Nazi Ideology & Women in Germany

Koonz and Bridenthal (1977) note a gradual ideological shift in Nazi Germany's treatment of the idea of motherhood. They say that Nazi ideologues saw women as the anchor of highly traditional family values from the beginning of their quest for political power in Germany, but that official policy toward women in general and mothers in particular changed to fit political fashion and expediency. Their review of government sources and histories of women's organizations in Europe shows that, before 1933, the Nazis admitted women inside the struggle for power, and gave them organizational and ideological autonomy, particularly when organizing other women into the party. But when Hitler finally came to power, the Nazi leaders replaced the autonomous organization women with others who followed the highly traditional family-virtue party line. Marriage and childbirth were emphasized at the expense of intellectual contributions, although as Germany moved toward war, large numbers of women were allowed to have civil service and factor

. . .
olicy aspect of this for the Nazis was to give women's employment the label of self-sacrifice on behalf of family, country, people. Further to this point, Hermand (1984) points to a modern German novel that takes as its theme the Nazi concepts of idealized motherhood as an extension of the romantic German myth of matriarchy. Riemer and Fout (1980) reproduce a 1933 document written by a Nazi woman, Guida Diehl, Die deutsche Frau und der National Sozialismus, which illustrates how deeply ingrained Germanic myth was when Hitler achieved power, and to what extent apologists for Nazism were willing to manipulate logic and idealism for Hitler's sake. A new type of woman must be created through Germany's struggle for freedom. She must combine the features of the old [pagan] Germanic woman with those of the Christian German woman . . . Let us remember that our two epic poems, the Nibelungen and the Song of Gudrun, depict types of women which no other nation can boast. In the powerful Brunhilde we have a heroic woman who fights a life-and-death struggle . . . or let us take a look at the powerful women in the Norse legends with their chastity, their unshakable fidelity, their respected and equal position in the fighting peasantry . .
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Nazi Germany's, Bridenthal Koonz, Song Gudrun, Europe Bock, Kurfurstendamm Berlin, Hitler Youth, Riemer Fout, Weimar Republic, Rupp Nazi, Third Reich, third reich, bridenthal koonz, riemer fout 1980, koonz 1976, nazi ideology, women's rights, riemer fout, fout 1980, bridenthal koonz 1976, women nazi, hitler youth, women's organizations, third reich women's, inside third reich, signs journal women,
Approximate Word count = 2582
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)

More Essays on Nazi Ideology & Women in Germany