Life in Nazi Germany Flashcards
What were the 3 K’s?
-Kinder- Children
-Kuche- Kitchen
-Kirche- Church
-Goebbels said ‘the mission of women is to be beautiful and bring children into the world’
How did Hitler try and achieve a higher birth rate?
-He introduced the Law for the Encouragement of Marriage which gave newlywed couples a loan of 1,000 marks, each child would allow them to keep 250 marks without needing to pay it back
-Giving an award for the amount of children you had, Bronze Cross- Four or more, Silver Cross- Six or more, Gold Cross- Eight or more- By 1941, 4.7 Million mothers received a cross
-Allowing women to volunteer to have a baby for an Aryan member of the SS, to try and build an aryan army- Lebensborn
How did Hitler try and discourage women from working?
-The introduction of the Law for the Reduction of Unemployment, which gave women financial incentives to stay at home
-Not conscripting women to help in the war effort until 1943
-This didn’t work as female labour was cheap and had grown by 2.4 Million from 1933-39
-As the German economy grew, women were needed in the workplace
How were women expected to dress?
-To emulate traditional German peasant fashions- Plain peasant costumes, hair in plaits or buns and flat shoes
-They were not expected to wear make-up or trousers, dye their hair or smoke in public
-They were discouraged from staying slim, because thin women were seen as having trouble giving birth
Why were the youth so important?
-Hitler spoke of his Third Reich lasting for a thousand years so he would have to ensure German children were thoroughly indoctrinated into Nazi ideology
-From the age of 10, boys and girls were encouraged to join the Hitler Youth and the League of German Maidens
-It was made compulsory in 1936, and by 1939, 90% of boys over 14 were involved
What did the Hitler youth do?
-To aim to prepare German boys to be future soldiers
-Boys wore military-style uniforms
-Activities were centred on physical exercise and rifle practice, as well as political indoctrination
What did the League of German Maidens do?
-To aim to prepare the German girls for motherhood
-Girls wore a uniform of blue skirt, white blouse and heavy marching shoes
-Girls undertook physical exercise, but activities mainly centred on developing domestic skills such as sewing and cooking
How did the Nazi’s try and control education?
-All teachers had to join the Nazi Teachers’ association, which vetted them political and racial suitability
-History- Lessons included a course on the rise of the Nazi Party
-Biology- Used to teach racial theories of evolution in eugenics
-Race study and ideology- Became a new subject, dealing with Aryan ideas and anti-semitism
-PE- Had five one-hour sports lessons every week
-Chemistry and Maths- Were downgraded in importance
How did Hitler increase employment?
-Began a huge programme of public works, which included building hospitals, schools, and public buildings such as the 1936 Olympic stadium swell as the Autobahns which supplied jobs and increased trade of goods
-Rearmament started as soon as Hitler cam to power, however was announced in 1935, this created millions of jobs
-The introduction of National Labour Service meant all young men spent six months in the NLS and were then conscripted into the army, they were no longer counted in the unemployment figures
What was invisible unemployment?
-The 1.4 Million men in the army, also a number of people working on public work schemes
-Jews who were sacked and their jobs given to non-Jews
-Women had to give up their jobs to men
What is autarky?
-Hitler wanted Germany to produce everything that it needed
-Materials like rubber were needed more as Germany geared for war, and it was hoped that inventions would mean that this product could be produced man-made instead of needing to try and obtain through trade
-In 1937, Goering was made Economics minister and he introduced un-successful measured to try and make Germany self-sufficient
-When WW2 started Germany was still importing 20% of its food and 33% of its materials
What were the effects of the change in standard of living on big businesses?
-The Nazis had promised to tackle monopolies - the tendency for one comet to hold all the interests in one area and dominate that market
-By 1937, monopolies controlled over 70 percent of production and the Nazis had major links to some of them
-Profits rose for big businesses
What were the effects of change on small businesses?
-Rules on opening and running were tightened, which resulted in 20 percent of them closing
What were the effects of change on farmers?
-The Hereditary Farm Law of 1933, prevented farms from being repossessed from their owners, which gave farming families greater security
-Agricultural prices by 20% in 1937, and wages rose more quickly than those in industry
-However not all their promises were met
Why and what did they do to help workers?
-It was important that workers were controlled and productive due to the need of rearmament
-The Labour Front: A Nazi organisation that replaced Trade Unions, which were banned, it set wages and nearly always followed wishes of employers, rather than employees
-Strength Through Joy: This scheme gave workers rewards for their work, evening classes, theatre tripes, picnic nd even cheap or free holidays- Volkswagen
-Beauty of Labour: The job of the organisation was to help Germans see that work was good, and that everyone who could work should. It encouraged factory owners to improve conditions
-However it did not really work as wages fell, the number of hours rose and accidents in factories increased
