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The Nazi Experiment: Social developments - Coggle Diagram
The Nazi Experiment: Social developments
Social policies and developments with workers
Even though the right to be part of a trade union was part of the Weimar Constitution this disappeared after the creation of the "German Labour Front" (DAF) in May 1933
The DAF was a combination of employers and employees and was meant to be a "Symbol of the Nation", representing the ideal aryan worker in the "Factory community".
Also tried to make factory work seem more honourable, producing posters to this extent with slogans like "Work Ennobles".
Another aim of the organisation was to provide various perks for its members, partly to act as compensation for the holding down of wages that was required to fund rearmament.
In November 1933 the "Strength through Joy" movement was created which aimed organise workers leisure time.
Another party of this was the "Beauty through work" subdivision which ran propaganda campaigns to popularise working practices and improve factory facilities.
Many different services were offered such as competitions, factory sports facilities, swimming baths and saving schemes.
Another scheme that was a pet project of Hitler was a saving scheme to buy a volkswagen by contributing 5 marks a wee,, however no worker every got a car as in 1939 the factory was turned over to war production.
In July 1935 the Reich Labour service act was passed (RAD) which forced every man between the ages of 18-25 too..
Complete 6 months of military training in a camp
Wear military uniform and perform exercise every single day, or a military activity
Live on a basic living allowance
the aim of this programme was to foster respect for manual labour, particularly in terms of agricultural work
However despite the Nazis ideological romanticism of rural labour most rural workers suffered during this period due to the need for economic modernisation.
Overall most workers were willing to take advantage of the schemes offered by the Nazis and embrace the "National Community"
Social policies towards women
Hitler and the Nazis saw the role of women to be bearers of healthy Aryan children to fight for the Nation and used a mixture of propaganda and legislation to achieve this goal.
Getting women out of the workplace.
in the July 1933 "law for the reduction of unemployment" women were given allowances of 6 months on their previous wages at a low interest per child that they had.
After the birth of 4 children the couple would owe nothing
From 1935 women were forced to leave their roles in medicine, law and the civil service
Nazi declared that women were ineligible for Jury service and reduced the number of women who were going to university, which had reduced to 10% of university students by the late 30s
Women were also banned from having high ranking positions in the Nazi leadership or Reichstag
Ensuring 'genetic purity'
From 1935 couples needed to have a "Fitness to marry" certificate.
From 1937 marriages could be forcibly ended if they were unproductive in terms of childbrith
From 1941 people who were found to be cohabiting after they were forcibly separated could be put in concentration camps
Encourage childbrith
Birth control centers were all closed down and abortion made illegal, with the exception for children with "Genetic Defects"
Women who had large numbers of children were rewarded with medals and honours.
In May 1939 the "Honour Cross of German Motherhood" was created in which large families were given concessions on expenses such as railway fairs.
This was separated into three different classes, with those who had 8 or more children getting a gold cross
In public these women were also greatly respected, Hitler youth were ordered to Heil them, they would be allowed to go to the front of line, get the best produce in shops and sometimes even have nurses attend them in the morning to in order to help them take care of their family
Multiple tax breaks and benefits were created for women in order to help them take care of more children.
While the Nazi would of prefered women to remain in the home the pressures of the rearming economy made this impossible.
In 1939 mandatory agricultural service was introduced for women under the age of 25
From 1937 women no longer needed to leave the workforce to he eligible for marriage loans
From 1943 all women between the ages of 16 and 35 became eligible for conscription to the war effort, however it took a significant amount of time for the Albert Speer to convince HItler of this.
While the Nazis did emphasise family they saw having aryan children as the most important goal.
To this extent having children outside of marriage was encouraged with the Spring of life movement.
This encouraged unmarried women to have children with selected SS men
Women who did not let their children go the the Hitler youth could have the forcibly removed
Social policies towards young people
The aim of the Nazi policy towards the youth was to indoctrinate them to the Nazi cause, preparing them to devote their lives to the causes of the Nation and laying the foundations for a new world order
Nazi education
Creation of elite Nazi schools
The Nazis created Napolas or "National political education institutions" from 1933, which were brought under the control of the SS from 1936.
