KQ3b - What was it like to live in Nazi Germany? Flashcards
How did the Nazis use schools to indoctrinate children?
- Biology lessons focused on racial theory and taught the superiority of the Aryan race
- History lessons instilled nationalism and anti-semitism by teaching the kids of the ‘November Criminals’
- Geography lessons taught of the need for Lebensraum
- P.E. lessons were given 15% of school time. Boys prepared for the military and girls for bearing children
- R.S. was voluntary after 1937 because Hitler did not want Christian ideas contradicting Nazi ideas
- Girls studied eugenics (how to choose a husband and raise healthy aryan children)
What was the Hitler Youth?
- Set up in 1926
- Focused on sports, camping, map-reading, marching, physical fitness and firing rifles
- Aimed to produce soldiers that would be loyal to Hitler
What was the League of German Maidens?
- Set up in 1939
- Focused on fitness, cooking, cleaning and managing a home
- Aimed to produce future child bearers for the Reich
How did Nazism affect Family Life?
- Parents expected their children’s loyalty to be to them but Hitler Youth leaders told children that their loyalty should be to Hitler
- For German youth, Nazism and propaganda was normal so they could not understand any criticisms of the Regime made by their parents - this created division within families
What were traditional Nazi views about women and the family?
- Hitlers aim was to combat the declining birth rate
- During the Weimar period many women had careers. Hitler needed women to return to their traditional roles as housewives in order to increase the birthrate
- Many rural Germans supported this idea; women in urban areas resented losing their freedoms
What were some incentives introduced by the Nazis to increase procreation?
- Gobells’ propaganda showed ideal aryan families and encouraged woman to stop smoking, wear no makeup and stay physically fit
- From 1933, loans of 1000 marks were offered to newlyweds if women gave up work to raise a family
- The Honour Cross of the German Mother was introduced in 1938: Bronze for 4 children, silver for 6 and gold for 8+
How did Hitler combat unemployment?
Schacht’s New Plan was introduced in 1934
- Increased government spending but channelled into work-creation programmes: National Labour Service (RAD) was set up to employ 18-25 y/o men for 6 months before they were conscripted, and motorways were built.
- Government took control of foreign trade to focus on raw materials for the war industry
Schacht was replaced by Goering in 1937 - he introduced the 4-year plan
- Wages and prices were closely controlled
- Industries were forced to produce war materials rather than consumer goods
- Public debt rose rapidly
- Rationing was introduced
How were workers better off under Nazi Rule?
- Strength Through Joy (KDF) organisation gave workers cheap holidays, sports events and cinema tickets.
- Beauty of Labour scheme was introduced to improve working conditions
How were workers worse off under Nazi Rule?
- Wages remained low
- Discipline was harsh
- Trade unions were banned and were replaced by the German Workers Front (DAF) so they could ban striking
How were farmers better off under Nazi Rule?
- Reich Food Estate guaranteed German farmers better prices
- Reich Entailed Farm Law stopped banks from seizing land if farmers didn’t pay their debts
How were farmers worse off under Nazi Rule?
- Forced to grow what the Nazis wanted
- Only the eldest child could inherit the farm leaving younger children without income and therefore increased rural depopulation
How were businesses better off under Nazi Rule?
- Nazis removed the communist threat
- Large department stores were restricted to protect small businesses
- Industry benefitted from rearmament
- Huge government contracts for pharmaceutical companies to produce things like chemical weapons and explosives
How were businesses worse off under Nazi Rule?
- Despite Nazi promises, small businesses still had to compete with large department stores
- Big businesses became increasingly state-controlled
- Lack of consumer goods to sell
How did the coming of war change life Nazi Germany?
- (Stage 1)Rationing extended over most food and clothing so black markets appeared in cities
- (Stage 2) Defeat at Stalingrad and the British Bombing campaign of German cities destroyed industries and killed civilians, causing a decrease in quality of life
- (Stage 3) All Germans ordered to provide for ‘Total War’. Entertainment and luxuries were removed as non-essential. Women were drafted into war work due to labour shortages. SS became a profitable business empire using slave labour in concentration and labour camps
- (Stage 4) Bombing raids flattened cities such as Dresden and 150,000 civilians were killed in 2 days in 1945. Hitler comitted suicide
