What you need to know about
women during the Third Reich:
• What were Nazi policies towards
women (appearance, jobs,
expectations)?
• How did this compare to
expectations of women/women’s
lives during the Weimar Republic
years?
• How and why did Nazi policy
towards women change from 1937?
• What impact did these policies
have?
• How successful were they?
Women ‘did’
politics!
• Women over 20
could vote
• By 1933 10% of
deputies in the
Reichstag were
female
Women had
careers!
• Many took up
careers in the
professions –
law, medicine
and teaching.
• By 1933 there
were 3000
female doctors.
Under the Weimar Republic…..
Women had
social lives!
• They went out
unescorted,
drank and
smoked in public
• Many were slim
and fashion
conscious
• Wore make up,
cut hair short
etc.
The Nazis had a much more traditional view
of what German women should be like…..
• The Nazis believed men and women had different roles. A man’s role
was as a worker or soldier. A woman’s place was in the home, having
children and caring for her family.
• The Nazis were worried by the decline in the birth rate –
• 1900: over 2 million live births per year
• 1933: under 1 million live births per year
• Contraception and working women were causing this decline. If
Germany was to become a great power again, it needed to increase
its population.
Doesn’t go to work. All
women doctors and civil
servants were dismissed.
Athletic, non-smoking
and non-slimming
– for maximum
fertility.
Takes no interest in
politics.
Does all household duties,
especially cooking.
Aryan, heavy
hipped, flat heels,
no make-up.
Wears clothes made
from home produced
substitutes for
imported wool, cotton
and silk.
Has a large family and is
an ideal mother….brings
up children as loyal
Nazis, encouraging them
to worship the Fuhrer
and join Hitler Youth
The ideal Nazi woman
How were women
encouraged to
have children?
Propaganda to promote
large families and
motherhood.
Marriage loans – to help
young couples (providing
the wife left her job). For
each child born to a
couple, the state would
write off 25% of their
loan.
The Lebensborn –
unmarried, Aryan women
were encouraged to
‘donate a baby to the
Fuhrer’ by becoming
pregnant by ‘racially pure’
SS men
1938 – divorce law was
changed to allow divorce
if either a husband or wife
could not have children.
How and why did the Nazis
change their policies towards
women from 1937 onwards?
• Germany was rearming. Men
were joining the army. Women
were needed in armaments
factories.
• Marriage loans were
abolished.
• Women had to serve a
compulsory ‘duty year’ after
entering employment.
• The Nazis still didn’t give up on
their other aim – for women
to produce more children!
What was the impact of Nazi policies towards women? Were
they successful?
Failures
• The birth-rate didn’t increase as dramatically
as hoped!
• For some women, the pressure to have
children became too much. There were
• The birth-rate did increase from less
some cases of women kidnapping babies.
than 1m in 1933 to 1.4m by 1939.
• Before 1937, despite Nazi propaganda,
• Many women were keen supporters
female employment actually increased,
of the Nazis .
mainly due to the economic recovery.
Employers preferred to employ women as
• A lot of women felt better off under
they could be paid less.
the Nazis, especially those who were
rewarded financially by the Nazi
• After 1937, more women did get jobs, but
government for having children.
not as many as hoped. By 1939 there were
fewer women working than there had been
in Weimar Germany before the Depression.
Successes
The 4 mark ‘inference’ question
• Don’t use your own knowledge
• Give ONE supported inference.
You could do 2 to be on the safe
side.
• Support your inference(s) with a
direct quote from the source.
The 4 mark ‘inference’ question
What can you learn from source A about the treatment of women in
Nazi Germany?
THE EXAMINER SAYS….
Source A suggests that women were
expected to conform to the Nazis’
expectations of their appearance and
behaviour, and were denied the
opportunity to have a career. I know
this because it says “Women…were
forced to stay at home…..make up was
frowned upon.” 4/4 marks
 The answer picks up on
something the source
suggests, but doesn’t
actually say about the
treatment of women– ie.
it makes an inference
 The answer doesn’t use
wording which is too
close to the wording of
the source – this is
copying or paraphrasing,
and would only get 1
mark
 It backs up the inference
with a short quote from
the source
Explain the effects of Nazi policies towards women. (8 marks)
Explain the effects of x = what difference did x make?
QUESTION 1c: Explain the effects of……. (8 marks)
One effect of x was……..
For example…….. (explain the effect
using detailed knowledge).
This led to..... (try to explain the longer
term significance of the effect).
To reach an A*, link your two effects
A second effect of x was……..
For example…….. (explain the effect
using detailed knowledge).
This led to..... (try to explain the longer
term significance of the effect).
Another way of reaching an A* on this Q is to
link your two effects at the end, by writing a
short conclusion explaining the link. You only
need a conclusion if you’re aiming for an A*
10 mins
Explain the effects of
Nazi policies towards
women
Effect 1:
Women were denied the opportunity to
have a career.
• Under the WR there were 3000 female
doctors, and 10% of Reichstag deputies
were women.
• After 1933, female doctors and civil
servants were pushed out of their jobs.
Women were expected to be
homemakers and mothers, and not be
interested in politics or careers.
Effect 2:
Women felt pressured to have children,
and to conform to Nazi expectations.
• Incentives eg. marriage loans
• Lebensborn
• Expectations of dress, appearance and
healthy lifestyle
One is either a
Christian or a
German.