These schools were focused in on military training
Adolf HItler Schools were created to educate the next generation of Nazi administrators
Ten Ordensburgen were set up from 1937 which focused in on Physical education
Ensuing the loyalty of teachers
Teachers were required to join the National socialist teachers league (NSLB), which by 1937 95% of teachers were party of the organisation
Many teachers had been dismissed after the 1933 law for the professionalisation of the civil service act
A decree in 1935 required the vetting of all civil service appointments, including teachers.
Teaching was required to be actively anti semitic
The National socialist teachers league organised camps to reinforce the value of the Nazis, in these organisations teachers under the age of 50 were required to participate in sport.
Changing the curriculum of education
Geography moved away from learning about the physical environment and instead to extolling the supremacy of German art, culture and heritage.
In particular German folklore was emphasised
In maths questions were posed in Nazi language, for example doing sums in relation to the costs of helping the disabled.
Any Jewish ideas such as Einsteins relativity theorem which banned in schools and biology focused in on Social Darwinism and racial difference.
The education of girls and boys was differentiated, with girls learning more about home economics
History emphasised the glories of the German Military past.
New subjects such as genetics, study of the German borderlands, racial theorem, folklore and military studies were created.
Physical education
The Nazi governments changes to education strongly emphasised the role of Physical education, with children being expected to perform 5 hours of physical activity a week and reach certain standards before moving onto the next level of education
If a child's sporting performance remained unsatisfactory for a prolonged period of time it could trigger expulsion from education
In order to get into higher ranking grammar schools certain targets i physical education had to be met.
In 1933 Hitler appointed Baldur von Schirach as "youth leader of the German Reich"and he took over control of all youth organisation
Hitler Youth
Being a member of the Hitler youth became compulsory from 1936, with catholic youth groups being closed down in 1939
Designed to cater for boys between the ages of 6-18
Focused in on military games and exercise.
League of German Maidens
Taught girls between the age 10 and 21 to be good mothers
Focused in on activities like house-craft,aerobic exercise and charity work were common.
Both the female and male organisations were designed to show uncritical love for Hitler and the state, even if it meant reporting their own families
Both groups had constant competitions, theatrical productions, expeditions, sports, musical activities and displays.
These activities were constant and the organisations had no place for the uncommitted, meaning that sensitive and bookish children suffered
However as the war started these organisations began to loose their appeal, the excessive militarisation made it loose some of its numbers and as the war dragged on the leadership became much less inspired.
However the willingness of millions of young people to fight for the Nazis towards the end of the war suggests that these organisations did have a degree of success
After the Nazi came to power Hitler appointed Bernhard Rust to Nazify the education system
The creation of a "Racial state"
The workshy
Workshy was a term applied to those who were perceived as refusing to work
In September 1933 half a million of these 'workshy' were rounded up and given a permit, this gave them free lodging and food in return for compulsory work.
A similar programme occured with the "Workshy Reich" programme of 1938.
From 1939 juvenile delinquents were particularly targeted and sent to a concentration camp set up in Hanover.
The workshy that refused to work were sent to concentration camps and forced to wear a black star, very few of these concentration camps prisoners survived the war.
"Biological outsiders"
One of the biggest victims of the Nazi government were those who were deemed to have hereditary "Defects"
From July 1933 anyone with these "defects" could be sterilised and were forbidden from marrying fertile partners
Many of the disabled were cast as being burdens to the community and from 1939 a euthanasia campaign was set up
The first victims of this were children under the age of three however the Nazis expanded this to included anyone up to the age of 16
By 1945 the Nazis had murdered 5000 children through lethal injection or forced starvation
Euthanasia was also practiced on adults with mental disabilities, with 72,000 adults across 6 German mental hospitals falling victim to this Nazi crime.
While Bishop Galen was able to put an end to this in public, in secrecy the Nazis carried out the programme 14F13, which led to between 30,000 to 50,000 people with physical or mental disability being sent to concentration camps and murdered through gassing.
Roma and Sinti were another target of the Nazis
After the 1935 Nuremburg laws there was a ban between marriages of aryans and non aryans and all roma and sinti were subject to racial "Tests" to decide if they were true roma/sinto or had part german blood.
