Nazi Policies on Women: Societal Influence

Nazi policies towards women were significant in shaping German society after 1933. The focus for women was on childbirth, with many being forced or bribed to marry, give up their jobs, and have children. Propaganda idealized the German family and encouraged a large number of Aryan children. Girls were taught racial hygiene in schools and trained to be housewives in youth movements. They were encouraged to lead healthy lives by giving up smoking, drinking, and wearing makeup. The German peasant family was seen as the ideal German type, and the Honour Cross of the German Mother was introduced in 1938. Women were forced out of political roles and some professions, with the promotion of the 3 Ks (Kinder, Küche, Kirche – children, kitchen, church). These policies led to increased birth rates.

However, there were also some limitations to the impact of Nazi policies towards women. Conscripting women led the Nazis to reverse some of their policies on women's war work by 1937, and half a million women served as auxiliaries in the Wehrmacht. More significantly, the policies towards young people, such as the focus on nationalism, Führer worship, and racial antisemitism in the school curriculum, and the training of young people as future soldiers and political leaders in the Hitler Youth had a larger impact on German society. Additionally, policies towards workers, such as the introduction of the German Labor Front (DAF) and the banning of trade unions, as well as job creation initiatives and the focus on rearmament and autarky through the Four-Year Plan, had a greater influence. The persecution of minorities, particularly Jews, through racism and antisemitism, propaganda, media censorship, and the impact of the Second World War, bombings, total war policy, and rationing further shaped German society. Therefore, while Nazi policies towards women were significant, they were not the sole factor in shaping German society after 1933.