Farmers' lives also improved under the Nazis. Just after Hitler came to power, in September 1933, he set up the Reich Food Estate, setting up boards to buy the food from the farmers and distribute it around the cities. This was good for farmers as there were also set prices for the food, so if the farmers produced more food, they knew that they could sell it, at the same price each time. They also set up the Reich Entailed Farm Law, which gave farmers protection from banks who would repossess their farm if the farmers hadn't been keeping up with there repayments. This was good for the farmers even thou it tended to make it difficult to get loans in the first place as banks were unwillingly to lend it as they were unsure if they would get it back. The Reich Entailed Farm law also protected the farmers' way of life, supporting the Nazi philosophy of Blood and Soil,' saying that the farmers the backbone of the German empire. Many farmers were glad that their farms couldn't be taken away, but also unhappy that they therefore couldn't get loans. It was good if you were the first born son, as you would inherit the farm, but any other children would have to find work in the factories in the cities. This is so as the farms still remained well-organized, as if the land kept being split up amongst the children, it would become more unproductive.
The people who thrived the most during the Nazi reign were the big businesses and the middle classes. The big business gained the most, as the large companies didn't have to worry about strikes for better pay or trade unions. Some companies even forced to hire Jews and prisoners as slaves. This meant that labour costs were zero, this also meant that when they died they were easier to replace. Volkswagen and Mercedes flourished from slave labour camps as if meant more money for them. Companies that took advantage of the way people were treated prospered greatly, with a near maximum efficiency workforce as when the slave workers tired, they were replaced. Businesses small or large that made war time items, such as munitions, uniforms and vehicles also prospered. For big businesses life under the Nazis was by far great times, with their businesses booming.
The middle classes were the attention of most of Hitler's promises, as they were hit twice with the hyperinflation and the depression and so they were the main people in which he needed to deliver to. Life was improved for many, as there were no Communists to threaten their businesses or property so they felt safe. Many of the middle classes also liked the order and discipline that the Nazis had brought to the country. People who owned small engineering business would have got work under the government as rearmament spending grew when the Nazi’s came into power. Other people in the middle classes weren't quite so enthusiastic about life under the Nazis. People who owned small
Consumer based businesses lost out to the larger chain supermarkets.
The nazis offered more to children than playing in the streets, they played games, sang songs, marched and in school they would learn about how they are superior to many people, as well as history even though it was altered by the Nazis. The Nazis altered the curriculum to teach the children that the Jews were to blame for all of Germany’s problems, how to make explosives and to be loyal to the Fuhrer. For the children, life was better under the Nazis. Even though they were taught to loyal to the Nazis where in today’s world would be seen as brainwashing them, life was still good. They didn't know that they were being forced into devoting their lives to Hitler. As they were children they were impressionable, and so they believed that as they were learning it at school they were right to have no loyalty to their parents but only Hitler. It was also important that at school the children learnt to distrust Jews, learn about how the Jews were inferior. This even included maths questions being aimed at the hate rid towards them. It wasn’t compulsory to join the Hitler Youth, most boys did and also most of the girls joined the League of German Maidens. In the Hitler youth the boys were taught how to service a riffle and about the military. In the League of German Maidens, they learnt about how to lead an ideal women's life, working at home and raising the children.
Life was better for children, but not their parents, who could see what was going on, but couldn't do anything about it. They couldn't even safely criticise Hitler their children were so loyal to Hitler that they would inform the Gestapo that their own parents were criticising Hitler. The children were made so devoted to Hitler, that he came before his parents; they might not have even cared that their parents had been taken away because of Hitler. Life was much better and enjoyable under the Nazis for most of the children. They didn't even know they were being brainwashed to be largely loyal to Hitler. There were exceptions, such as the Edelweiss Pirates, who didn't want their lives controlled and resisted. Though, for most children, life seemed better under the Nazis from their point of view. Life for children was much worse, as their lives and minds were being controlled in a way in which suited the Nazis, not them.
The army were much better off through Nazi rule. They drafted many workers many unemployed into the factories to make guns, tanks, rifles and munitions to boost up the force of the Germany army. Hitler also introduced conscription in 1935, which was essential, without the men, the army would be nothing. Under the control of Goering, Hitler also created a Four-Year Plan,’. Life was obviously tremendously better for the army under the Nazis, as now they were a priority and were more important and so the government paid more attention to the army, building them up and training them. For someone in the army, life was better under the Nazis, as the army was now getting more attention and finally, most importantly, getting rearmed. Rearmament showed the army that Hitler wanted a great German army again, and that Hitler may not be afraid to use it.
The most important thing that made life under the Nazis better than before, was that the German people got their pride in being German back, and felt that Germany was finally getting back up on her feet, after the humiliation of losing the First World War. They felt that the Nazis were finally making Germany a great country again. Party members were also having a great time under the Nazis rule, with many of them getting higher more well paid jobs, little did they know this was used in order for the nazis to have a higher influence.
