Look at the following pictures
and describe what it suggests
about the role of women in
Nazi Germany
The Cross of Honour of the
German Mother but known as
the Mothers Cross, was Hitler's
idea to encourage Aryan
population growth, Awards were
bronze, silver, or gold cross
depending on the number of
children. Eight = gold cross, six
for silver, and four for bronze.
There was even a Golden Cross
with Diamonds for between
twelve and fourteen children.
The crosses were awarded
annually on August 12 (Hitler's
mother's birthday), and the
second Sunday in May
(Mothering Sunday)
What is meant by…
What do you think is meant by…
Our fourth
child, 4 more
and I will
receive the
Honour Cross
from the Fuhrer
I am proud to
be a in the
Hitler Youth. I
feel like I can
make a
difference
Darling, I will
protect and
defend our
family..
I hope I can be
as good a
homemaker as
you one day
mother
To be able to describe what
life was like for women in Nazi
Germany
To know how women’s rights
changed under the Nazis
compared to their rights under
the Weimar Republic
This phrase was often used by the Nazis to describe
their vision of what life for women should be like.
Decide how far they succeeded in creating this vision of a
virtuous, domestic and family orientated lifestyle for
women within Germany.
Virtuous - Having good qualities. Being morally good.
Domestic - Spending a lot of time living and working in the home
How does Goebbels describe Women? Do you think
women would be happy with this description?
In 1929, Goebbels stated: ‘The mission of women is
to be beautiful and to bring children into the
world. This is not at all as.........un-modern as it
sounds. The female bird preens herself for her
mate and hatches eggs for him. In exchange, the
male takes care of gathering food, and stands
guard and wards off the enemy.’
How did the Nazis try to ‘ease’ women out of the workplace?
The initial policy was to ease women out of the top
levels of the civil service, law, medicine and politics.
Women were induced to stay at home by new ‘marriage
credits’ and child bonuses. The gradual decline of
unemployment, however, created a new demand for
labour. The result was the steady recruitment of
women into both agriculture and industry, the total
reaching 5.2 million by 1938.
Stephen Lee, The European Dictatorships 1918-1945 (Routledge, 1987)
Did the Nazis remove women completely from the workplace?
What did the Nazis want from
German women?
You have 6 minutes to read as much
information as you can on pages 136
and 137, (white book)
As a group of three you have to
prepare an improvised speech
convincing women to follow Nazi rules
How did life change for women in
Germany 1919 - 1945?
Pre 1933
Post 1933
Married and unmarried women were
Loans were offered to brides who agreed
encouraged to have children
not to take a job
The ideal man was a matter of personal
choice
Women sat in the Reichstag
Women were encouraged to stay at
home and be a helpmate to their
Women were told that the ideal husband
husbands
would be an Aryan
The Honour Cross of the German Mother
Women were free to smoke and wear make-
was awarded according to how many
up
children you had
There were 3000 female doctors
Female doctors and civil servants were
sacked
There are six statements that apply to women after 1933, decide
which are the correct statement and write them down under the
correct heading
Preparing for war
...but don't stop having babies!
The Lebensborn Programme: Unmarried mothers 'donated a baby to the Fuhrer'.
SS officers would father the children.
Women's employment increased.
Employers preferred to employ women - it was cheaper.
Hitler believed that a woman's place was in the home.
He wanted women to be at home with the children.
The Nazis encouraged women to have more and more children
As more men joined the armed forces the Nazis needed more women to go to work
Do there seem to be some contradictions within Nazi Policy?
What should the perfect woman
look like according to the
Nazis?
Draw the outline of the body
only
Pass your picture to the person
next to you
Add the clothing
Pass your picture to the person
next to you
Add the hair
Pass your picture to the person
next to you
Add the facial features
Pass your picture to the person
next to you
Add shoes
Pass your picture to the person
next to you
Add anything that women were
not allowed to do and place a
cross over it
Pass your picture to the person
next to you
Add any other features not
included on the picture
Pass your picture to the person
next to you
Label as many features as
you can with an explanation
Give your picture back to the
right person
A German Rhyme addressed to women
“Take hold of
kettle, broom and
pan,
Then you’ll surely
get a man!
Shop and office
leave alone,
Your true life work
lies at home”
You have 5 minutes to
create your own 4 line
rhyme
Explain how the position of
women in Germany changed in
the years 1933-39.
(8 marks)
What is the key word of this Question?
Explain how the position of
women in Germany changed in
the years 1933-39.
(8 marks)
You need to think about at least two areas of change
and provide developed explanations. You must
describe how life for women changed under the
Nazis from the Weimar Republic
Mark Scheme
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1 1-2 Simple or generalised statements of change.
The student makes statements which lack any supporting evidences.
eg Women lost their jobs. (1)
􀁸 1 mark for one simple statement.
􀁸 2 marks for two or more simple statements.
2 3-5 Developed statements of change.
The student supports the statement with relevant examples.
eg One reason was in employment. Married women were made to give up
their careers and concentrate on being wives and mothers.(3)
􀁸 3 marks for one developed statement.
􀁸 4-5 marks for two or more.
3 6-8 Developed explanation of change.
An explanation of more than one change supported by relevant knowledge.
eg As level 2, with details of areas in which they lost employment and
possibly re-employment after 1937. At least one other explained change,
which could include changes in appearance, encouraging marriage and
children, domestic role and the 3Ks.(6-7)
􀁸 6-7 marks for two or more explained factors.
􀁸 8 marks for answers which show links between factors.
Diet
Birth Rate
Contraception
Work
Smoking
Homecraft
Honour Cross
Big Hips
Left over's
Sacked
Natural
Perm
Flat
Lebensborn
Eugenics
Spring of
Life
Duty Year
Pressure
Leaders
Marriage
Loans
Abortion
The Family
Sterilised
Cheaper
To be able to describe what
life was like for women in Nazi
Germany
To know what Nazi policies
regarding women were and
decide if these policies were
successfully carried out