Women's Roles In Nazi Germany

On September 3rd 1939 World War II started in Europe. During World War II, more than 16 million American men served in the military. While this large portion of the population was overseas fighting for the United States, women had to do many of the jobs in America normally held by men. Women were considered vital assets to the war effort, and the American government made sure to use their skills and labor in many different areas to win the war. Women contributed to the successful war effort by working society, documenting the war effort, and supporting the soldiers.

Burleigh is further substantiated by Heyman who states that ‘women lost most of the new positions in the labour force they had occupied during the wartime year”. This suggests that women were easy and cheap to employ and when no longer needed they were dismissed so men could return to their old positions, thus showing the decline in their status. Women were unhappy about being forced into their homes and were treated like servants rather than respected for this role. Victor Klemperer, a diarist whose journals, published in Germany in 1995, detailed his life under Nazi rule during the third Reich. He states, ‘a son even the youngest today laughs in his mothers face. He regards her as the natural servant’.This shows how the next generation saw women’s role as worthless therefore decreasing their status. Victor Klemperer experienced this first hand and wrote them in his diaries and from his own memories so can be considered as credible source. Furthermore women were removed from many jobs as time went on. This therefore left them with no other choice but to have children. “Moreover, in the economy as a whole two thirds of married women were still not registered as employed on the eve of the war in 1939. If they did work, it was often as unregistered, part time cleaners

Hitler used many tactics to control German society during the Nazi era; his outlook on how women should act is embodied in the Speech to the National Socialist Women’s Association. The speech was given by Gertrud Scholtz-Klink, the organization’s leader, with the intent to convince women to take their place in Hitler’s Nazi movement. The emphasis on women’s natural roles in the home, as mothers and wives, and the discouragement of women’s right are manifested in the persuasive language of national identity and involvement. Hitler uses Scholtz-Klink to fight for the minds of German women in a speech that asks for feminist ideals to be cast aside all for the good of the country.

In the book Frauen: German Women Recall the Third Reich by Alison Owings, we are provided with plenty of women who describe their lives before, during and after Hitler received power. This book provides us with different views of the time era and as well as how the impact of Hitler affected every woman differently through social class, age, marital status and etc. This paper will explore the lives of three German women who seem to be in the Grey area during the over control of Hitler but mostly with the killings of the Jews. This paper will further explore the complicity and the different levels of resistance that these three women had during this time era which is 1933-1945. The three women that will be discussed in this paper are Margarete (Margrit) Fischer, Ellen Frey, and Christine (Tini) Weihs. When looking into the lives of all three women these women it seems as though women didn’t have much of a responsibility for the events that were happening around them. Although these women seemed to be complaint to a certain degree with the events there were going on around them. These women would have been complaint due to the fear of what happened to Germans when they stood against the events that took part.

Throughout history women have been burdened to be nothing more than domestic individuals. Their roles were to fulfill their household duties as wives and mothers. Many restrictions applied to their womanhood and not being able to work was one of them. However, the roles of women changed during World War II. As men were being recruited to fight in the war the openings for jobs were in high demand. During this time many women began to commence in the workforce altering the role of women, particularly those of the Mexican-American communities. Minority groups were often discriminated especially Mexican- Americans, not only were they discriminated but were also seen as criminals and were a temporary implement during the war. Mexican- Americans had to overcome obstacles that were put in their way and fight for what they deserved.

Men were leaving, people were fighting, and many were dying. World War II was one of the hardest times, and during that difficult time, women stepped up their roles and had a huge impact during the war. The women during World II in the United States and in Europe impacted the war by taking different jobs and becoming employed in the workforce, working in the home with normal household responsibilities while supporting the men oversees, and entering into the military with sacrifice.

Following World War I, the Weimar Republic emerged from the German Revolution in November 1918. The later period

Even though allowing female recruits in the armed services created controversy and proved difficulty there were women of every branch of military in 1943. Since there was this controversy of “‘sacrificing their feminity by usurping men’s roles’” they made the uniforms feminine and professional by shaping them to be attractive and flattering.

During the world wars, many people contributed to the well being of their nations. In fact, the roles of women changed considerably, affecting their lives and both world wars. Women took on jobs, fought for the right to fight in the wars, and joined organizations throughout the wars. As a result, their contributions made a large difference in the society around them. World War I and World War II extensively change the roles of women at the time.

Women posed a significantly more dangerous threat to the Nazis since they had the ability to propagate the Jewish race. From the onset of the Nazi regime, therefore, Jewish women

The Third Reich is one of the most notorious eras of German History. Hitler's reign is remembered as tumultuous times filled with violence, bigotry, and racism. A male-controlled society, the Third Reich relegated women to secondary roles, forcing them into lesser jobs and making them primarily focus on the home. Many traditional studies of the Third Reich ignore women or merely acknowledge them superficially. Once women began to receive a place in the histories, it was only as laborers and mothers. The study of women during the Third Reich took time to evolve. This study focuses on showing the evolution of the scholarship of women during the Third Reich; it utilizes eight texts (one with two parts): four journal articles and four monographs

Judith Smart demonstrates the beneficial role played by women with moral authority during both wars. The war provided women with the opportunity to have political power and an influential voice for women’s rights. Women were not encouraged to participate in political and economic components of society and at first, were discouraged by the government.1 It became clear that the war had a higher demand then what the government had expected. Women’s largest concern during World War I and II was the cost of living so women began constructing a self-conscious identity for themselves as consumers to gain

It is a better situation for everyone if the husband earns the money and the wife is at home cooking, cleaning, shopping and caring for the children as she waits for her husband to come home each day. Now that your attention is on this analysis of gender roles and before any blood is spilled, that statement was the expectation of family life until World War II. Men held the sole responsibility for providing the income for a family prior to the war. Men left as soldiers fighting a war and came home to a new world of changes they could not have ever thought possible. Women took jobs normally reserved for men which set the wheels in motion for equality in the workplace. When women found their place in the workforce our society has been changing fast over the years since WWII, male gender roles of the past became outdated and many say are changing for the better. The gender role changes in the way a family was defined created a whole new era for men to search who they were expected to be, but change has not come easy.

When men were leaving their wives, sisters, and mothers. Women were left to tend to the Homefront, they were now left with new opportunities and more responsibilities. Once men had gone overseas factories needed employees and men needed supplies for war. Positions in factories were quickly being taken over by women. Although many women had never worked before or worked in a man-held position they were willing to embark on these new challenges. Before World War II, society regarded women as homemakers, mothers, and if they did work they had “traditionally female professions” such has sewing, typing, secretary, telephone operators, teacher, and few other careers most women were also expected to leave after they had children. African American

After getting an education as well as knowing there worth in society women knew there were more than just a wife and mother. During WWII women demonstrated their power to think in a world without men as they were off fighting the war. Women began to understand that they had more to offer the world other than housekeeping and raising children. In addition, many women wanted to continue working after the war as they had held jobs with responsibilities as well as earning wages. Furthermore, women were the ones making financial decisions as well as working in positions with higher responsibilities. Many women as well as minorities were simply casted a side to make room for the returning solders. This created a silent discontent among women