Women in Nazi Germany

1. Women in Nazi Germany The Ideal Vs The Real

2. In the Third Reich, the ideal woman was a hardworking, Aryan mother who spent her life running a home and raising children. This image was produced by the need for more soldiers for Germany’s predicted future, and the belief that women didn’t belong in any other place in society (Sigmund 17). While most women of the inner circle didn’t fit all the criteria of being ideal, some did. Gerda Bormann, a passionate follower of Hitler, held a swastika-themed wedding and in the years following went on to bear nine children. She was utterly devoted to her husband and Nazism, to the point of allowing his mistresses to live in her house and have children of their own (15).

3. There were also a number of women who, despite being pro-Hitler, defied the official stereotypes set in place. In World War II, over 500 thousand teachers, nurses and secretaries left their homes to serve on the Eastern Front. They took just as much a part in the war as men did, the only difference being that their work was more behind the scenes. Female teachers raised German children to believe everything they were told by the Fuhrer, while secretaries organized the Nazi party and kept everything running smoothly. Even nurses played an evil role, kidnapping somewhere from 50 to 200 thousand Aryan children form other countries during the war (Lower).

4. Many women, young and old, came to love Hitler. They came to him with gifts aplenty, offering them and hoping that they would be invited to his inner circle. Some were able to provide contacts and set up parties for him. Others would offer vast amounts of money. One woman went so far as to sell her house and car, just so that she could donate all of it to the Nazi party (Sigmund 7).

5. There was also the woman who defied social expectations out of necessity. While men were on the front lines and working in the factories, many women were white-collar workers (Stephenson 78). Even she who believed in Nazi ideals could not just give up her job in order to become a full-time mother. Because of the war and minority workers disappearing from jobs, Nazi Germany was a difficult time economically (75). Many employers would avoid hiring women, though, because of strict legislation for their protection in the workplace. These laws were passed because of women’s place as child bearers, and the need for them to deliver healthy children (78).

6. Furthest from the Nazi ideal and most hated by the party were women who resisted against Hitler’s leadership. Because so many German’s worked in favor of their dictator, full revolution was impossible. Instead, woman would work underground, distributing pamphlets and educating those that would listen (Vogt 236). They also worked in the Confessing Church, the one institution that was not taken over by the government, aiding their pastors and holding strong their faith (Thomas 33).

7. Works Cited Lower, Wendy. "Enthusiastic Handmaidens of Genocide." Australian [National, Australia] 30 Nov. 2013: 20. Global Issues In Context. Web. 4 Mar. 2014. Sigmund, Anna Maria. Women of the Third Reich. Ed. Kathleen Harris and Penny Hozy. Richmond Hill: NDE Canada, 2000. Print. Stephenson, Jill. Women in Nazi Society. New York: Harper, 1975. Print. Thomas, Theodore N. Women Against Hitler. Westport: Praeger, 1995. Print. Vogt, Hannah. The Burden of Guilt. Trans. Herbert Strauss. New York: Oxford UP, 1964. Print.