Explain the [German] attitude towards women and family. What was done from 1933-39 to encourage this attitude?

Hitler summed up his ideas at Nuremberg in 1934 where he delivered his theory of women and their role in Germany. He believed that woman had their own world, which was smaller and it focused on her children, her husband and housework, the man’s world revolved around work and power. The two worlds were never in conflict and could only continue functioning whilst the other one co-operated. The Nazis publicised this theory with the slogan “kinder, kirche, kuche”, the three most important things to a woman: children, church and kitchen. To make sure that woman could live up to this role young girls were taught how to be a wife by learning domestic skills. They were taught in the Jungmädel/German Girls’ League which encourage membership from the age of 10.

The new measures that the nazis would take to get the women out of the factories and back at home were going to affect the middle class professional women the most. Hitler wanted to encourage the woman to stay in the home and act more feminine. He made steps to control the dress and behaviour of women by discouraging them to stop wearing make-up, trousers, stop smoking and wear simple peasant style clothes. This was a success in some areas especially the German Girls’ League, although there was some rebellion over these requests. The Nazis Woman’s League taught woman that their place was in the home, they were never banned from having jobs. The woman just complied with the request of staying at home with children. Woman were also excluded from important positions in the nazi party itself including the reichstag, they were only given important roles in specific interest groups.

Hitler wanted to encourage a birth rate increase; it had almost halved from the beginning of the century. He aimed at making children seem more appealing to newly-weds. They began to introduce a number of grants, interest-free loans and schemes aimed at increasing the population. But there was a catch the couples could only receive this aid if the wife pulled out of her job.

For all the Nazis wanted to keep the woman at home their most important priority was to increase the birth rate and therefore increases the population. So they began to introduce other ideas which would benefit couples having children. Especially those having more than three or four children. Such as family allowances being improved, an extra 10 marks was introduced for the third and fourth child and for a fifth it was doubled to an extra 20 marks. Fertile mothers were also awarded the honour cross on August 12 of each year. If she gave birth to four children she would be awarded the bronze, for six children she would receive the silver and for gold eight children were required. For all this wasn’t a reward of money it made the couple feel very proud of having received it this therefore encouraged more couples and in turn should increase the population.

Rewards were also given to those who had larger families, such as a subsidy given to those on limited incomes; this was a lump sum that could be spent on clothes and furniture. Then as a gift a quarter of the marriage loan would be paid off when the first child was born then the second quarter when the second was born and so on until the entire loan was repaid.

When the war began mothers were given preferential rations and air raid shelter especially when mother-worship was at its peak. She was able to boost “I have donated a child to the Fuher”. This would encourage the birth rate to increase even though Germany was at war.

But not all the ways included benefits anti-abortion laws were enforced as well as contraceptive advice and facilities becoming restricted. Marriages were also arranged between a single person and a divorcee, usually the divorcee having to leave an infertile partner. Medical inspections also occurred they discouraged ‘racial inferior stock’ to having children as well as them being put on a sterilisation programme.

The Nazis were in power for 12 years and six of those they spent at war. Due to the small amount of time it was probably impossible for the Nazi ideas to work completely. The amounts of births and marriages rose from 1932 until 1934, from there onwards they stayed level. This shows that the policies didn’t have that much of an effect. Although it is impossible to tell if there was an effect but there was something else countering it.

For all the Nazis Women’s League only encouraged women to give up their jobs and return to their traditional roles, many of those watched their jobs being taken away form them. Women were dismissed from the civil service, medicine and the judicial system. Although the Nazis didn’t managed to dismiss all women from their jobs the amount of female teachers fell in 1933 but then regained all lost ground by 1938. Even though the Nazis did everything in their power to encourage marriage divorce was still high and continued to rise.