Nazi Economic, Social and Racial Policy

In the years 1933-39, the Nazis introduced policies to enforce their own beliefs about the roles of various groups in Germany

• Women were reverted to traditional values
• The young were indoctrinated into Nazi values
• The economy was reorganised to prepare Germany for war and eliminate unemployment
• The Nazis controlled religion, education, family life and workers
• Jews were persecuted to drive them from Germany

By Jan 1933 (when Hitler became Chancellor) Germany had experienced over 3 years of depression and unemployment had reached 6 million

During his campaigns, Hitler appealed to the workers by promising he would create jobs if elected. On becoming Chancellor, he reduced unemployment through a series of measures:

• National Labour Service Corps  (Reichsarbeitsdienst, RAD)
• Job creation schemes
• Invisible unemployment
• Rearmament

By 1939, unemployment had reached only 350,000

Scheme to provide young men with manual labour jobs

From 1935 it was compulsory for all men aged 18-25 to serve in the RAD for 6 months

In 1939 it was extended to women

Intended to 'educate the German youth in the spirit of national socialism and to acquire a true conception of work, above all a respect for manual labour'

Workers lived in Labour Service camps, wore uniforms, received very low pay and carried out military drills

Hitler spent millions on job creation schemes, with expenses rising from 18.4 billion marks in 1933 to 37.1 billion in 1938

The Nazis

• subsidised (financially supported) private firms, especially in the construction industry
• introduced a massive road-building programme to provide Germany with 7000km of Autobahns
• introduced schemes to build new hospitals, schools and hospitals

Hitler used some dubious methods to reduce unemployment, including ignoring

• Jews dismissed from work
• unmarried men under 25, pushed into RAD schemes
• women who were dismissed or left work to become married
• opponents of the Nazis held in concentration camps
• part-time workers (listed as full-time)

Hitler was determined to build up the armed forces in readiness for future war:

• Conscription was introduced in 1935, taking thousands of young men into military service. The army grew from 100,000 in 1933 (in accordance with the Treaty of Versailles) to 1.4 million by 1939
• Heavy industry expanded. Coal and chemical usage doubled between 1933 and 1939, oil, iron and steel usage tripled
• Billions were spent producing tanks, aircraft and ships. In 1933, 3.5 billion marks were spent on rearmament, increasing to 26 billion by 1939

All these factors helped to reduce unemployment

The Nazis were determined to control the workforce to prevent the possibility of strikes and ensure that industry met the needs of rearmament. This was achieved mainly through:

• The German Labour Front (DAF)
• Strength through Joy (KDF - Kraft durch Freude)

On 2nd May 1933, to avoid strikes and other industrial action, the Nazis banned all trade unions and replaced them with the DAF, led by Robert Ley

The DAF became the largest organisation in Germany, and had 22 million members by 1939

• Included employers and workers and was supposed to reflect the desires of both
• All strikes banned and wages deciced by the Labour Front
• Workers given relatively high wages, job security and social and leisure programmes
• Workers had workbooks to record their employment history. Employment depended on their ownership
• Voluntary in theory, but employment was hard without membership

Membership fee spanned from 15 pfennig to 3 marks depending on the occupation

Volkswagen scheme

In 1938, the DAF organised the Volkswagen scheme, giving workers an opportunity to get their own car through a weekly-five mark subscription. By 1938, more than 150,000 people were expecting a car. However, manufacture was shifted to military vehicles in 1939, and no money was refunded

Set up by the DAF to replace trade unions

Gave Germans access to trips normally only for the better-off

Improved leisure time by sponsoring leisure and cultural trips, including

• concerts and theatre visits
• museum tours
• sporting events
• weekend outings

Workers could even go on holidays to Italy or cruises to the Canary Islands, Madeira and Norway

About 10 million people went on KdF holidays in 1938

Beauty of work (Schonheit der Arbeit)

Department of KdF that improved workplaces, building canteens, swimming pools and sports facilities. Also installed better lighting.

Political

Women over the age of 20 were given the right to vote and took increasing interest

By 1933, one-tenth of the members of the Reichstag were female

Economic

Many women took up professional careers, especially the civil service, law, medicine and teaching

Those who worked in the civil service earned the same as men

By 1933 there were 100,000 female teachers and 3000 female doctors

Social

Women went out unescorted, drank, smoke, and wore make-up

They were often slim and fashion-conscious, wearing short skirts and with short hair

The Nazis held a very traditional view of women, which was very different from their position in the 1920s. According to a Nazi, 'real' women

• did not wear make-up
• were blonde, heavy-hipped and athletic
• wore flat shoes and a full skirt
• did not smoke
• did not work
• did only household duties, like cooking and raising children
• were not interested in politics

The Nazis were very worried about declining birth rate. In 1900 there had been 2 million live births per year, but there were less than 1 million by 1933. This was fixed:

