Nazi Social Policy

To what extent did the Nazis successfully develop a

Volksgemeinschaft?

What was it?

The creation of a racially unified

and hierarchic

ally organized body in

which the interests

of individuals would be strictly

subordinate to those

of the nation, or

Volk. 

Who was included? All Germans: men, women, children. All professions. All regions of Germany. All ages.

Ao1b: How successfully was it created?Difficult to assess due to; nature of Nazi propaganda state; apparatus of terror; lack of reliable sources.

Racism Nationalism Authoritarianism

Social Darwinism: creation of a strong German race by exclusion of the weak or corrupt influence of other races (most specifically Jews).

Ao1b: focused on by Nazi regime- collusion of German people debatable.

Ao1b: foreign policy aims liked by people.

Großdeutschland; the return of Germany to strength following the actions of the November Criminals. Return to strength from 1933; rearming, end of League.

Führerprinzip: one leader in charge of the hierarchy; loyalty sworn to the leader; development of the cult of the Führer.

Ao1b: Many kept loyalty/ belief in Hitler even when complaining about Nazi regime.

Largest social group in German society: removed the Trade Unions and set up DAF (Robert Ley).

DAF; set working hours/ wages;

dealt with strikes/ disobedience/ set

rents.

SdA (Beauty of Labour): working

conditions/ meals/ exercise.

KdF (Strength through Joy): cultural visits,

sports, holiday, transport.

Creation of employment

biggest ability to win over the

working class.

Workers (Industrial)

Ao1b: Discontent (before 1939), wages rose but so did contributions, increase in working hours per week (from 43 hours in 1933 to 47 hours in 1939 to 60 in 1944), improvements in rearmament industry not consumer industry.No-one ever got any Volkswagens.Many workers did grumble and complain but no mass opposition.

Peasants/ Farmers

‘Blood and Soil’; rural utopia attracted peasants/ farmers especially with bad times under Weimar.

Agricultural policies: written off farm debts and mortgages; tax breaks; low interest rates; Reich Entailed Farm Law; Reich Food Estate.

Landed classes worried old estates would be broken up. They weren’t. More cheap land offered.

Ao1b: Darré fell out of favour with the Nazi higher ups.Agricultural reforms well received at first; increase in prices/ agricultural production BUT increase in town economic power had 3% migrate to towns.Regulation and bureaucracy began to be resented.Peasantry threatened by cheap labour as more land was conquered.

Education/ Youth

Aim: to indoctrinate the youth with Nazi ideology to enable the order to survive.

Nazi policy: teachers-National Socialist Teachers’ League (97%), 2/3 on ideology courses. Syllabi changed. Science- race/ eugenics. History/ RS/ Literature- German nationalism.

The Schools: Elite- 21 Napolas (political), 10 Adolf Hitler Schools, Ordensburgen (college).

Ao1b : 32% teachers members of the party (compared to 17% of the Reich Civil Service).

Ao1b : Evidence is tricky.Academic standards declined- especially in elite schools, emphasis on physical standards.Recruitment of teachers declined by 1938 (8000 vacancies with only 2500 were coming out of teacher training colleges).School discipline declined.

Organisations/ Youth

Boys:10-14: German Young People.14-18: Hitler Youth.Indoctrination/ athletics/ weapons training/ war games/ camping.

Girls:10-14: League of Young Girls.14-18: League of German girls.Indoctrination/ athletics/ domestic training- cooking/ camping.

Ao1b: Statistics.1932: 1.5%1934: 46.5%1936: 62.8%1938: 77.2%

Compulsory 1939.

Parents

under pressu

re

Ao1b: Some loved the opportunities.Over rapid expansion/ bad leadership led to a lot of military drills and resentment.Many adolescents had not been won over- youth section of secret police/ youth concentration camp (Neuwied).Swing Youth, Edelweiss Pirates- some attacks on military targets/ Gestapo.

The Church

Problem: Church and Nazi ideals incompatible.Church well established and powerful in Germany (both Protestant and Catholic)

German Faith Movement: Pagan. Little take up. (Rosenberg)Conciliation: Day of Potsdam, Concordat.Conflict: Ministry of Church Affairs (undermining, closing schools, harassing and discrediting clergy)

Ao1b. Group opposition: Confessing ChurchIndividual opposition: Niemöller, Bonhoeffer (helping Jews to emigrate), Bishop Galen (successfully drove Aktion T4 underground).Couldn’t withstand the regime.

Ao1b: Why were the Church not more effective?•Feared the power of the Nazi state.•Distrusted the Left.•Hoping for the nationalist revival promised.•Offering pastoral/ spiritual comfort instead.

Women/ Family

Aims: opposed to female emancipation, stop paid employment, Kinde, Küche, Kirche, increase the population.

Effects: only 10% university students female, women barred from high ranking jobs. Women workers dropped by 6% 1931-1937. Marriage loans, women’s organisations, restrictions on contraception, Lebensborn, honour cross.

Ao1b: The contradiction between Nazi aims for war/ the requirements of it’s industry and Nazi aims for women.Some women wholeheartedly embraced the idea – “donating children to the Führer’.

Ao1b: Birth rate increased signficantly- declining in WWII.Divorce rate increased.Marriage figures consistent.Policy contradictory and mostly incoherent.

Don’t forget:

• These can all be helped along with references to methods: e.g. culture, propaganda.

• These also aren’t indicative of every group affected by Nazi policies.

• What else might you need to bring into these essay questions?

Essays

• To what extent did the Nazis achieve the aims of their social policies?

• How successful were the Nazis in imposing their ideas about society on the German people?

• Assess the reasons for the lack of opposition in Nazi Germany?