NAZI POLICIES TOWARDS WOMEN

• WOMEN EXPECTATIONS

  • Marriage - a part of establishing a strong family. Women should also marry 'pure' Aryan men.
  • Family - Large families were encouraged and it was the role of women to feed and support the family.
  • Employment - Expected to stay at home and care for the family while the man earned money
  • Appearance - blonde, plaited-hair, athletic, non-smoker, no make up, long skirt, flat heels.
  • Kinder(children), Kirche (church), Küche (cooking)
• 1933 - LAW FOR ENCOURAGEMENT OF MARRIAGE

  • Loans of 1,000 marks (equivalent to eight months’ wages) were available to women if two requirements were met:
  • Women had to get married
  • Women had to quit their jobs or stay unemployed
  • Mothers who gave birth to four children did not have to pay the loan back
  •  Each child removed a quarter of the loan
• 1935 - THE LEBENSBORN PROGRAMME

  • Started by SS leader, Heinrich Himmler
  • Paired SS men with single women to create ‘genetically pure’ children
  • Only women and men with a clear ‘Aryan’ ancestry were allowed to join
  • Special Lebensborn homes were created for women to rest after giving birth
• EMPLOYMENT LAWS

  • 1933-PROFESSIONAL JOBS-Women were banned from being teachers, doctors and other professional posts. Around 19,000 female civil servants were sacked in 1933
  • 1936-LEGAL JOBS-Women were banned from becoming judges, lawyers, or taking part in jury service.
  • 1937-GRAMMAR SCHOOLS-Schools preparing girls for university were banned. Around 11,000 fewer female students were starting university by 1939
• THE GERMAN WOMEN'S ENTERPRISE (DFW)

  • All women-related organisations had to join the German Women's Enterprise(DFW):
  • Organisations that failed to join were banned
  • Members were enrolled on courses about childcare, cooking and sewing
• SUCCESS AND FAILURE OF EACH POLICY

  • LEBENSBORN PROGRAMME - One Lebensborn home helped over 540 mothers give birth.
  • THE LAW FOR THE ENCOURAGE OF MARRIAGE - Around 700,000 couples took out loans in the first four years. The number of marriages did increase. However, by 1937, women with marriage loans were allowed to work
  • DIVORCE LAWS - The number of divorces did increase. However, Hitler claimed to support traditional families but laws encouraging divorce broke apart many families.
  • THE MOTHER'S CROSS - in 1939, 3 million women were eligible for medals.