Women and the Family

1. What role were women to play in the Nazi state?2. How did the Nazis attempt to implement their ideas?

3. How successful were they?

The role of women in the Nazi state

• Nazi views towards women:

Using the sources create a list of Nazi objectives

The role of women in the Nazi state

On your MWB, write a 3 word summary explaining Nazi views towards women

The social state of Germany in 1933

• Population growth had decelerated (Below one million births in 1933)

• Female employment expanded by a third (Impact of WWI and industrialisation)

• Use of contraception to limit family size was becoming more common in order to increase standard of living and give women career opportunities

• Why would this cause concern for the Nazis?

What did the Nazis implement?

Pages 72 – 75

Complete your spider diagram by filling in information on the following:

• Female employment

• Marriage and family

Study the painting by Wolf Willrich and identify five ways in which this family illustrates the perfect Nazi idealThere are 10 ways in total – prize to the person who identifies all 10!

1. The family has four children, and the mother has just had a baby

2. The mother is caring for the baby

3. She wears a plain dress4. She has her hair in a bun;

she is not wearing make-up

5. The mother is not skinny6. The family lives in a

rural/farming environment

7. The boy wears his Hitler Youth uniform and is making something out of the clay

8. The younger sister plays with a doll - preparation for motherhood

9. The elder sister has plaited hair (acceptable fashions), and gazes longingly at the baby (longing for motherhood)

10.The family have fair hair, athletic bodies and ruddy complexions - they are the ideal Aryans

How successful were the Nazis?

• Using pages Layton p.71 - 76 and the handouts:

Find examples to support the claim that policy towards women was a success and also a failure

Some things to consider

• Did the Nazis give women more status in their society?

• What aspects of Nazi views on women are still prevalent today?

Homework

Research the following question and note down some bullet points to

discuss next lesson:

• What was happening in other countries at the time (1930s) in relation to the

position of women?

Due: next lesson (09/01)

Women and the Family

What did you find out for homework about the position of women in other countries in the 1930s?

Women in other countries

America – a modern 1930s woman had a professional career, was fashion conscious, had dyed and permed hair, smoked, wore make up, was slim, wore trousers and high heels

France – in the 1930s France was one of many countries that banned contraception and abortion, and gave rewards for large families

Some states in America and some Scandinavian countries compulsorily sterilised mentally ill people

Does this affect your views of Nazi policies?

How successful were the Nazis? feedback

• Using pages Layton p.71 - 76 and the handouts:

Find examples to support the claim that policy was a success and also a failure

Some things to consider

• Did the Nazis give women more status in their society?

• What aspects of Nazi views on women are still prevalent today?

Contradictions in Nazi policy

Ideology cards (a-d)Conflicting development cards (i-vii)

Identify the contradictions between Nazi ideology and some of the developments that the government actually assisted, by linking each belief with one or more developments

How successful were the Nazis?

Read the historians’ assessments and answer the following questions:

1. What contradictions in Nazi policies towards women do De Grand and Frevert identify?

2. Which historian stresses the success of Nazi policies most?

3. What explanations do Mason and Frevert give for the successes of Nazi policies?

4. Why does Pine see Nazi policy towards the family as evidence of the regime’s totalitarian nature?

5. What conclusions can be drawn from these extracts as to the impact of Nazi policies on women?

Eyewitness accounts

Did these people conform to Nazi policies? Why/why not?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC05SbnDRSc

Start at 2mins30s

DEBATE

In pairs, you are going to hold a debate between two young women in 1939, one

supporting and one critical of the regime. Use the key points handout to

help you