How did the Life of People
Change in Germany under Nazi
control?
Learning Objectives
•To be able to describe how the lives of different groups of people
changed in the Third Reich
•To be able to explain why this happened and how some people lives
improved
How did the Nazi’s control peoples
lives?
Women
Lives of women during the Third Reich
changed greatly
- They had more freedom
- Got new jobs
- Could votes
- Were allowed to wear what they
wanted to and act as they liked
Things changed when Hitler came to
power…
Women in the Third Reich
• Nazi’s had a very traditional view on the role of
women, they believed a woman:
• Should not wear make up
• Be blonde, heavy hipped and athletic
• Wear flat shoes and a full skirt
• Will not smoke
• Will not go to work
• DO all of the household duties (inc bringing up
the children
• Take no interest in politics
Changes for Women under the
Nazis
• Nazis wanted to focus women on family and
marriage,
• they were concerned with the declining birth rate
• so they launched a propaganda campaign
aimed at promoting motherhood and large
families,
• laws were brought it which gave young couples
who married loans if the wife left her job, the
couple would be allowed to keep a ¼ of the loan
every time they had a new child
• Medals were awarded to women with large families
• Nazis changed the law a divorce was possible if the wife
or husband could not have children
• Lebensborn policy was set up; women could ‘donate a
baby’ to Hitler by getting pregnant by an SS man.
Sometimes the women had to say in this…
• Instead of going to work, women were asked to stick to
the ‘three k’s’ – Kinder, Kuche, Kirche – Children,
Kitchen and Church.
• Women were forced to leave many jobs, and told to do
so the men could return to work
• By 1938 this changed as they need women to work in
factories and on farms so men could join the army
• Some women liked this changes but many saw
• it as a big step back and were unhappy.
How did education and youth
movements control the young?
• The Nazis changed the education system by
controlling:
• Teachers: Made to swear an oath of loyalty to
Hitler and promote Nazi ideals in classroom
• Curriculum: changed to prepare students for
their future roles, he wanted fit and healthy
people so p.e. became very important. Girls and
boys took different lessons
• Textbooks were rewritten to fit Nazi’s views
particularly History. Mein Kampf – Hitler's book
was studied to excess
The Hitler Youth
• Hitler also wanted to control
the youth in their spare time
so they created the ‘Hitler
Youth’.
• All other youth organisations
were banned
• From 1939 membership was
compulsory
• By 1939 there were 7 million
members
Police Control
• Gestapo: Secret police called the Gestapo
would spy on and arrest enemies of the state.
• SS: The SS were responsible for running the
concentration camps.
• Concentration camps: opposition were taken
to the camps for questioning torture and hard
labour, inmates were treated very brutality, few
survived the experiences.
• The Legal system: Hitler sent people to court to
try them for treason, all the judges were Nazis
so people were rarely found innocent
Changes to German Economy
• Unemployment dropped quickly 4.8 million in 1933 to 0.5
million in 1938
• Wages rose slightly but were still lower in 1938 than they
had been in 1928
• Working hours went up to 49 hours per week in 1939 –
52 hours in 1943 to over 60 hours per week by 1945
• There were fewer consumer goods (personal and
household goods
• Trade unions were replaced by “Beauty of Labour” and
strength Through Joy” who organised better conditions
and leisure activities
Religion in Nazi Germany
• Nazism
• Christianity
• Glorified strength
• Hated weakness
• Believed in racial
superiority
• Saw Hitler as a GodLike figure
• Teaches love and
forgiveness
• Helps the weak
• Respect for all people
• Belief in God
Changes to the Church
• Catholic church schools and groups were
controlled and then banned
• They slowly started changing the inside of
churches and created their own Nazi
Church called the Reich Church
• There was a lot of opposition to this and
people set up a Church against the Nazis
called the Confessional Church
Changes to the Church
• Some Protestants admired Hitler and were
called German Christians and wore Nazi
uniforms and gave the greeting in church
as ‘Heil Hitler’
• Their slogan was ‘The Swastika on our
chests and the cross in our hearts
Nazifying of the Church
• Nazifying of the churches occurred:
• God was replaced with Hitler
• The Bible was replaced by a copy of Mein
Kampf
• The Cross was replaced with the Swastika
and Sword
• Jesus disciples were replaced with images
of Hitler’s Henchmen
Were people better off under
the Nazis?
