Hitler’s Third Reich or presidency between 1933 and 1945 is one of the most feared eras of all times. Holocaust, concentration camps and other war crimes are popularly associated with the regime. But one of the lesser-known aspects of the regime is its attitude towards its own women, in its efforts to raise a flawless German population. Hitler envisaged an invincible military through a pure Aryan breed.
Sometimes the policies of regimes stand out, not for what it offered, but for what it intended to get. The Third Reich in Germany or the period of Hitler’s rule is one of the most researched periods of all times for several reasons. Most associate this period to Nazi atrocities and war crimes committed during the World War 2. However bringing in do’s and don’ts for women to achieve military ambitions, had no parallel in world history. The population policies of the Third Reich, involving its women, are among the faceless policies of the Nazi era. The reign might have been unethical but like its work with all other sections, it bore the trademark of meticulous planning and implementation.
Hitler believed that supremacy of the Aryan race would be diluted by breading with inferior race. His logic was that the offspring is superior to the biologically inferior parent but still less than that of the superior parent. Thus he felt it was necessary to maintain an unmixed breed, if offspring of optimum health is to be realized. It was the first time in history when military suitability was conceived right from the health and marriage of parents.
Professionals including judges, social workers, party workers, teachers and mayors were included in the family policy making process. The policies breached the privacy of family life with its objectives being to increase birth rate and racial homogeneity. Women were taught that marrying a suitable man and having healthy children contributed to national service. Women with more children received national recognition too.
Girls were taught at school that as women they should care for their husbands and bear children. They were asked to refrain from smoking and dieting as it could affect their ability to bear healthy children. They were also asked to stay way from using make ups like lipsticks, which could affect their natural beauty. The education of the girl was similar to that of the boys except that girls should remember their ultimate goal, that one day they would become a mother.
The Reich labor minister Seldte wanted women workers to go back to their houses to take care of families and raise children. A work creation program implemented on June 1, 1933 aimed at distributing marriage loans for the women. The loan was provided to the woman who was willing to leave the labor force. Such loans ensured that women replaced in the labor market, don’t look for jobs again and thus won’t add up to the unemployment statistics. Thus Hitler was cleverly able to reduce unemployment without creating jobs.
The loans, which were to be repaid with an interest of about 1% a month had its principal cut by a quarter for every child born to the couple. Therefore, a loan was effectively waived for the couple, upon the birth of their fourth child. Such schemes encouraged newly wed couples to start having children at the earliest after marriage The Nazi facilitated divorces, again with strategic interests. Divorce was granted to marriages, which failed to have children. The idea behind such divorce was that, partners could remarry and have children. Judges had the right to reduce or even waive the compensation and maintenance by a man towards his former wife, if he has remarried. There was a ban on birth control centers and use of contraceptives. Abortion was made a crime and a pregnant woman seeking abortion could be imprisoned for up to five years.
In 1934, the regime released its ten commandments directed at choosing a spouse. The Ten Commandments reminded women that they are German and that they need to keep their body pure. It suggested that if they are genetically healthy, they must get married and bear as many children as possible. In 1939, three million women received a medal for having four or more children. The Bronze Mother’s Nazi Cross was conferred to mothers with 4/5 children, the Silver Mother’s Nazi Cross for mothers with 6/7 children while the Gold Mother’s Nazi Cross was given to mothers with eight or more children.
Hitler passed a law ‘Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring’ in July 1943, which sought mandatory sterilization of people who suffered from hereditary diseases. About 320,000 people were sterilized between January 1934 and September 1939, of which about two-thirds were women. Most of these women were ethnic Germans living in poverty. The sterilizations were done to ensure the passage of pure and unspoiled German generations.
Hitler’s policies for women and family were not totally without support. However the sufferings of marginalized women in Germany are highlighted in every study of oppressed women. It was unfortunate that the regime saw these helpless women as a production line for high quality soldiers to achieve military supremacy, all because of one man’s illogical personal views. The suffering of German women by the intrusion of the Nazi into the privacy of their lives and their bodies was unpr ecedented. If history repeats itself; the Nazi chapter is one, which everyone would want to skip, the German women in particular.