You can’t be
both…
What do you think Hitler
meant by this?
Does each bubble show a reason for or against
destroying the Churches?
In 1933 nearly
all Germans
were Christians.
Approximately
33% Catholic
and 66%
Protestant.
Church
meetings could
be used for
spreading antiNazi ideas.
Churches
provided a local
power base for
the Nazis. If they
could build on
this they would
be even
stronger.
People who
believed in God
might be less
likely to worship
Hitler as the
leader of
Germany.
There was
common ground
between the Nazis
and the churches
on several issues –
eg. the
importance of
family life.
There were
Church schools
and youth groups
Catholics owed
whose message
their first
to the young was
allegiance to
at odds with that
the Pope, not
of the Nazis.
Hitler.
How did Hitler deal with the Catholic Church?
• Hitler signed an
agreement with the
Pope that neither
would interfere with
the ‘business’ of the
other.
Concordat 1933
Persecution
after 1933
• Catholics schools &
youth groups were
closed down
• Priests were harassed.
Outspoken critics of the
Nazis were sent to CCs.
• The Pope made a famous
statement attacking the
Nazi system, titled With
Burning Anxiety
The Pope
speaks out 1937
The Nazis never destroyed the Churches….they just weakened them as a
source of resistance to Nazi policies.
How did Hitler deal with the Protestant Church?
•Hitler united all the
various Protestant
Churches under the name
of ‘The Reich Church’. It
was led by Nazi supporter
Bishop Muller.
The Reich
Church
The German
Christians
•Members of the Reich
Church were called
German Christians.
•Their slogan: the swastika
on our breasts and the
cross in our hearts.
•In 1934 Pastor Niemoller
set up the Confessional
Church to speak out
against Nazi policies.
•Niemoller was arrested in
1937 and sent to a CC.
Opposition
dealt with
The Nazis never destroyed the Churches….they just weakened them as a
source of resistance to Nazi policies.
QUESTION 1b: Describe the key features of…..
Describe the measures taken….
Describe the policies of…..
Describe the weaknesses of…. (6 marks)
One policy was…..
+ factual knowledge to
develop it
A second policy was…..
+ factual knowledge to
develop it
10 mins
• In the first sentence of each
paragraph, identify the
measure.
• Then develop it with factual
knowledge.
ACTIVITY
• Decide and write down – what
are your two measures (first
sentences of each paragraph)
going to be?
• Then jot down 3 bullet points of
factual knowledge to
develop/support each measure.
The 6 mark ‘describe’ question
Describe the measures taken by Hitler to control the churches in
Germany.
One measure taken by Hitler to control the Churches was
the Concordat. This was an agreement which Hitler made
with the Pope in July 1933. The Pope agreed to stay out of
politics and Hitler agreed not to interfere with the
Catholic Church. Hitler saw the Catholic Church as a
threat because Catholics had divided loyalties – their first
allegiance was to the Pope. Really, the Concordat just
lulled the Catholic Church into a false sense of security.
A second measure which Hitler took to control the
Churches was repression. A few months after signing the
Concordat, Catholic schools were interfered with and
eventually closed down. Priests were harassed and open
critics of the Nazis were sent to concentration camps,
such as Protestant Pastor Niemoller, who had set up the
Confessional Church to oppose Nazi social policies.
6/6 marks
HOW DID IT GET 6/6?
• Clear measure
identified in first
sentence of each
paragraph, eg. One
measure was the
Concordat….
• Two paragraphs –
One measure was…
A second measure
was….
• Good factual
knowledge to
develop each
measure
QUESTION 2 TYPE B: Explain how……. (8 marks)
One way in which x dealt with y
was…
For example…….. (explain how the
method or policy dealt with the
issue).
This dealt with y because..... (sum up
the impact of the method on the
issue (y)).
To reach an A*, link your two methods
A second way in which x dealt with
y was…
For example…….. (explain how the
method or policy dealt with the
issue).
This dealt with y because..... (sum up
the impact of the method on the
issue (y)).
Another way of reaching an A* on this Q
is to write a short conclusion explaining
the link between the 2 methods.
You only need a conclusion if you’re
10 mins aiming for an A*
METHOD/IMPACT
Eg. Explain how Hitler dealt with the
Catholic and Protestant churches in
Germany in the years 1933-39.
• Q2 can be phrased in two ways. One type
is focusing on how someone (x) dealt with
an issue (y).
• For this type of question, make sure you
focus on methods or policies.
• With all 8 markers, aim for 2 points if you
can.
• You can reach up to 6/8 marks (a B grade)
with just one, well explained reason.
However, to reach a B grade or above
don’t focus simply on what was done (eg.
Concordat), but on how these actions
dealt with the issue (eg. lulling the
Catholic Church into a false sense of
security).
• Explain how Hitler dealt with the Catholic and
Protestant churches in Germany in the years 193339.
METHOD
1
Catholic Church was encouraged to believe that the Nazis
wouldn’t persecute it – but they did!
• Concordat
• Persecution of Catholic priests/closing down of Catholic
schools and youth movements
METHOD
2
By taking control of the Church from within – the Protestant
Churches were united, making them easier to control.
• The Reich Church & its pro-Nazi leader Bishop Muller
• Nazi symbols, flags and slogan
OVERALL/
A* LINK
Rather than destroying the Churches, both methods were ways
of limiting their power to oppose Nazi policies.