• A massive propaganda campaign was launched to promote motherhood and large families
• In 1933 the Law for the Encouragement of Marriage was introduced, aiming to promote large families by loaning money to young couples when the wife quit her job, Couples could keep a quarter of the loan for each child they had (up to 4)
• Women with large families were given the Mother's Cross on Hitler's mother's birthday (12th Aug)
• In 1938, divorce was made possible if a couple could not have children
• The Lebensborn Programme was set up, whereby an Aryan woman could 'donate a child to the Führer' by being impregnated by racially-pure ** men
• A new national organisation, the German Women's Enterprise, organised classes and radio talks on household topics and the skills of motherhood

Instead of going to work, women were asked to stick to the three Ks: Kinder, Kuche, Kirche

Every job quit by a women was a space open for a man, and the Nazis had promised more jobs

Female doctors, civil servants and teachers were forced out of employment

School girls were trained from home and discouraged from further education

Hitler saw the youth as the future of the Third Reich, so they had to be converted to Nazi ideals

This was achieved by control of education

Everyone in Germany had to attend school until 14, at which time it became optional

Boys and girls went to separate schools

The Nazis made changes to

• textbooks
• teachers
• lessons
• curriculum

Textbooks were re-written to fit the Nazi view of history and racial purity

All textbooks had to be approved by the Ministry of Education (May 1934)

Mein Kampf became a standard text

School teachers had to swear an oath of loyalty to Hitler, joining the Nazi Teachers' League

By 1937, 97% of teachers had joined the league

Teachers had to promote Nazi ideals in the classroom

Many teachers dismissed if they did not show their devotion to Nazism

By 1936, 36% of teachers were members of the Nazi Party

Began and ended with the students saluting and saying "Heil Hitler!"

Nazi themes throughout every subject:

• Maths problems dealt with social issues, such as "Calculate how many aliens are in Germany"
• Geography lessons were used to show that Germany was surrounded by hostile neighbours
• History lessons taught students about the horrors of the Treaty of Versailles and communism

Changed to prepare students for their future roles

15% of time was dedicated to PE as Hitler wanted fit men and women

Boys had emphasis placed on preparation for the military

Great empahsis on Germany's past and the Aryan race

Students were taught that Aryans were superior to Jews and that their should be no interrace marriage

Girls took needlework and home crafts, especially cookery, to become good housewives and mothers

New subjects were created, such as race studies, to put across Nazi ideals about race and population control

Children were taught to measure their skulls to classify race

Religious education became optional

The Nazis also wanted to control the youth's free time, which they did through the Hitler Youth Movement

Young people were to be converted to ideals such as obedience, following the Führer, placing the nation first, and strengthening the racial purity of the nation

Hitler believed that, if the youth was indoctrinated in its schooling and spare time, they would become committed followers and not question the Nazi way of life. Therefore:

• All other youth organisations were banned
• From 1939, membershup of the HJ was compulsory
• By 1939 there were 7 million members

Boys joined the German Young People (Jungvolk) at the age of 10

From 14 to 18 they were members of the Hitler Jugend (Hitler Youth)

The boys

• learned Nazi songs and ideas
• took part in athletics, hiking and camping
• marching, map reading and military skills

Many enjoyed the comradery

It is also possible they enjoyed being close to the German Maidens' camps

Girls joined the Young Girls (Jungmädel) at the age of 10

From 14-18 they were members of the League of German Maidens (Bund Deutsche Mädchen)

They did much the same as boys, except they also learned domestic skills for motherhood and marriage

Much less emphasis on military training

Nazi ideals were completely opposed to the beliefs of the Christian Church

Nazism...

• Glorified strength and violence
• Despised the weak
• Believed in racial superiority
• Saw Hitler as a God-like figure

Christianity

• Teaches love and forgiveness
• Helps the weak
• Respects all people
• Worshipped one God

 Hitler could not immediately persecute Christianity as Germany was a primarily Christian country

Almost 2/3 was Protestant (north), almost 1/3 was Catholic (south)

Set up Ministry of Church Affairs in 1935 in an attempt to weaken the hold of the Catholic and Protestant Churches

German Faith Movement was encouraged by the Nazis, in hope of replacing Christianity with pagan ideas

However, only around 5% of Germans joined the movement

Despite the fact many Catholics supported Hitler as he opposed communism, he saw the Church as a threat to the Nazi state

• Owed first allegiance to the Pope. Hitler said 'You're a German or Christian, not both'
• Catholic schools and youth organisations gave messages different to the Nazis'
• Catholics supported the Centre Party

However, at first Hitler co-operated with the Catholic Church. In 1933, he signed a concordat with Pope Pius XI, saying Catholics would stay out of politics if Hitler didn't interfere with the Church.

