The notes include a full description of Nazi social policies towards young people, women, workers, the Churches and the benefits and drawbacks of the Nazi rule.
Taken partially from a lecture and partially from the Oxford AQA History democracy and Nazism: Germany .
The notes are broken down to...
In what ways did the Nazi’s indoctrinate young people? To what extent were they successful?
Education became a tool for consolidating the Nazi regime.
Schools-
- Education system was not fundamentally altered but adapted to suit Nazi policies.
- 1934, control taken from regional states and centralised by the Reich ministry of education.
- Politically unreliable were removed from teaching positions. Jewish teachers banned and
women were encouraged to go home and resign.
- The National Socialist Teachers League was established. By 1937 it included 97% of teachers
- Emphasis put on importance of physical education (15% of the school time) Religious studies
was dropped and German, biology and history received special attention.
- Biology was used to deliver Nazi racial theory.
- History emphasised German glory.
- Creation of elite schools to prepare the best of the German youth for a future of political
leadership.
Hitler youth
- Embraced a range of youth groups under the control of its leader Baldur von Schirach. In
1933 Hitler Youth (HJ) only represented 1% of youth
- In the next 6 years HJ grew, mainly because of pressure put on parents to enrol their children
and by 1939, membership was compulsory and all other youth groups were abolished.
- All children taught athletics, camping and patriotism. Boys taught more physical and military
skills while girls were taught domestic and maternal skills.
- Stress on political indoctrination, emphasing the life and achievements of the Fuhrer, German
patriotism, athletics and camping for all children.
Successes and Failures
- Teaching – 32% of teachers were party members in 1936, higher than 17% in the civil service.
Standards in traditional academic subjects fell by the early 1940’s, particularly in elite schools
where physical education dominated. By 1938, teacher recruitment declined, there were
8,000 vacancies for teachers (some due to women not being allowed to be teachers) only
2500 graduating from teacher training.
- Youth conformity – The impact of the HJ was mixed. Emphasis on teamwork and
extracurricular activities (sports, camping and, music) was welcomed by many children,
particularly those from poorer backgrounds. However, the Hj suffered from massive
overexpansion and leadership was inadequate. By the late 1930’s the movement ran
ineffectively. The increasing Nazi emphasis on military drill and discipline was resented by
youths who saw it as too regimented. Several youth groups developed that deliberately
opposed Nazi values. ‘Swing youth’ (middle class- music associated with dance-bands of
Britain and USA) ‘The Edelweiss pirates’ (working-class – formed gangs, they met up and
organised hikes and camps which came into conflict with the official ones.
, Women and family
- German population growth declined- in 1900 there were 2 million births a year and in 1933
there were 1 million.
- Female employment expanded by 33%
- This brought long-term changes in social behaviour- common to many industrialised
countries.
- Economic mobilisation during WW1 had driven women into factories, post-war inflation
caused women to stay in work.
- War left surplus of 1.8m marriageable women.
The Nazi ideology contrasted the social trends created in the Weimar period. They believed that a
woman’s role was to:
• Have as many children as possible
• Take care of the house and the husband.
• Stop all paid employment except specialist vocations e.g., midwifery.
Nazis believed:
- The two sexes should fill out different roles.
- Women should be devoted to the three K’s (Kinder, Kuche, Kirche) children, kitchen, church.
- Nazi ideology concerning women was also tied in with population concerns- a country with a
growing population was strong. Women were essential so they could increase the population.
Female employment
- Initial attempt to reduce the number of women in the workforce was successful.
- 1933-36 married women are excluded from jobs in medicine, law, and higher roles in civil
service.
- Number of female teachers and uni students reduced considerably. Only 10% of university
students could be female.
Nazi incentives
- Mix of party pressure and financial incentives were used to coax women out of work and back
into the home.
- From June 1933, interest-free loans were offered to young women who withdrew from work
to marry.
- The Depression caused several women in work to dramatically reduce and enabled the
government to justify its campaign for women to give up work for the benefit of unemployed
men.
- Employers advised to discriminate in favour of men.
- The percentage of women employed fell from 37% in 1932 to 31% in 1937.
Nazi women organisations
- Women excluded from Nazi government.
- The only employment opportunities were within various Nazi Women’s organisations such as
the Nationalist Socialist Womanhood (NSF) and German Women Enterprise (DFW) led by
Gertrud Scholtz-Klink.
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