In Nazi Germany during the Third Reich, which began in the early 1930’s, the role of Women in the society was greatly affected by different policies that were created by the totalitarian government system. Some of these policies included the Law of Encouragement of Marriage, the Lebensborn program, and the Law for Prevention of Hereditary Diseased Offspring (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum).
The law of Encouragement of Marriage said that newly wed couples would be given a loan of 1000 marks and for each child that they had they would be allowed to deduct 250 marks from their loan (Trueman).
This meant that if a family had 4 or more children they would pay their entire loan off. The Lebensborn Program of 1936 meant that racially pure Aryan women, usually unmarried, would live in Lebensborn houses while they carried the children of SS men in secret (The “Lebensborn” Program).
Once the child was born, they were given to the SS organization to educate the child and facilitate their adoption. All men and women who applied to live in the Lebensborn houses first needed to pass a racially pure test.
This test included tracing the family’s genetics back at least 3 generations and blonde hair and blue eyes were preferred (The “Lebensborn” Program).
The Law for the Prevention of Hereditary Diseased Offspring meant that women who were considered to be racially impure or undesirable were sterilized so that they would not be able to produce more offspring. These laws were designed to increase the population of “pure” Germans and increase the amount of soldiers and mothers that lived in Germany (Turk).
The Essay on The Norm Children Women
Cause and Effect Report " The Norm" Throughout history society has changed greatly. However, much has remained untouched by the sands of time. One of the unchanged properties is what society considers the "Norm." The "Norm", is a set of rules which govern society. It is not a printed document (usually), but merely a commonly accepted set of standards. The "Norm" is made up by society's perception ...
The policies that were imposed upon women in Nazi Germany can be considered both successful and unsuccessful. When these policies were first imposed, everyone complied with the policies and women began bearing more children (Women in the Nazi State).
As a result, women were forced to commit themselves to the domestic life thus forfeiting their chance to be employed outside of the home. While more women committed themselves to domestic life, more men were able to take their jobs. Through these laws the population increased dramatically and women and girls now had the opportunity to help support the Nazi organizations (German Women and 3 K’s).
The policies were unsuccessful because Germany lost the war and thus they did not need all of these pure Germans to populate these territories because they lost control of them when the war was lost. The women were also needed to work when the war was in its most intense period, but due to the policies that were imposed on women, they were used to living a solely domestic life and did not want to return to the workforce (German Women and 3 K’s).
The policies were unsuccessful as well, because there was a large amount of discrimination towards women, limiting their rights as German citizens. The Nazi party, through imposing these policies, increased the German population from 66 million people in 1933 to 68 million people in 1938 (Ganse), which is the main reason these policies could be considered a success.
Work cited:
Allison, Fiona. “The Role of Women in Nazi Germany 1939-1945 West European History. N.p., hhhhhh8 Oct. 2009. Web. 23 Aug. 2012.
Ganse, Alexander. “History of Germany.” World History at KMLA. Korean Minjork Leadership Academy, 11 Sept. 2008. Web. 23 Aug. 2012.
“German Women and 3 K’s.” German Culture. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Aug. 2012.
Simkin, John. “Women in Nazi Germany .” Spartacus Educational. Spartacus Educational hhhhhhPublishers, n.d. Web. 23 Aug. 2012.
The Essay on Nazi Foreign Policy
2012 HSC Question –“ How successful was Nazi foreign policy in achieving its aims to September 1939?” Following the Nazi rise to power, Adolf Hitler’s regime conducted, and to a certain degree implemented a foreign policy that aimed for the incorporation of all Germanic speaking peoples into the Reich (Volksgemeinschaft); German domination of Western Europe; and the attainment of vast areas of ...
“The “Lebensborn” Program.” Jewish Virtual Library. N.p., 27 Apr. 2000. Web. 23 Aug. 2012.
Trueman, Chris. “The Role of Women in Nazi Germany.” History Learning Site. N.p., n.d. hhhhhhWeb. 23 Aug. 2012.
Turk, Eleanor L. “Nazi Germany, 1933-1939.” World History at KMLA. N.p., 7 Feb. 2011. Web. hhhhhh23 Aug. 2012.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. “Women in the Third Reich” Holocaust Encyclopedia. Web. 23 Aug. 2012.
“Women in the Nazi State.” BBC GCSE Bitesize. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Aug. 2012.
