmashed the
busts of several Popes, stole valuable chalices
what happened to the Cardinal Innitzer after
preaching an anti-Nazi sermon in 1938. When
Hitler talked about religion he meant the
National Reich Church which was set up in
1936. The National Reich Church demands an
immediate stop to the printing and sale of the
Bible in GermanyOn the altars must be nothing
but Mein Kampf, and to the left of this a sword.
from the rules of the National Reich Church. What
sort of religion do you think was offered to the
people?
8
The Strength Through Joy Programme
The Nazis made efforts to tame the working
class, as these were their largest opposition.
They mainly used violence and intimidation but
one carrot was the Strength Through Joy
programme (KDF) which organised trips to
concerts, the theatre, exhibitions, sporting
events, folk dancing, education and even
holidays. It was Hitlers wish that the German
worker will receive an adequate holiday and that
everything will be done to ensure that this
holiday and the rest of his free time offer a
genuine recovery. After all, people work better
when they are refreshed. By 1938 a special KDF
office was organising holidays and travel for
approximately 10.3 million Germans. Its aims
were 1) That beneficiaries should be reconciled
to the aims of the new regime. 2) That it
provided new opportunities to promote national
integration.
9
Opportunities Provided
Excursions within Germany allowed the German
people to get to know the customs of the
different regions. A voyage on the famed KDF
cruise ships meant Germans from all round the
country had a chance to socialise. Today, a
little more than 4 years after the inception of
Strength through Joy trips, the East Prussian
know that the Bavarians are people just like they
are, and that they are engaged in a struggle for
existence to the same extentwe are making a
valuable contribution to theunification of the
German tribes by a German delegate, 1938. The
Strength Through Joy cruise ship, Wilhelm
Gustoff, was touted as a floating icon of the
classless society. In fact its passengers were
overwhelmingly from the Middle Class. These were
the people from whom the Nazis had drawn the
bulk of their support.
What do you think of the Strength Through Joy
programme?
10
The Nazi Holiday Camp
One of the Nazis most ambitious projects was to
develop Prora a huge holiday resort on the
Baltic Island of Rugen. It was 1 of 5 planned to
be built, but the only one started. It was never
finished, due to the war. Work began in May 1936
with 48 construction companies employing 2000
workers.
Denmark
Sweden
Prora
Rostock
Kolberg
Hamburg
Stettin
Berlin
Frankfurt
Magdeburg
kms
0
100
What impact do you think this had, both on Nazi
popularity and the economy?
11
The KDF Car Plan
The KDF was also involved in a scheme to supply
cheap cars to workers after Hitler had ordered
that a Volkswagen (Peoples Car) be built so that
everyone could afford one, and it should look
like a beetle. The price of a beetle was
equivalent to 35 weeks wages (990 marks). A
hire-purchase scheme was started, into which
workers paid 5 marks a week. Once 750 marks were
paid, they were given an order number. By the
time of the war, when the factory was turned into
a weapons factory, not a single VW had been made
for a German customer. Read the German joke from
1939. What does it tell you about what Germans
felt about this scheme? A car worker at the VW
factory cannot afford to buy his own car, so he
steals the pieces one by one, and takes them all
homeWhen he has all the pieces together, he
finds he has built a machine gun carrier.