However, in a few months' time

• Priests were harassed and arrested. Many criticised Nazis and wound up in concentration camps
• Catholic schools were interfered with and eventually abolished
• Catholic youth movements closed down
• Monasteries were closed down 

Some Protestants admired Hitler, and were called 'German Christians'

They established a new Reich Church. hoping to combine all Protestants under one Church

Their leader was Ludwig Muller, who become the Reich bishop, in September 1933

However, still many Protestants opposed Nazism, which they believed conflicted greatly with Christian beliefs

They were led by Pastor Martin Niemoller, a WW1 submarine commander

In December 1933 they set up the Pastor's Emergency League for opponents of Hitler

Central to Nazi policy was the creation of a pure German state. This meant treating all 'non-German' groups, especially the Jews, as second-class

Hitler tried to back up his theory of the 'master race' by saying that the Bible stated there were two races, Jews and Aryans, and that God had chosen the Aryans

The Nazis believed the Germans were of pure Aryan descent, from the Herrenvolk or master race

Nazi propaganda portrayed Jews and Slavs as 'subhuman' and Jews as evil money-lenders. Hitler was convinced in the Jews' involvement in a world conspiracy to destroy civilisation

Hitler believed that Germany's future was dependent on the creation of a pure Aryan society by

• selective breeding
• eliminating the Jews

Selective breeding meant preventing anyone of 'unpure blood' from having children. The ** were the part of the drive for selective breeding. They recruited men of Aryan blood, tall, fair-haired and blue-eyed. They were only allowed to marry Aryan women

The Nazis were, by no stretch, the first to think of the Jews as outsiders. Anti-Semitism goes back to the Middle Ages

• Jewish people have been persecuted as far back as England in the Middle Ages. They stood out because of their difference in religion and customs. Some Christians believed Jews killed Jesus and should be punished forever, and some Jews became money-lenders and very rich. This increased suspicion from people who owed them money or were jealous of their success
• Hitler was determined to create a 'pure' racial state. This, to him, did not include the 500,000 Jews who were living in Germany. He wanted to eliminate Jews from Germany. However, until the beginning of WWII, he had no final solution for this, so most Nazi Jewish policy up to then was uncoordinated
• Hitler had spent several years in Vienna where there was long history of anti-Semitism. He lived as a 'down-and-out' and resented the wealth of many of the Vienesse Jews. In the 1920s he used the Jews as scapegoats for all of Germany's problems. He blamed them for Germany's WWI defeat, the Hyperinflation crisis of 1923 and the Great Depression of 1929

Hitler needed the support of Germany before he could persecute the Jews, which he achieved through propaganda and control of schools

Young people especially were encouraged to hate Jews, with anti-Semitic lessons and textbooks

The Nazi-controlled Ministry of Education could put anti-Semitic material into every classroom

• 1933 - Jews in school reduced by Law against Overcrowding in Schools and Universities
• October 1936 - Jewish teachers forbidden from giving private tuition to German students
• November 1938 - all Jewish children expelled from German school

1933

• April - The SA organised a boycott of Jewish business. They painted Jude on windows and tried to convince the public not to enter. Thousands of Jewish civil servants, lawyers and university students were sacked
• May - A new law excluded Jews from government jobs. Jewish books burnt
• September - Jews banned from inheriting land

1934

• Local councils banned Jews from public spaces, like parks, playing fields and swimming pools

1935

• May - Jews no longer drafted into the army
• June - Restaurants closed to Jews
• 15th September - Nuremburg Laws passed. Included Reich Law on Citizenship, stating only pure-bred Germans could be German citizens (losing the right to vote and hold government office), and the Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honour, forbidding relations between Jews and Germans

1936

• April - Professional activities of Jews banned or restricted, including vets, dentists, accountants, surveyors, teachers and nurses
• July-August - Deliberate lull in the anti-Jewish campaign for the Olympics

1937

• September - For the first time in two years, Hitler publicly attacked the Jews. More and more Jewish businesses taken over

1938

• March - Jews had to register possessions (easier to confiscate)
• July - Jews had to carry identity cards. Jewish doctors, dentists and lawyers forbidden from treating Aryans
• August - Jews had to add 'Israel' or 'Sarah' to their name to further humiliate them
• October - Jews had a red J stamped on their passports
• November - Kristallnacht (next card). Jewish children excluded from schools and universities

On 8th November 1938, a young Polish Jew, Herschel Grynszpan, walked into the German Embassy in Paris and shot the first official he met. He was protesting against the treatment of his parents in Germany who had been deported to Poland

Goebbels used this opportunity to organise anti-Jewish demonstrations, which involved attacks on Jewish property, shops, homes and synagogues

So many windows were smashed during the campaign it became known as 'Crystal Night'

Around 100 Jews were killed and 20,000 sent to concentration camps. 7500 Jewish shops closed

The Nazis did not permit Jews to make insurance claims, and any surviving businesses could not be re-established under Jews. Rather, Aryans had to take charge

Many Germans were disgusted at Kristallnacht. Hitler and Goebbels were anxious that it was not seen as work of the Nazis, so was portrayed as a spontaneous act of revenge from Germans

Hitler blamed the Jews themselves for having provoked the attacks and used it as an opportunity to increase the anti-Semitic campaign. He decreed:

• Jews to be fined 1 billion Reichsmarks for damage
• Jews can no longer own or manage businesses or shops or emply workers
• Jewish children can no longer attend Aryan schools

On the 8th January the Reich Office for Jewish Emigration was established with Reinhard Heydrich as its director. The ** now had the responsibility for removing Jews from Germany completely by forced emigration. They wanted other countries to take the Jews as refugees

In the following months, Jews had to surrender metals and jewellery

On 30th April they were evicted from their homes and forced into ghettos

In September, Jews were forced to give up their radio sets to prevent them from listening to foreign radio stations