From 1938 they were forced to register with the government and from 1940 they were deported to concentration camps in Poland. In Auschwitz alone there were 11,000 german roma/Sinti, murdered, along with half a million others across europe.
Jews
The Jews were the main target of the Nazis, however there was only 500,000 of them in Germany at the time representing less than 1% of the population, usually well integrated
From 1933 the Jews faced a gradual increase in discrimination
In March 1933 their was a one day boycott of Jewish shops
In the civil service law of April 1933 all Jews were dismissed.
IN 1935 the Nuremberg laws banned all marriages between Jews and German citizens, moreover Jews had their citizenship revoked
From April 1938 all jews were forbidden from comerical activities, Doctors were forbidden from having aryan clients and they had to add Sarah or Isreal to their name.
From the 9-10th of october there was a series of attacks unofficaly encouraged by the government in which jewish institutions and shops were smashed, 100s were injured, 81 killed and 20,000 were sent to concentration camps
From 1938 the situation escalated, Jews were forbidden from entering certain parts of cities and Hitler threatened the murder of the entire Jewish race in the event of war, many Jews fled the countrym however with the failure of the Managascar plan the "final solution" began
This led to the murder of 6 million jews across europe after the wansee conference
The Jews
When the Nazis came to power the Jews represented less than 1% of Germany's population and were usually well integrated.
However the Nazis used their propaganda tool to present them as a racial threat to germany.
They were quickly dismissed in the April 1933 civil service law, moreover the Nuremberg laws banned them from marrying Germans and removed their citizenship
The regime gradually became more radical, with 1938 being the turning point for increasing radicalisation
The first boycott of Jewish shops happened in march 1933 for a single day, it is called of as most people ignore it.
In 1938 all of the properties owned by jews were put onto a register, they were excluded from commercial activities; jewish doctors and dentists were forbidden from from having Aryan clients and all Jews were forced to add Sarah or Israel to their name.
1938 was also the year of the Crystal night attacks, which between the 9-10th of november the government unofficially encouraged the destruction of synagogues and business, as well as murdering 91 Jews and injuring hundreds
Moreover the government blame the Jews for the violence, leading to 20,000 being sent to concentration camps
After 1938 life for german jews became increasingly intolerable as they were excluded from economic life as well as most leisure facilities, moreover they were forbidden from entering certain parts of cities
From 1941 they were forced to wear a yellow star and had the radios confiscated
After the 1942 Wannsee conference the "final solution" was put into practiced and 6 million jews were murdered.
Ensuring social conformity and the creation of Nazi culture
The Nazis aimed to ensure the social conformity of Germany through the creation of propaganda and new national events to boost the feeling of Volkmeinshaft.
Throughout their time in office the Nazis gradually expanded their control over the media, buying up private newspapers, moreover broadcasting was controlled by the Reich broadcasting association.
the Propaganda Minister would meet with the heads of the press to brief them on what to publish.
In order to expand the reach of the Nazis propaganda the government supplied extremely cheap mass produced radios, also called the "peoples receiver"
In public loudspeakers became very common in work places and public life
The Nazis also seized control over the Cinemas to show their own ideological newsreels, however these were never very popular
General cultural in areas like art and music were also constrained by ideological demands
Creation of events
The winter help scheme was introduced in 1933, the idea being that collectors would go doorknocking to collect food, clothes and money for families that were suffering from the great depression
By 1938 over 9 million collections had been made, however these were often collected through intimidation
The one pot scheme was a propaganda campaign which encouraged families to have on meal on Sunday and give the saved money to charity.
this was seen as a sacrifice to the Reich and involvement was seen as a proof of loyalty
However as the effects of the depression eased many people became increasingly reluctant to give charity, this led to Hitler, after the battle of Stalingrad in 1942, to threaten anyone who with-held materials from these collections with death, making it a far cry from the idea of a united community.
Nazi culture
A large part of the Volksmienshaft principle was the emphasis on a specifically German heritage and culture.
All forms of art from classical music, painting, sculpture and theatre to more light forms of entertainment such as radio and film was used to create this new national identity and was subject to strict censorship.
