The Impact of Nazi Policies on the Position and Role of Women in German

The Impact of Nazi Policies on the Position and Role of Women in Germany, 1933-39 The Nazi regime aimed to utilize the family for its own needs. Women were obligated to marry and have children, instead of having their own personal decisions. The functions of the family were reduced to the single task of reproduction. They aimed to break the family, and to place it as a breeding and rearing institution completely in the service of the totalitarian state. The main objective of Hitler and the Nazis was to increase population to help with 'Volksgemeinschaft'. Germany had a declining birth rate, so they wanted to promote higher birth rates among the Aryan race. This was another key element of the policies adopted. Women were encouraged to have as many children as possible, however this was not acceptable with 'undesirables' like Jews and Black people, only 'Aryans'. The policies used like financial incentives-marriage loans and birth grants, meant that women were placed better when having children. Their role was to maintain high birth rates, and their position and situation was desirable for this role. However all women did not accept this and many did not gain from the measures taken. Underpinned in the policy was the fact that it would restrict women to the home and reduce employment with women, which is what the Nazis wanted. However this was not the case as there was actually a growth in female employment from 1933-39. This was very ironic, the Nazis set out their policies for women to be able to gain from them in having children, however by having less children and getting jobs, women still gained as employment levels rose. Not all... ... for with Nazi beliefs, but were actually disagreeing with the traditional, rural beliefs. From this a mixed picture emerges, some women gained as a result of the personalised and individualised nature of the evidence. Even though the Nazi theory and policy were clear, there were significant contradictions and conflicting issues in practise. The roles issued to women were self-undermining and had logistical inconsistencies, for example, they could not have all the men out fighting and women home, who runs factories etc? These contradictions show some of the irony of Nazism. Some women felt more valued and appreciate and felt more stable, whereas others were sterilised, outlawed, and divorced on spurious grounds. The role and position of women varied between different groups because of the impact of Nazi Policies.