Wright1

Kylie Wright
Mr. Hawkins
Modern World History- Period 4
21 March 2016
What were the gender roles and attitudes to women in Nazi Germany?
Many people question the roles that women played in during Hitlers reign as Chancellor.
With this being said, there are multiple attitudes and roles that played a part in womens lives.
One point is that During the 1930s, women found it easier to find jobs than
men(Spartacus1). This was mainly because they were paid less than men and a lot of the
women were willing to work. This increased availability in jobs for women, despite the low pay.
The "Skilled women earned 66 percent of men's wages, unskilled ones 70 per cent
(Website#1). These statistics show that there were many women who were put to work. This also
shows that this was one of the bigger roles of women and with that being said, During the
election campaign in 1932, Adolf Hitler promised that if he gained power he would take
800,000 women out of employment within four years (Website#1). With the women
desperate to get out of employment, this increased Hitlers chance of winning the title of
Chancellor. They were in desperate times; searching for any help they could put their hands oneven Hitler.
Another role in women was to support Hitler in all of his endeavors. Cast Haste, the
author of Nazi Women, said that Unemployment bred uncertainty and discord at the
heart of their family lives. Women who worked to keep their families as their husbands lost
their jobs, or who saw their standard of life deteriorate, longed for stability and certainty feelings successfully tapped by Hitler (Website#1). He was able to convince the women of
Germany to follow him through what he said he would fix and rebuild. This allowed him to gain

Wright2

more supporters in his journey to become chancellor. Hitler has his own opinion and idea of the
role of women in Nazi Germany. One of his officers stated that We do not see the woman as
inferior, but as having a different mission, a different value, than that of the man.
Therefore we believed the German woman, who more than any other in the world is a
woman in the best sense of the word, should use her strength and abilities in other areas
than the man (Website#2). With this being said, the roles and attitudes of women in Nazi
Germany were largely shaped out by Hitler. He preferred women who cared for their children in
their homes, who were to be more gentle and kinder than the men. The Nazi attitudes toward
women reflected the traditionalist, patriarchal views of Adolf Hitler, the role of the mother was
much softer than that of a man.
With all of this, at the end of the day, the Nazis hailed German mothers as national
heroes, single women and working women were treated as second class citizens
(Website#2). This was because Hitler viewed women as the mother figure in the Nazi society,
and anything else would be inferior to them. He didnt like women who were paid while
employed; he felt they should always keep their role in the home. With that, the roles of gender
equality were explained by Hitler rejecting the ideas of gender equality. He described the
push for womens rights and equal pay for women as a communist plot (Website#2). This
shows that they would be a deprivation to the women and their number one role. He says this
because if there were gender equality, Hitlers whole idea of the attitude and role of a mother
would be completely diminished in the Nazi society. He thought that women would think that
they can do the same things as men, so he quickly destroyed the idea of equality.
Another point is As well as promoting motherhood, the Nazis also restricted
abortion and contraception (Website#3). He wanted these things to be banned and

Wright3

propaganda showing that having an abortion was considered crime against the body and against
the state. With this all being said, in the end, Women and their roles were seen as the
backbone of German society (Website#3). Although there were set rules and guidelines for
the women, they were ultimately a powerful role in the German empire. Their roles were
emphasized and brought out with set procedures. With that, it was taught that women should
build a stronger and more united Germany through raising children and serving their
husbands (Website#3). This was taught through propaganda and it also caused the women to
lose their jobs, and they were not allowed to be given higher positions. This was due to the strict
outlining of Hitlers plan for making Germany stronger.
In conclusion, the roles of women in Nazi Germany were very one-sided. Hitler
controlled how the German people were to portray women and what their specific attitudes and
roles should be in such a controlled society and environment. Hitler states and describes that a
woman's "first and foremost place is in the family, and the most wonderful duty which she
can take on is to give her country and her people children, children which carry on the
success of the race and assure the immortality of the nation (Website#3). With all this being
said, Hitler had high expectations for the women of Nazi Germany. Their roles and attitudes
towards anything were important to keep a full-functioning society. In the end, womens roles
were very important- especially to the almighty Hitler.