Changing life for the German people, 1933-1939

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  • Created by: loupardoe
  • Created on: 16-06-16 17:14

How did Nazi economic and social policy affect life in Germany?

dealing with Germany's economic problems

  • creation of the National Labour Service Corps- compulsory for all males aged 18-25 to serve for 6 months, undertaking manual labour jobs. workers lived in camps, wore uniforms and carried out military drill as well as work
  • public works programme- men were put to work on public works schemes
  • rearmament- transformed German industry, created jobs, conscription introduced in 1935
  • control of the economy- Schacht used deficit spending and mefo bills to create jobs and finance public spending, Goering introduced four year plan, designed to speed up rearmament, prepare country for war, establish policy of autarky which would make Germany self sufficient
  • invisible unemployment- unemployment fell but did not include Jews or women dismissed from their jobs or opponents of the Nazi regime held in concentration camps
  • control of the workforce- unions banned and replaced with German Labour Front- complete control over discipline of workers, regulating pay and hours of work
  • rewarding the workforce- Strength through Joy organisation set up. aimed to improve leisure time by sponsoring subsidised leisure activities and cultural events. Beauty of work aimed to improve working conditions through the building of canteens and sports facilities. Volkswagen scheme introduced to allow workers to save 5 marks a week to buy their own car

Nazi attitudes and policies towards women

  • progress made by women during the Weimar period- achieved equal voting rights, encouraged to obtain a good education, taken up careers, could go out unescorted, follow fashion, smoke and drink in public
  • Nazi attitudes towards women- viewed men as desicion makers and political activists, viewed women as being responsible for the home and bringing up children, discouraged women from wearing make-up, trousers, high heels and from dyeing their hair
  • Nazi policies aimed at women- the three k's: Children, Kitchen, Church. expected to give up their jobs, get married and start a family. Law for the encouragement of marriage- provided loans to encourage couples to marry, provided the wife left her job. couples were allowed to keep one-quarter of the loan for each child born, up to four children. The motherhood cross medal was awarded to women with large families. Lebensborn programme- to boost the population, unmarried aryan women were encouraged to become pregnant to racially pure ** men

Nazi control of education

  • teachers had to belong to the Nazi Teacher's League; they had to promote Nazi ideas in the classroom and swear an oath of loyalty to Hitler
  • curriculum was strictly controlled; for boys emphasis was military; girls emphasis was needlework and cookery to enable them to become good homemakers and mothers
  • lessons started with pupuils saluting and saying Heil Hitler. biology lessons were used to study racial theory and the importance of the master race; geography lessons were used to show how Germany was surrounded by hostile neighbours
  • textbooks were rewritten to reflect Nazi views- history textbooks contained a heavy emphasis upon German military glory and evils of Communism and the Jews who…

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