What was it like to live in Nazi Germany?
How did young people react to the Nazi regime?
How successful were Nazi policies towards women and the family?
Did most people in Germany benefit from Nazi rule?
How did the coming of war change life in Nazi Germany?
many ordinary people if they were prepared to conform in order to have a job and a wage
Rearmament from 1935 onwards boosted profits and managers of the major industrial companies saw their wages rise by 50 per cent between 1933 and 1939
armers benefitted under the Nazis
The German Labour Front (DAF)
set wages and nearly always followed the wishes of employers, rather than employees
Strength Through Joy
workers rewards for their work - evening classes, theatre trips, picnics, and even very cheap or free holidays
Beauty of Labour
everyone who could work should
expected to stay at home, look after the family and produce children in order to secure the future of the Aryan race.
Three K's
Church
Kitchen
Children
"The mission of women is to be beautiful and to bring children into the world."
Law for the Encouragement of Marriage
newlywed couples a loan of 1,000 marks, and allowed them to keep 250 marks for each child they had
Mother’s Cross to women who had large numbers of children
allowing women to volunteer to have a baby for an Aryan member of the SS
Law for the Reduction of Unemployment
women financial incentives to stay at home
from the age of 10 boys and girls were encouraged to join the Nazis’ youth organisation
Hitler Youth (the girls’ wing of which was called the League of German Maidens)
compulsory in 1936 and by 1939 90 per cent of German boys aged 14 and over were members
Hitler Youth
The League of German Maidens
Its aim was to prepare German girls for future 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
Its aim was to prepare German boys to be future soldiers
Activities centred on physical exercise and rifle practice, as well as political indoctrination
Boys wore military-style uniforms
Schutzstaffel (SS)
Gestapo
Sicherheitsdienst (SD)
Initially set up as Hitler’s personal bodyguard service, the SS was fanatically loyal to the Führer. It later set up concentration camps where ‘enemies of the state’ were sent
This was the Nazis’ secret police force. Its job was to monitor the German population for signs of opposition or resistance to Nazi rule. It was greatly helped by ordinary German people informing on their fellow citizens.
This was the intelligence gathering agency of the SS. It was responsible for the security of Hitler and other top Nazis and was led by Himmler’s right hand man, Reinhard Heydrich.
Swastika symbol appearing on every government uniform and public building.
Pictures of Hitler displayed everywhere.
Germans having to greet each other with a ‘Heil Hitler’ raised arm salute.
Censorship of the press
All newspapers were controlled by the government and could only print stories favourable to the Nazi regime.
Control of radio broadcasts.
Radios were sold very cheaply so that most Germans could afford one. All radio output was controlled by Goebbels’ ministry through the Reich Broadcasting Corporation.
Many of the youth were indoctrinated by the Nazi regime.
The Regime still failed to crush opposition, such as in the Edelweiss pirates - some of the pirates' leaders were even hanged, but the movement carried on throughout WW2.
The Youth Movements declined in popularity during the war years especially, where they began focussing on military activities and helping with the war effort.