• Unemployment fell everywhere not just in Germany
• Some people were forced to work on public works
• There were disadvantages to SDA and KDF – workers
had no representation
• Workers put more into the economy than they got out
• If you were “Aryan” and of no strong political beliefs life
was relatively good
How did Hitler keep control of
Germany?
The Terror State
Secret police called the
Gestapo would spy on
and arrest enemies of
the state.
SS were responsible
for running the
concentration camps.
Everyone was scared of
being arrested by the
Gestapo and being put in
a concentration camp.
Propaganda
Mass Rallies, Posters
and Propaganda films.
Keeping
Control of
Germany
The Nazis controlled
and censored the radio
& newspapers.
Popularity
School children were
indoctrinated with Nazi
ideas at school.
Ripping up the
Treaty of Versailles.
Creating Jobs
Hitler Youth & the
Young Maidens.
The Terror State
• Both the Gestapo
and the SS were run
by Heinrich
Himmler.
• The Gestapo
employed an army
of spies who would
inform on people.
Enemies of the State; who should
be worried…
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Communists
Social Democrats
Jews
Trade Unionists.
Work Shy
Homosexuals
Gypsies
• Germans who bought
from Jews
• Pacifists
• Radical Christian
Organisation
• Anyone who criticised
Hitler or the Nazi
Party.
How did the Terror State Work?
You are imprisoned
for up to six months
doing hard physical
labour.
You are handed
over to the SS who
run the
concentration
camps.
By signing this form
you are giving your
consent to be put into
a concentration camp.
When you are
released you tell
everybody what has
happened to you
Fear
Days or maybe weeks
later you are
interviewed and
asked to sign form
D11
Gestapo Spies
inform on you
You are woken up by
the Gestapo at 1 am in
the morning and told
that you have 5 minutes
to pack your bags.
You are arrested
and thrown into a
cell at the police
station
How were propaganda and
censorship used?
Nazi Propaganda
• What is propaganda?
• Propaganda is the use
of the Media to
aggressively promote
one point of view.
• Propaganda is
‘brainwashing’ of the
public, convincing
them of an ideological
viewpoint.
Nazi Propaganda
• The Nazi’s quickly recognised the
value of the media. From the early
days of the party they used
aggressive advertising to promote
the nazi ideology
• Goebbels was in charge of
‘enlightening’ the German public
Nazi Propaganda: Methods
• Posters
• Radio
• Film
• Newspapers
Posters
• Posters are cheap and
easy to distribute
• Placed in prominent
positions they act as a
constant reminder of
ideology
• Can be used for many
purposes
Examples of Nazi Posters
Radio
• Hitler’s Speeches
Hitler is considered to have
been one of the greatest
public speakers of all time.
Film
Film was used to show Hitler in a positive light
as often as possible.
The Nazi’s commissioned several films, each
carefully portraying a certain image – try to
think what this may have been…
Newspapers
• Censoring newspapers ensures that
only the news you want people to
read is available to the public
• Nazi party members wrote many
articles for the press, ensuring that
the message was always positive
• Many publications were banned
Rallies
• An annual mass rally was held at
Nuremburg to advertise the power of the
Nazi state
Books
• Books were all carefully controlled and
censored to controlled to make sure the
Nazi message was put across. In order to
ensure this happened book burning
ceremonies took place
How did Nazi Racial Policy affect
life in Germany
Use pages 168 – 172 to fill in box
on your sheet
What was Nazi Racial Policy?
How did Nazi Religious policy
affect life in Germany
Use pages 173 – 174 to answer
this question
Extension Task/Homework
Answer the following question (worth 5
marks)
Describe the treatment of Jews in Germany
between 1933 – 1939