Chapter 5 - Nazi Economic, Social and racial Policy
The RAD (Reichsarbeitsdienst)
From 1935 it was compulsory for all men aged 18-25 to serve in the RAD for 6 months
1939 it was extended to women
'educate German youth in the spirit of National Socialism'
Workers lived in camps, wore uniforms, received low pay and carried out military drills
Invisible unemployemnt
official unemployment figures didn't include Jews dismissed from their jobs, unmarried men under 25 (RAD), women who gave up their jobs to get married, opponents of the Nazi party in concentration camps
Volkswagen scheme
Strength through Joy - Kraft durch Freude (KDF)
Organisation set up by the German Labour Front to replace trade unions
10 million people went on KDF holidays in Germany in 1938
The role of women
Women over the age of 20 were given the vote and took an increasing interest in politics. By 1933, one tenth of the members of the Reichstag were female
Many women took up careers in the professions, especially the civil service, law, medicine and teaching. Those who worked in the civil service earned the same as men. By 1933 there were 100,000 female teachers and 3,000 doctors
Socially, women went out unescorted, drank and smoked in public, were frequently slim and fashion conscious. They often wore relatively short skirts, had their hair cut short and wore makeup
1933 - law for the Encouragement of Marriage was introduced - aimed to increase Germany's fallen birth rate - gave loans to young couples to marry provided the wife left her job
Mother's cross - awarded to women with large families
childless marriage - seen as worthless by Nazis
Lebensborn - donate a baby by becoming pregnant by 'racially pure; SS men
1938 - more than 150,000 people had ordered a car
The Hitler Youth movement
from 1936 membership of the Hitler Youth was compulsory
1939 - 7 million members
The treatment of the Jews
Hitler believed in a pure Aryan race
Kristallnacht
100 Jews killed and 20,000 sent to concentration camps
9th - 10th November 1938
Aftermath
Jews were fined 1 million Reichsmarks as compensation
30th April 1939 - Jews were forced from their homes and forced into ghettos
Persecution of the Jews
Nazi ideals
According to Nazis, women should
not wear makeup
not smoke
take no interest in politics
blonde, heavy hipped and athletic
not go to work
Controlling education
Textbooks were rewritten to fit the Nazi view of history and racial purity - Mein Kampf became a standard text
School teachers had to swear an oath of loyalty to Hitler and join the Nazi Teachers' League
Lessons began and ended by students saluting and saying 'Heil Hitler'
Nazi themes were presented in each lesson
School curriculum was changed to prepare students for their future roles - 15 per cent of the time was dedicated to p.e
The Catholic Church
Hitler saw the Catholic Church as a threat to Nazi state
The treatment of Jews
Treated as second class citizens
Hitler's theory of race was based on the idea of 'Master Race' and the 'Subhumans' - tried to back this up by saying that the Bible showed there were only two races - Jews and Aryans
Nazi propganda portrayed Jews as evil - Hitler regarded Jews as an evil force and was convinced that they were here to destroy civilisation
Selective breeding - preventing anyone who didn't conform to the Aryan type from having children