1. The Role of Women in
the Third Reich
Clarissa Nitihardjo
002171-012
IB History HL
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2. Focus Questions
• What role were women to play in the Nazi
state?
• How did the Nazi try to implement their
ideas?
• How successfully did the Nazis impose
their ideology on German women?
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3. WHAT ROLE WERE WOMEN
TO PLAY IN THE NAZI STATE?
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4. >> 0 >> 1 >> 2 >> 3 >> 4 >>

5. Sources in p. 293-294
• Sources 2-6
– To have kids
– To work in the kitchen & take care of households
– To be ―womanly complement of man‖
• Sources 7-9
– Woman’s world is smaller than men’s
– Women can’t go to men’s world
– Only think emotionally
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6. • Source 10-13
– To be pretty
– Have to get married
– Have kids no matter how bad their living
conditions are
• Sources 14-15
– To ask other women to be the same
 All of these will lead women to find their man
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8. >> 0 >> 1 >> 2 >> 3 >> 4 >>

9. HOW DID THE NAZI TRY TO
IMPLEMENT THEIR IDEAS?
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10. Laws
• 1933: The Law for the Reduction of
Unemployment
– Linking it with women policy
• Marriage loans
• Restrictions on women’s employment in
the Civil Services
• Divorce become easier
– Too boost birth rate
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11. Organizations
• Series of organizations
– Not mere propaganda
– Support women & children
• Number of women attending recuperation
homes after childbirth increases (1934-
1938)
• Prolific mothers were awarded medals
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12. Nazi Organizations for Women
• 10-14 Young Girls
• 14-18 League of German Girls
• 18-21 Faith and Beauty
• NSF (National Socialist Women’s Organization)
• DFW (German Women’s Enterprise)
• RAD and DAF women’s sections
• NSV (National Socialist People’s Welfare)
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13. How effective were Nazi policies?
• Contradictions
– Attitude towards marriage
• Hitler Youth taught the children to challenge any non-Nazi
attitude  parents = victim
– Divorces & sterilization for non-Aryan
• Anger Church
– Attempts to drive women back home  less successful
• Employment of women increased
– Opportunities in universities was restricted
• But later reversed
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14. How effective were Nazi policies?
• Historian Mason argued
―The regime was more popular with women
than men‖
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15. Conclusion
• Impact of Nazi policy on women
– Debate among historians
• This illustrates some of the limitations of
the totalitarian nature
– Cautious approach
• Complex & varied
– Not simply reflection of Nazi ideology
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16. Churches vs. Nazi in the
Third Reich
Clarissa Nitihardjo
002171-012
IB History HL
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17. Focus Questions
• How did the Nazis regime treat the
Churches?
• How did the Churches react to the Nazi
state?
• How did the German people respond to
the uneasy relationship between Church
and state?
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18. INTRODUCTION
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19. Rewind to 1933
• Concordat between Pope and Hitler
• Sept 1933: Hundreds of Pastors created a
break away movement
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20. Churches before 1933
• Catholic
– Members 22 million
– Powerful: range of bodies, schools, charities
– Catholic Z and BVP parties received about
20% of the votes in Weimar elections
• Protestants
– Members: 40 million
– Majorly: Lutheran and Calvinist
– Youth organizations: 0.7 million
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21. Religious Organization during
the Third Reich
• Reich Church
– Organization of the Protestant Churches
– Hitler hoped to dominate it
– But state-controlled Church  reaction &
broke away
• German Christians
– Wanted to restructure Protestantism  racially based
– ―SA of the Church‖  adopted Nazi styles (uniform &
salute)
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22. Religious Organization during
the Third Reich
• Confessional Churches
– 1934 broke away from Reich Church
– Not based on opposition to Nazism as such
– To defend the Protestant Church against state
interference
• German Faith Movement
– Stage 3
– Wanted to replace Christianity with a new pagan Nazi
faith
– Remained small sect
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23. HOW DID THE NAZI REGIME
TREAT THE CHURCHES?
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24. Nazi Policy Towards the Church
STAGE ONE
CONTROL – Gain as much control as
possible over Churches
a. Creating of a unified Protestant Reich Church
 Failed since Confessional Church broke away
b. Concordat agreement with Pope
 OK at first, later criticism of state infingement
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25. Nazi Policy Towards the Church
STAGE TWO
WEAKEN – Weaken hold of traditional Christianity
a. Make Protestantism more Nazi via German
Christians
 Provoked reaction and increased support
for Confessional Church
b. Undermine and reduce influence of Catholic
Church
 Public hostility
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26. Nazi Policy Towards the Church
STAGE THREE
REPLACE – Replace Christianity with a true
Nazi religion
a. Replace Christianity with German Faith
Movement
 Only sporadic attempts to achieve this;
postponed until after war
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27. Nazi  Church
• Attacking what they saw as Church
interference
– However, Several Gauleiter abandoned anti-
Church activities
• Hitler Youth—Less and less stress was
put on religious education in schools
– 1935: 65%, 1937: 5%, 1939: none
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28. Nazi  Church
• 200 priests were accused of sexual &
financial affairs
• 1937: over 100,000 Christians left Church
1939: 3.5 million
Neo-pagan movement
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29. HOW DID THE CHURCH
REACT TO THE NAZI STATE?
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30. Churches  Nazi
• Churches were more concerned with
protecting their institutions
• There were several critical statements
• 1937: Pope issued the encyclical ―With
Burning Grief‖
– Government’s breaking of Concordat
– Harassment of priests
– Nazi idolatry of the state & race
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31. Ludwig Müller
• Nationalist & anti-Semitic Protestant
• Became a Bishop in 1933
• Pushed into the background after break
away of Confessional Church
• 1946: Committed Suicide
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32. Alfred Rosenburg
• Anti-Semitic, Anti-Christian Nazi Ideologue
• German Faith Movement (Pagan)
• Fought hard against Christianity
• Hanged in 1946
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33. Dietrich Bonhöffer
• 1935: Confessional Church
• Broadcast a critique of the
Führerprinzip
• Cut off
• Taught and encourage trainee pastors
to resist Nazism
– College closed and banned form
preaching
• 1945: Executed in concentration camp
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34. HOW DID GERMAN PEOPLE
RESPOND TO THE UNEASY
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
CHURCH AND STATE?
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35. German  Church vs. State
• Source 16.16 p. 313
– Police report in Cologne, March 1934
• Source 16.17 p. 313
– Bavarian district police report, June 1939
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36. German  Church vs. State
• Christian faith remained strong &
increased in WWII
• German Faith Movement (Pagan) failed
• There was more criticism and opposition
to the regime from individual than from the
Churches
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37. Thank You 
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