Hitler encouraged the traditional balance between men and women. In his opinion, women should stay at home and support her husband and to raise the children. Many German women shared this view and were happy to go along with Hitler’s plans. They also got more recognition and respect, probably because Hitler was so close to his mother and thought that women deserved more respect. He also valued women, as they were people who would give birth to the next generation. If you had eight children you got a Gold Cross' medal and if you had 4 or more children you received money. All these factors focused on women, and how important they were to the Nazi ideals about the master race and to the future of Germany, and to Hitler. Married educated women were forced to give up there jobs in order to raise they children. Many women were also discriminated from getting jobs, which meant if you were a woman and had just emerged from university, you would be forced to get a lower quality job, or if you were married, just be sent home to look after the house and children. In the 1930s, there was a shortage of male workers as they had either joined the army, or were already in factories. This meant that many women had to be conscripted to work in factories, which many women didn't want to do. They were happy with their life at home, or for many, the jobs they already had. Life was better for many women under Nazi rule, as they had more respect and traditional lives; although in the latter years of Nazi rule. Women struggled to work in the factories and raise the children as well as looking after a house and a husband.
For most musicians and artists if they weren't German then their work would probably be banned, and if they were Jewish or black people, then they would definitely be banned. Jazz music was banned as it was said to be Black' music and only Nazi approved singers or artists could have their work allowed. Nazi-approved sculptures usually had military themes and only music that was patriotic or Hitler adoring was allowed. Foreign art and music was also banned due to the fact it wasn’t German. The Burning of Books' in May 1933 made sure that the young German minds weren't influenced by the work of foreigners or Jews or Marxists, and that they didn't have a chance to learn about things that may have got their minds working against Hitler. With all this foreign influence being destroyed, Hitler kept the complete control of his peoples' minds.
Hitler tried to collect all the protestant churches together and form an official Reich Church. Although many Germans still laid their faith with the old churches, they still went along with the Reich church. Hitler encouraged people who didn't like the Church to join the German Faith Movement, based on the worship of the sun. Few bishops or churchgoers opposed the Nazis seriously, so the Nazis didn't mind. It was foolish to support the Church and challenge the Nazis openly, as some people, mostly murdered by the SS.
In secret, all the handicapped people were taken away, and sterilised so that they couldn't produce offspring, as the Nazis wanted a perfect Aryan race. Of course, a perfectly normal couple could have a handicapped child in that case that child will also be sterilised. Originally, when the Nazis came to power, they only made people discriminated against the Jews. Jewish teachers wouldn't have the same facilities as German teacher. Jewish teachers only taught Jewish children. German teachers taught German children. Jewish doctors weren't allowed to treat any German children. When the Jews were first discriminated against, nobody imaged how far the Nazis would go. The Jews were at first deported to ghettos, and then sent off to concentration camps. The very young, very old, or very weak were immediately gassed. The rest were forced to work hard labour for hours on end, they were then sent to dormitories. The rooms were crowded on a ratio of 10:1 in each room; if one room was supposed to hold 60 people, it held 600. If they didn't die from disease which spread fast through over crowding and with excrement and corpses laying everywhere or from over-working or starvation, they would be shot and buried in mass graves, gassed which they thought were showers) or gruesomely experimented upon. The Jews didn't even know what was awaiting them, they just thought, when they got on the train to go to a labour camp to help out with the war effort. This horrific method ended 6 million Jews, political prisoners (Communists, Socialists and trade unionists), homosexuals, gypsies and churchmen or anyone who dared to state their opinion.
In conclusion life under the Nazi’s was different for different types of people. For some life was on an all time high, such if you were a large business owner. For people like the Jews it became a living hell. Under the Nazi regime, when life improved in some way, another aspect of life was desperately changed for the worse. Any benefit that came about during the Nazi reign came at a terrible price - people gave up their freedom of speech, political parties and their culture. Overall, any benefits the Germans gained from Nazi rule were undone when the crimes against humanity and the loss of life and culture - that were committed under Adolf Hitler's regime - were revealed. German as a whole was better off with Hitler in charge as he helped to bring unemployment down to under 4 million but this came at a price. Women lost there rights to be able to work in order to a raise a family. The women was also forced to take lower paid, less advantage jobs in order to achieve Hitler’s idea of a perfect world! He then later forced women into work with conscription due to the lack of man no longer available to fill the positions due to the demands of the armed forces. Hilter made sure he had total control over all of the workers, he used them to get the power he needed. He made sure that he had the votes of all of the higher class people by appealing to the business, by taking away trade unions it allowed the owners to pay people a certain wage without people going on strike. By getting rid of the trade unions, introducing his owns schemes he could make sure that workers did as they were told and kept in line. This made it harder for them to move up the ladder and would have helped the classes stay the same. With people restricted in getting better jobs many were forced to say in the same one with the same pay. People who couldn’t get jobs were often conscripted into the army or placed in working schemes. Hilter also gave the workers opportunities to save up and receive discounts for trips and luxuries like attending the cinema. At one point he also made on where people would save tokens up in order to receive a discount one of the most popular cars at the time, this failed due to the car company going bankrupt. It may have seamed like the workers were getting a better deal but in reality they weren’t. Hilter made false promises in order to receive there vote, he then changed there rights for the worst. They had lower wages for working more hours and didn’t seek the rewards in which they had be told they would receive.