Nazi Policies Towards Women

1. To start off…
German actress and cabaret star Marlene Dietrich starring in
the film Der Blaue Engel (The Blue Angel) in 1930.
What can you SEE in this
photograph?
What do you THINK this says
about German women during
the 1920s and early 1930s?
What does this make
you WONDER? (any
questions?)

2. How were women treated by the Nazis?
Objective To learn about the role of women in Nazi Germany
Challenges
 Can I describe the archetypal woman in Nazi Germany?
 Can I explain how and why the role of women changed
under the Nazis?
 Can I analyse the impact of the changes made to women?
Key words
Kinder, Kirche, Küche
Lebensborn

3. Objective To learn about the role of women in Nazi Germany
Challenge  Can I describe the archetypal woman in Nazi Germany?
Draw
In the centre of your page, draw
a quick sketch of the outline of a
woman. There should be room
both outside and within your
outline to write notes.
Study the three sources provided.
a) Annotate the outside of your lady with notes about how women
were expected to appear and behave in Nazi Germany.
b) Leave the inside of your lady blank for the moment, as we will be
using this space later on.

4. Objective To learn about the role of women in Nazi Germany
Challenge  Can I describe the archetypal woman in Nazi Germany?
52 year-old, pure Aryan
physician, wishes to settle
down. Desires male offspring
through civil marriage with
young, healthy virgin of pure
Aryan stock. She should be
undemanding, suited to heavy
work, and thrifty. She should
wear flat heels, be without
earrings and, if possible,
without money.
A
B
C

5. Objective To learn about the role of women in Nazi Germany
Challenge  Can I explain how and why the role of women changed?
1920s 1930s
Why do you think that the
role of women changed
when the Nazi Party took
control?
 The Nazis were a male-dominated organisation.
 Hitler had many traditional, conservative views.
 The Nazis were worried about the falling birth rate.

6. Objective To learn about the role of women in Nazi Germany
Challenge  Can I explain how the role of women changed under the Nazis?
Nazi laws and policies
Using the video and the article provided,
answer the following questions:
 What restrictions were imposed on
women by law?
 What rewards and incentives were
offered to women who lived up to the Nazi
ideal?
 How did the Nazis attempt to increase the
birth rate in Germany?

7. Objective To learn about the role of women in Nazi Germany
Challenge  Can I analyse the impact of the changes made to women?
How do you think women living in Nazi Germany would have felt about the
rules and expectations of them?
Write your ideas inside the outline of your lady.

8. Objective To learn about the role of women in Nazi Germany
Challenge  Can I analyse the impact of the changes made to women?
… but we also need women to work?
1937 - Historians argue that Nazi Germany
was full of contradictions and chaos. Policies
were widely improvised for each new crisis!
With men now joining the army, the Nazis
now needed more women to work. Marriage
loans were abolished and ‘duty year’ for
all women was introduced.
1939 there were still less women working
that during the Weimar Republic era.

9. Objective To learn about the role of women in Nazi Germany
Challenge  Can I analyse the impact of the changes made to women?
What was life really like for women in Nazi Germany?
In groups write a play set in 1938. The main characters are members of a
single family, although additional characters can be used as well.
The Family
Mother (Mid 30s working in a factory
Father (Mid 30s also working in a factory
Daughter 1 (18 and serving her duty year
Daughter 2 (aged 9)
Include: Details from your text books – pg. 136-139
including the sources and any information you have learnt
so far. Ensure that your write down your play as you will be
adding a second scene set in wartime Germany.

10. To conclude…
Do you think that Nazi policies…
OR
…the lives of women?

11. 52 year-old, pure Aryan
physician, wishes to settle
down. Desires male offspring
through civil marriage with
young, healthy virgin of pure
Aryan stock. She should be
undemanding, suited to heavy
work, and thrifty. She should
wear flat heels, be without
earrings and, if possible,
without money.
Source BSource A
Propaganda painting showing the
ideal Nazi family. This was painted by
Wolfgang Willrich in the 1930s
An advert from a lonely hearts
column, written by a German doctor
in 1940.
Source C
A German slogan meaning “Children, Church and Kitchen.” It was
commonly used to sum up Nazi attitudes towards the role of women.