Unit 3 - The State and the People: Change and Continuity
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History essay: Were Nazi Germany Social Policies successful?
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Unit 3 - The State and the People: Change and Continuity
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AQA
Word document of an essay that was done for the A-level history class on Nazi Germany. It consists of an essay-style answer to a question regarding Nazi social policies.
Unit 3 - The State and the People: Change and Continuity
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NAZI GERMANY HISTORY CLASS ESSAY: NAZI SOCIAL POLICIES
Gloucestershire College
A-level History
Source of the essay: Whitfield, R. & Waller, S. (2015). Oxford AQA History for A Level: Democracy
and Nazism: Germany 1918-1945 (Oxford A Level History for AQA). OUP Oxford.
How far were Nazi Social policies successful?
Hitler’s social policies had one main aim – to create a Volksgemeinschaft which consisted, as
Hitler had imagined, of individuals with racial purity, physical strength, will to work, and loyalty
to Nazi politics. In this essay, I will analyse the social policies regarding youth and women, as
well as, decide whether these schemes were successful.
The youth was one of the most important social groups in the Nazi period. They were seen as
the future of the Reich. Hitler had a vision for both boys and girls, meaning, what should they
provide for Germany in the future. As a result, both organisations, ‘The Hitler Jugend’ and ‘Bund
Deutscher Mädel’ were made compulsory in 1939. In Hitler Youth, political indoctrination and
physical activities were the key. It was about preparing boys to become warriors. Increasing
membership (in 1939 – nearly 9 million) was the evidence of ‘The Hitler Jugend’ success.
However, this improvement in organisation’s membership was, mostly, forced, because other
youth organisations were banned (The Hitler Youth remained the only organisation) and the
membership was made compulsory. Even the families, which anti-Nazi views, had to send their
sons there. Furthermore, boys quite enjoyed the fun outdoor activities, for example, camping,
sports and the opportunity to be away from home for a longer time with their comrades.
However, that was only the beginning of the organisation. Later on, it lost its success for
different reasons. The Hitler Youth became less about entertainment and more about politics
and discipline. Naturally, there was less and less joy in being a part of this organisation, which
resulted in poor attendance of parades.
For girls, it was quite similar. The membership of ‘Bund Deutscher Mädel’ was made compulsory
in 1939, which, clearly, led to increased membership. This organisation was about preparing
girls for the role of housewives and mothers – coincidently, one of Hitler’s key ideas was to
increase the birth rate in Germany. The attraction to being part of this youth organisation
remained annual summer camps, giving girls the opportunity to spend time away from their
parents. They were taught such useful skills as ballroom dancing. They were doing some things
that their mothers were not allowed to do and for these girls, that might have given the idea
that they are being brought up in a new and improved era. On the other hand, a scheme was
introduced, where girls had to do a 1 year’s work on land or in domestic service. In addition,
imposed discipline, strict leadership, and political indoctrination of the ‘Bund Deutscher Mädel’,
resulted in decreasing popularity.
By briefly looking at both youth groups, it can be noticed that girls and boys were enjoying
being a member in one of these groups, because, at first, there was an image created that living
under Nazi rule will be entertainment and that their lifestyle will be full of fun when they reach
adulthood. Later on, this vision was destroyed. The advantage of young people for Nazis is that
children, especially ones being brought up in the 1930s, can be indoctrinated and manipulated
more easily, as they have not lived in other periods of Germany. Although there is another
disadvantage to add – there are many other influences on young people that may develop Nazi
or anti-Nazi views in them. The examples are foreign (American) films or music, friends, church,
and family (parents in particular). Thus, it looks like the policies regarding youth are not as
successful as they could be, meaning, there are more downsides than upsides. It was a success
in the beginning, which could not be maintained.
Another social group that will be discussed is German women and how social policies towards
them were impacting women. The ideal Nazi woman could be characterised as a blonde with
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