Nazi Policies for Women

This section explores the Nazis policies towards women. The Nazis had strict and traditional views on the role of women in society. Their ideal woman was a homemaker and mother, whose main purpose was to raise children and support the family. The regime strongly opposed the increasing independence of women seen during the Weimar Republic and sought to reverse these changes by promoting a return to traditional gender roles.

Nazi Views on Women and the Family

Hitler and the Nazi Party believed that women should focus on three key areas, often referred to as the Three Ks:

• Kinder (Children) – Women were expected to have large families to increase the Aryan population.
• Küche (Kitchen) – A woman’s place was in the home, cooking and caring for her family.
• Kirche (Church) – Women were encouraged to follow traditional Christian values and avoid involvement in politics or the workplace.

The Nazis saw motherhood as a patriotic duty. Women who conformed to this ideal were praised and rewarded, while those who did not were often discouraged or even punished.

Marriage and Family

To boost Germany’s birth rate and secure the future of the Aryan race, the Nazis introduced several policies designed to encourage marriage and childbirth:

Encouraging Marriage and Large Families

• The Law for the Encouragement of Marriage (1933) gave newlyweds a loan of 1,000 Reichsmarks (around nine months’ wages).
• For every child a couple had, they could keep 250 marks of the loan. A family with four children would not have to repay anything.

The Mother’s Cross Award

• Women who had large families were honoured with the Mother’s Cross:
  • Bronze – for four children.
  • Silver – for six children.
  • Gold – for eight or more children.
• Mothers with large families were celebrated in ceremonies, sometimes personally congratulated by Hitler.

Lebensborn Programme (1935)

• This programme, led by Heinrich Himmler, encouraged racially ‘pure’ women to have children with SS officers.
• Some unmarried women volunteered to have babies for the Nazi regime.
• Orphaned or kidnapped Aryan-looking children from occupied territories were sometimes placed in Lebensborn homes to be raised as Germans.

Despite these policies, birth rates never reached the levels the Nazis had hoped for.

Women and Employment

The Nazis initially tried to reduce female employment, believing that women should focus on family life. Several measures were introduced:

• The Law for the Reduction of Unemployment offered financial incentives for women to leave their jobs and stay at home.
• Women were banned from professions such as law, medicine, and civil service roles.
• Female teachers and doctors were dismissed in large numbers.
• University places for women were restricted to only 10% of available spots.

However, as Germany rearmed and prepared for war, there was a growing need for workers. Between 1933 and 1939, the number of women in employment increased by 2.4 million, despite Nazi attempts to discourage it.

Women in the War Effort

• Nazi Germany did not conscript women into the workforce until 1943.
• Initially, the Nazis relied on forced labour from occupied countries instead of German women.
• By 1944, as Germany faced defeat, more women were needed in factories, transport, and administrative roles.

Nazi Expectations for Women’s Appearance

The Nazis promoted a traditional and modest appearance for women, in contrast to the fashionable and independent “new woman” of the Weimar era. Women were expected to:

• Wear traditional peasant-style clothing, such as long skirts and simple blouses.
• Keep their hair in plaits or buns, rather than modern short styles.
• Avoid wearing make-up, trousers, or high heels.
• Not dye their hair or smoke in public, as these were seen as signs of immorality.
• Maintain a healthy, fuller figure, as the Nazis believed slim women had difficulty giving birth.

These expectations were heavily promoted in propaganda, but in reality, many German women ignored or resisted them.

Nazi policies towards women were designed to reinforce their role as mothers and homemakers, removing them from the workforce and encouraging large families. However, these policies had limited success. Birth rates did not increase as much as the Nazis had hoped, and economic demands meant that women were still needed in employment.

By the outbreak of World War Two, the Nazi government had to reverse many of its policies, as the war effort required the participation of women in industries and support roles.