The Impact of Nazism on the Women in the Years 1918-1945

The Impact of Nazism on the Women in the Years 1918-1945

Socio-economic factors and the demands of wartime had a greater impact

on women in Germany than the Nazi regime. Furthermore, women’s

experiences were vicariously influenced through Nazi race or eugenic

policy rather than through women’s policy per se. Traditional analysis

of German women has concluded that the impacts of Nazism were an

increase in birth rate, a return to the domestic sphere and the total

suspension of political power. Yet, more recent examinations reveal

this conclusion to be mainly based on presuppositions. There was

little real impact on the statistics of women in educational

institutions, the workforce, nor a significant gain in birth rate.

Nazi gender ideology failed to be systematically implemented thus

having a limited impact on women’s lives.

During the Weimar years women had increasing political, social and

workplace rights. The Nazis had little influence on women until they

came to power in 1933. According to Nazism, women were to return to

the domestic sphere, marry young, and produce as many children as

possible. “Equal rights for women” Hitler explained, “means that they

receive the esteem they deserve in the sphere nature assigned to them.”[1]

These children would become the soldiers and mothers of the next

generation, populating areas taken by the Nazis for lebensraum[2].

Hedwing Ertl[3] explained, “The German woman… must be industrious and

honest and she must want to have lots of children and be motherly”[4].

No official party positions were to be held by women in the Nazi

party. The ‘emancipation’ of women was painted as part of a Jewish or

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...ave atleast some of their charges by… altering reports, hiding

patients from authorities, or sending them back to their parents and

warning them of the imminent dangers” [Stibbe]

[44] Methods outlined by in Stibbe pg 40. Christian groups were often

in opposition to the policies of Hitler, and there was great

difficulty in reconciling the absolute right and wrong of the Bible

with the absolute right and wrong of Nazi ideology.

[45] Johnson op. cit. pg 422

[46] This figure is derived from 7,000 Jews from war-related

industries, 1, 700 from mixed marriages. Figures from Johnson op. cit.

pg 424

[47] Propaganda Minister in Nazi Germany, and a man of great

importance and power within the regime.

[48] Johnson Op. Cit. pg 424; though not the men taken not married to

a gentile, which was the much larger group.