Personal Commentary

InNaziGermany,ortheThirdReich,womenweretoldtobenothingmoreandnothing
lessthanmothersandwives.Itwasaglorifiedrole,butonethatnotmanywomenhada
choicein.Thistreatmentwasveryproblematic,asitwassexist,transphobic,homophobic,
andperpetuatedseveregenderroles.
AdolfHitler,theleaderoftheNaziPartyandallofGermany,hadonegoal.Hewanted
Volksgemeinschaft
,literallymeaningapeoplescommunity.Heaimedtocreateamaster
raceofstrictlyAryanindividuals,andheeliminatedanyonewhodidnotfithisstrict
requirements.Womenplayedanimportantpartintheachievementofhisdream.Heneeded
womenofpurelyAryanheritagetobirthasmanyAryanchildrenastheycould,inoroutof
wedlock,sothatthepopulationcouldgrowandtheThirdReichcouldhaveasmanysoldiers
andsettlersforconqueredterritoryasitneeded.Femaleswererewardedforhavingchildren.
Inthebook
Frauen
byAlisonOwings,WilhelmineHaferkamprecalls,Igotthirtymarksper
childfromtheHitlergovernment,cameeverymonth,andtwentymarkschildaidfrom[my
city]...Isometimesgotmorechildmoneythanmyhusbandearned.Womenwerealsotobe
nurturingwivestotheirhusbands,sothatthemenofffightingwouldhaveasafe,wellkept,
andlovinghometoreturnto.InhisspeechtotheNationalSocialistWomensLeaguein1934,
Hitlerstates,...thewomensisasmallerworld.Forherworldisherhusband,herfamily,her
children,andherhome.Butwhatwouldbecomeofthegreaterworldiftherewerenooneto
tendandcareforthesmallerone?Howcouldthegreaterworldsurviveiftherewerenoone
tomakethecaresofthesmallerworldthecontentoftheirlives?...[thetwoworlds]belong
togetherjustlikeamanandwomanbelongtogether.
ThefirstconceptthatHitlercontradictedwithhismoralsisthefreedomofgender
identityandexpression.Heinitiallyimpliedandassumedthatanyonewhoisabletobirth
childrenisawoman,andthatthatishowitshouldbe.Thismindsetisunfortunatelyonethat
manypeoplestillhavetoday,andonethatblatantlyexcludespeoplewhoaretransgender,
agender,bigender,orotherwiseunfittingintothetraditionalgenderbinary.
Similarly,Hitlersviewsweresexist.HispersonalsecretaryoncesaidthatHitlerfound
itdifficulttoimagineawomanbeinggoodforanythingbutbeingbeautiful.Hedidntbelieve
womencoulddoverymuch,sohemadethemfilltheoneroleheassociatedwiththefemale
genderbeingmothers.Ofcourse,hewasforcedtochangehismindneartheendofthewar,
wherelaborwassostronglyneededinGermanythatwomenwereforcedtoserveaDuty
Yearworkinginfactoriestohelpthewareffort.Evenso,hisinitialplanforthefemale
populationofGermanyimpliedthathedidnotthinkthemcapableofdoingmorethanbeing
mothersandobedientwives.
ThenextissuethatmanyhavewiththeNazimindsetisitshomophobia.InHitler's
quote,hementionedthatamanandawomanbelongtogether.Onecanconcludefromthis,
andfromhispersecutionofanyonewhowasn'theterosexual,thathehadnoconcernforthe
wellbeingofLGBTpeople.Afterall,tosomeonesointentontheincreasingpopulationofhis
risingnation,peoplewhocouldn'tproducechildrentogetherweretobedespised.

Lastly,andquiteobviously,therulesoftheThirdReichdrasticallyperpetuatedand
encouragedgenderroles.Menweretofightandearnmoneyforthefamily,andwomenwere
toclean,cook,andraisechildren.Limitationslikethisharmnotonlywomen,butmenaswell.
Asmuchasmanywomenwould'vepreferredtoworkorfight,manymenmayhaveenjoyed
stayingathomeandcaringfortheirchildren.IntheNazis'eyes,menwhodidstereotypically
'feminine'thingswouldn'tbeconsideredasstrongorashelpfultothenationas'masculine'
men.Thiswastheresultofaseverelypatriarchalnationaffectedbytoxicmasculinitythe
ideaforallmen,encouragedbysomemen,thatmalesonlybehave'tough'and'manly'.In
short,theambitionsandpreferredliferolesofallgenderswereaffectedbythestrictgender
rolesofNaziGermany.
Tosummarize,thetreatmentandregardtowardswomenbyNaziGermanywas
extremelyprejudicedtowardtheLGBTcommunity,itwassexist,anditinflictedgenderroles
ontotheentirepopulation.Sadly,someoftheseharmfulmoralscanstillbeseeninindividuals
aroundtheworld.Onecanonlyhopethatnooneelseevertakestheirprejudiceasfaras
AdolfHitlerandhisNaziPartydid.