Women, marriage and the family

• What was the German birth rate in 1900?


  2 million births a year
• What was the German birth rate by 1933?


  1 million births a year
• What condition was required for the loan to be written off under the Law for the Encouragement of Marriage?


  The woman had to give up her job
• How much of the loan was written off for each child born?


  A quarter of the loan
• What change was made to divorce laws in 1938?


  The inability to have children became grounds for divorce
• What was the Mother’s Cross awarded for?


  Having multiple children
• What were the criteria for the different levels of the Mother’s Cross?


  Bronze for four children, silver for six, and gold for eight
• What was expected of the Hitler Youth regarding the gold Mother’s Cross?


  They were expected to salute wearers of the gold Mother’s Cross
• What was encouraged if a family had a tenth child?


  To call the child Adolf and have Hitler as the godfather
• When was the Lebensborn programme established?


  1935
• What was the initial purpose of the Lebensborn programme?


  To provide nursery and financial help for women with children by SS men
• What change occurred in the Lebensborn programme in 1938?


  It began to encourage breeding 'genetically pure' children
• How many babies were born under the Lebensborn programme between 1938-41?


  540 babies