Social policy and practice in Nazi Germany Flashcards
(25 cards)
How did schools change under the Nazis?
- teachers joined the German Teachers League
- Nazi propaganda was integrated
- Eugenics was taught
- students identified as future Nazi leaders would be sent to special schools called Napolas
How did universities change under the Nazis?
- Propaganda integrated
- top professors were chosen by the Nazis
- many lecturers were sacked due to political or racial reasons
- Nazis did not regard uni as very important so fewer people attended
When was the Hitler Youth founded?
1922
When was Hitler Youth membership made compulsory?
1939
How did life change for German boys?
- Hitler youth meetings several times a week and special weekend camps
- learned how to fight and went on marches
- Nazis wanted to prepare the boys for their future roles as soldiers
How did life change for German girls?
German league of maidens
Emphasis on how to cook well, housework and motherhood
Tough marches and attended camps
How did the Nazis view women?
- they were worried about declining births
- didn’t fit with their plans to expand territory
- felt it was their patriotic duty to have many children
What were the 3Ks?
Kinder, Kirche and Kuche
What were some policies towards women?
- contraception banned
- women with 8 children received a gold cross
- people with bad health history were forcibly sterilised
- many women were sacked from jobs
- German women’s league
What were the impacts of the policies?
- 1000s of women were stopped from chasing their careers
- birth rate increased
Why did some Christian’s support the Nazis?
- Nazis believed in marriage and traditional family values that Christian’s believed in
- Hitler said he would destroy communism which appealed because communism was anti religious
- Hitler promised to respect the church
What happened with Hitler and catholics at first?
He signed an agreement with the pope in 1933 to not interfere with each other
What happened later with catholics?
Hitler soon broke his agreement and Catholic priests were continually harassed
1941 - Archbishop Galen openly criticised the Nazis and was put under house arrest
How did some puritans view the Nazis positively?
- Hitler was admired by some Protestants called ‘German Christians’
- The leader Ludwig Muller was the first ‘Reich Bishop’
They often wore Nazi uniforms
How did some Protestants fight back against the Nazis?
- some were completely opposed so Martin Niemoller formed the Confessional Church instead
- Nazis arrested many from the Confessional Church
- Niemoller was sent to a concentration camp and the Confessional Church was banned
What happened to other religious groups in Nazi Germany?
- Jehovah’s witnesses were prosecuted and many died in camps
- other religious groups prosecuted
- Jews were relentlessly prosecuted throughout Nazi rule
Who were the ‘undesirables’?
Hitler’s term for people who had disabilities
At first they were prosecuted but then killed
Some were worked to death in camps
What happened to Jewish shops?
They were marked with yellow stars of David and soldiers stood outside turning people away
What other things happened to Jews before the final solution?
- High ranking Jews were sacked
- Nuremberg laws of 1935 banned Jewish to non-Jewish marriages
When and what was Kristallnacht?
November 1938
‘The night of broken glass’
Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues weee attacked.
Many Jews were killed and some were sent to concentration camps
What happened to Jews at the start of ww2?
Persecution intensified
Jews sent to live in ghettos
Execution squads (einsatzgruppen) went out to kill Jewish people
When was the final solution decided?
At the Wannsee conference in 1942
Who was in charge of the final solution?
Heinrich Himmler
What was the final solution?
The mass extermination of all Jewish people in Europe
Became known as the holocaust
Gypsies, homosexuals, disabled and many others were killed