The new culture was entwined with Nazi propaganda
The strict censorship meant that Nazi culture was grey compared to the vibrancy of the later Wiemar period, which the Nazi's detested, preferring forms of art that glorified the German past
Censorship was maintained by the Reich Chamber of culture to which all artists had to belong to, as well as by Joseph Goebbels.
All of the art that the Nazis approved of was displayed in Annual German art exhibitions regardless of their merit while what the Nazis considered degenerate was presented as "degenerate art"
One of the notable Nazi artists was Arno Brecker who made huge muscular sculptures that were meant to depict Nazi form.
This was also present in Architecture, in which Albert Speer encouraged the creation of huge new buildings to create a sense of permanence of the thousand year reich.
The Nazis also organised what they saw as German cultural events, such as folklorist displays and the Wagnerian Bayreuth Festival.
The Reich Chamber of Culture was headed by Richard Strauss and the singer Elizabeth Schwarzkopf performed for the regime
Many notable artists fled Germany such as Bruno Walter and Otto Kempler while foreign culture such as American Jazz and dance band music was forbidden
This all contributed to the much blander Nazi culture than had been around in the Wiemar period
Anti intellectualism was also a strong theme in Nazi culture, as seen by the book burning in May 1933 where books that were "Ungerman" were burned regardless of their academic merit.
In Order to unite people under the state and direct all loyalty to Hitler the Nazis felt it necessary to crack down on religion
However these institutions were quite conservative and, similarly to the Nazis detested cultural modernism, so Hitler felt that he could harness rather than shatter these institutions. A majority of germans were still church goers with 58% of the population going to protestant churches and 32% going to catholic ones.
Protestant church
The Protestant Reich church was established in 1933 to act as an umbrella organisation to coordinate the protestant churches and branches of Germany, this movement was led by Ludwig Mueller, who became "Reich Bishop"
However this was not simply a pro Nazi movement at it contained many diverse protestant sects
Ludwig Mueller led his group called the German christians who embraced Nazism and began to wear Nazi uniforms with the swastika and demanding that the bible be purged of Jewish texts.
However not all parts of the protestant church were part of this organisation and there was a breakaway "confessional church" led by Martin Niemoller
This church sought to protect itself from the influence of the Nazis and contained around 100 pastors and 5000 clergy,
While the Nazis never totally cracked down on the church they monitored it intensely, and in 1936 hundreds of confessional clergy were sent to concentration camps
Catholic church
Despite the 1933 concordat with the pope the relationship between the Nazis and Catholic church soon soured, however the catholic church was usually able to cling onto its own organisations
The most notable Catholic of this time was the Bishop Galen who was outspoken in his opposition to the Nazis policies of Euthanasia, earning himself the name "Lion of Munster"
However most catholic clergy preferred to keep there heads down and simply try to protect there own institutions.
The German Faith Movement
Within the Nazi party their was a movement to replace the established religious institutions with a new german faith
From the mid 30s a Church secession campaign was launched to encourage germans to abandon their churches.
Hitler however never actively supported this
Many in the SS were part of this campaign
It did have some limited impact on policy, for example the word christmas was banned and replaced with "Yuletide" , moreover carols and nativity plays were banned in schools.
However this movement never got beyond a fringe of 200,000 people
Post war deNazification
the occupying powers of germany attempted to de-nazi the country after 12 years of Nazi propaganda
The approach to this often differed between the different allied powers, with some taking more relaxed approaches.
This often involved sending out "Fragebogen" or questionnaires to households so they could be categorized and re-educated
This led to many having to go through "Persil trials" in order to prove that they were able to go back into public life
In March 1946 a "Law for Liberation from national socialism" was passed which created new tribunals that would be staffed with germans but monitored by the allies.
However this process was slow and waiting lists quickly built up, with the levels of punishment varying wildly
in the british zone 90% of those who underwent "Persil trials" were exonerated, 50% were in the french zone and only a third in the American zone.
This denazification often created much resentment amongst germans, it also fed into the victim mentality of the germans. It was overall a failure
The education system in the west did not go through much restructuring and many of those who had been in their positions during the war stayed their, often with strong links to Nazism
There was some success however, such as in 1945 when the Protestant churches issued the "stuttgart declaration" in 1945 which admitted responsibility for its failure to act with more courage.