Women in Nazi Germany

WOMEN IN WEIMAR GERMANY

• There were no restrictions on jobs
• Use of contraception was growing
• Birth rates were falling because of growing use of contraception and women wanted to pursue careers
• There were over 3,000 female doctors

NAZI GERMANY, 1933-1939

• Jobs for women were restricted
• Women were only allowed to work until they had children
• Nazis had traditional views of women and wanted them to primarily be mothers
• They believed that women's place was in the home
• Women were exposed to propaganda promoting a large family
• Loans were offered to new brides who didn't take a job
• Women were encouraged to stop smoking and do sport to promote fertility
• Female civil servants were sacked
• Women were told the ideal way to behave
• The Honour Cross of the German Mother was awarded to women who bore lots of children

NAZI GERMANY, 1939-1945

• The Nazis realised that women were needed desperately for work
• All loans for women were abolished
• There was a 'duty year' for women entering the labour market
• Conditions for women in the workplace were poor
• Women had to shop with ration cards
• There were few eligible men to marry due to the war
• Women…