Role of Women in Nazi Germany (SQA National 5 History): Revision Note

Summary 

In Nazi Germany, women were expected to be housewives and mothers at the centre of family life. Many women had to leave their jobs, and women were not asked to serve in the armed forces.

The Nazi regime pushed for more births. Newly married couples could get a 1,000-mark loan and keep 250 marks for each child, and mothers with many children were rewarded with medals.

At home, women were told to keep a tidy household, support their husbands, and raise children the “Nazi way.” Women's appearance was controlled too. The overall aim was to shape women’s lives around motherhood and loyalty to the state.

Women and work

• Women were expected to be housewives and mothers at the centre of family life

• The Nazi regime praised large families

• Youth groups and schools taught girls that their main duties were:

  • Home

  • Husband

  • Children

• Many women, including female doctors, teachers, and civil servants, had to leave their jobs after 1933

• University places for women were reduced

  • Women were steered away from careers toward marriage and motherhood

• Women were not asked to serve in the armed forces

• Girls joined the League of German Maidens, doing fitness, camping, and classes in homemaking and childcare to prepare for family life

Women and motherhood

• The Law for the Encouragement of Marriage (1933) gave newly married couples a 1,000-mark loan

  • For each child, 250 marks of the loan was cancelled

• Mothers received the Mother’s Cross medals

  • Bronze for four children

  • Silver for six children

  • Gold for eight or more children

Women and appearance

• Women were told to wear simple peasant-style clothes, with hair in plaits or buns and flat shoes

• Make-up, dyed hair, trousers, and smoking in public were discouraged to promote a “traditional” image.