Modern History Unit 1 Social Changes Practice Questions

Question 1

Using source 1 and your own knowledge explain why women were a key focus in the nazi regime

Answer 1

Source 1, which references the German Mother’s Cross, highlights how the Nazi regime idealised women primarily as bearers of children to strengthen the Aryan race. Women were seen as vital to Hitler’s vision of a racially pure Germany, with policies encouraging them to leave the workforce, marry, and have many children. Rewards like the Mother’s Cross were given to women who bore multiple Aryan children, reinforcing traditional gender roles under the slogan Kinder, Küche, Kirche (Children, Kitchen, Church). This emphasis was rooted in Nazi ideology, which viewed demographic strength and racial purity as essential to national revival. Therefore, women were central to achieving Nazi social and racial objectives.

Question 2

Using source 2 explain Hitler’s views on women in German society

Answer 2

In Source 2, Hitler presents the Nazi ideology that women’s primary role was not in public or political life but in motherhood and family. He criticises Marxism for encouraging female equality in areas like employment, claiming that it leads to their “deprivation” by placing them in roles they are “inferior” in. Instead, he elevates childbirth as a woman’s patriotic duty, calling it her “battlefield.” This reflects Nazi ideals that valued women not for participation in civic society but for their contribution to racial purity and population growth, reinforcing the regime’s traditional and nationalist gender roles.

Question 3

Using the sources and your own knowledge, analyse the changes experienced by women following Hitler’s rise to power?

Answer 3

Sources 1 and 2 reflect how Hitler’s regime reshaped the role of women to align with Nazi ideology. Source 1, symbolised by the German Mother’s Cross, highlights how women were rewarded for fulfilling their role in bearing children, showing state-driven incentives for motherhood. Source 2 reinforces this, where Hitler dismisses gender equality as harmful and declares childbirth a woman’s “battlefield,” framing it as her national duty. These views led to significant changes: women were removed from many jobs and higher education, with Nazi policies promoting Kinder, Küche, Kirche (children, kitchen, church) as the ideal. This marked a shift from Weimar-era liberalism to a controlled, patriarchal society where women’s value was tied to reproduction and loyalty to the regime.