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German History: 4 Women - The Third Reich - Coggle Diagram
German History: 4 Women - The Third Reich
'Kinder, Kirche, Kuche' : Motherhood (role)
'Separate spheres' with me in public roles and women in the domestic sphere
Wanted to reinforce traditional gender roles
Aimed to reverse emancipation for women achieved in Weimar
Leni Riefenstahl was a female film director and one of the few women that held this role in Nazi Germany
Declining birth rates of 1920s was exacerbated by the Depression
The Mother's Honour Crosses were introduced to honour women who had 4 or more children
The Reich Mother's Service (AMD) set up courses in cooking, sewing and childcare
Girls were encouraged to join the League of German Girls to practice roles
The birth rate rose between 1933 and 1939 then slowly declined
Women's Public Roles
Reduced employment in 1930s
Nazi policies discouraged women to pursue higher education and professional careers
Marriage loans were offered to young couples under the condition that married women left the workforce
Number of female university students fell from 18,357 in 1932 to 6,080 in 1939
However, the % of women in paid employment grew from 34.4% in 1933 to 36.7% in 1939 (2 million increase)
Appearance and behaviour
Dress conservatively
Makeup and Jewellery were discouraged and wanted practical clothes like aprons
Modest, obedient and self-sacrificing
Those who were 'degenerate' or 'immoral' could be sterilised or imprisoned
Women's role during the war
During WW2 about 14 million women were working by the end making up 40% of the German workforce
Women served in auxiliary and support roles for the military
Up to 2 million German women were sexually assaulted in 1945
The war had significant impacts on women's physical and mental health
1943 Hitler introduced conscription for women aged 17 to 45
Women filled roles in factories, agriculture, transportation etc
Reproductive Rights
The use of contraceptives (condoms and birth control pills) were strongly discouraged
The Marriage law of 1938 allowed courts to dissolve marriages if one partner was infertiles
The penalties for illegal abortion were rigorously enforced involving harsh prison sentences
From 1943 women seeking an authorised abortion faced the death penalty
The Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring allowed for the compulsory sterilisation of individuals with disabilities
Marriage Laws
The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 criminalised sexual relations between Jews and German citizens
During the war, German women who had relationships with foreign workers were given harsh punishments
The regime was popular with many women
The Nazis celebrated motherhood and the role of women as homemakers and childbearers
Some women were frequently adopted to significant political leadership roles within the Nazi state
Some women supported the Nazi regime due to its nationalist and anti-communist ideology
Some found opportunities in the regime like the National Socialist Women's League (NSF) where they could perform fulfilling roles in public life (eg train to be nourse)
Melita Maschmann who joined the League of German Girls at 15 in 1933 and was soon promoted as Press and Propaganda Officer in the NSF
The regime was a disaster for women
Women were encouraged to prioritise domestic duties and raising children over pursuing education and careers
Independent women's organisations were disbanded and the National Socialist Women's League was established to promote Nazi ideals
The Nazis implemented policies to increase birthrate among Aryan women and forcibly sterilised those who were 'unfit' for reproduction (400,000 women sterilised)
They stigmatised women who weren't married or had no children as 'degenerate' or 'unproductive'
Women were discouraged to enter professions such as law and medicine
Women were engaged in the crimes of Nazi Germany and were the most brutal guards for example Irma Grese and Ilse Koch