ASPECTS OF LIFE IN GERMANY AND WEST GERMANY 1918 –89: A –
LEVEL HISTORY – EDEXCEL ROUTE G
What did the Civil Code of 1900 say about the previous government's
attitudes to women?
WEIMAR
•women could not vote
•single women could study for a profession, such as law, but could not take
exams to qualify and practice
•married women had no legal status at all; a man had to do business on their
behalf
When were women given the vote?
WEIMAR
12th November 1918, even before the new constitution was established.
What was women's participation like in voting and government?
WEIMAR
•turnout of women at the first elections was 90%
•women took seats in the local government and Reichstag
•112 women were elected to the Reichstag between 1919 and 1932
What did the constitution say about women's rights?
WEIMAR
'in principle' women had equal rights- Article 109- marriage should be an
equal union and women should be able to enter the professions.
In practice was the treatment of women similar to how it was written
in the constitution?
WEIMAR
•It did not change the legal status of women under the Civil code
•some people (mostly SPD) supported equality and women's rights but others
thought women should return to being wives and mothers
What were the birth rate and divorce rates like? Why was this cause
for concern?
WEIMAR
•Birth rate fell from 128 live births per 1000 women in 1911 to 80 in 1925 and
59 in 1933
•Divorce rate was of concern too, it had been 27 per 100,000 inhabitants in
1913 but it rose and stayed high to the end of the Weimar period (59 per
100,000 in 1920 and 65 per 100,000 in 1932)
,What were women encouraged to do after the war?
WEIMAR
Encouraged to give up jobs to returning soldiers.
By the first post-war census, taken in 1925, the percentage of the workforce
that were female (36%) was almost back to pre-war levels (34%)
How much less were women paid than their male counterparts?
WEIMAR
33%
What was the difference in attitude to married and single women
working?
WEIMAR
The idea of single women working was more accepted than that of married
women working.
Single women working was seen as a temporary activity until they were
married; they were not expected to pursue a career.
How many women were there in the professions?
WEIMAR
Women could qualify as lawyers (by 1933 there were 36) and the number of
women working at the lower levels of the legal profession, as notaries or
drawing up documents such as wills and contracts rose from 54 in 1925 to
251 in 1933.
In 1925, there were just over 2,500 women doctors; this had almost doubled
by 1933.
What hurdles did women have to overcome in order to work?
WEIMAR
•hostility and discrimination from male colleagues
•married women had to face practical hurdles as well as opposition if they
wanted to work- the school day was structured to end at lunchtime, so they
had to find childcare or work from home or part-time
•1925, over a quarter of a million women were doing poorly paid work from
home because they could do this and look after their children, by 1935 this
figure doubled
•hostile to 'double earners' (married women bringing a second wage into the
home) because they were fighting hard for men to be paid enough to support
a family
, What were 'new women' like?
WEIMAR
•wanted independence
•found work in 'white blouse' industries in offices and shops
•wore more revealing clothes
•cut their hair short
•smoked and drank
•behaved with the freedom of a man
•many took advantage of contraception to enjoy sexual freedom
•mostly city based and part of racy city culture that emerged in the 1920s
Why were 'new women' criticised?
WEIMAR
•politicians and the media criticised these women calling them immoral and
urging them to marry and settle down
•images of 'new women' were blamed for seducing good girls to move to the
city and chase the dream of becoming a 'new woman' rather than settling
down and living a sensible, productive life
What was life like for women during the depression?
WEIMAR
•even more hostility towards working women and even more desperation
among those women who were the breadwinners in their families
•neither men nor women were able to press for reforms or better working
conditions when jobs were scarce
•both men and women were hit by unemployment but women suffered a less
steep level of unemployment because they were cheaper to employ than men
•1932, 46% of men unemployed compared to only 33% of women, although
difference made up with part-time work
•30th May 1932 Bruning passed a decree allowing for the dismissal of married
women in government service if they had husbands who were earning. The
same was happening in privately owned industry.
•women, often the last hired, were the first to be fired
What was the slogan Nazis adopted for women?
NAZI
Kinder, Kirche, Kúche
How did the Nazis encourage women to be mothers?
NAZI
•women had their own Nazi organisation, National Socialist Womanhood (NSF)
•a wider based movement called the German Women's enterprise organised
activities for non-party members
•encouraged 'pure' German couples to breed
LEVEL HISTORY – EDEXCEL ROUTE G
What did the Civil Code of 1900 say about the previous government's
attitudes to women?
WEIMAR
•women could not vote
•single women could study for a profession, such as law, but could not take
exams to qualify and practice
•married women had no legal status at all; a man had to do business on their
behalf
When were women given the vote?
WEIMAR
12th November 1918, even before the new constitution was established.
What was women's participation like in voting and government?
WEIMAR
•turnout of women at the first elections was 90%
•women took seats in the local government and Reichstag
•112 women were elected to the Reichstag between 1919 and 1932
What did the constitution say about women's rights?
WEIMAR
'in principle' women had equal rights- Article 109- marriage should be an
equal union and women should be able to enter the professions.
In practice was the treatment of women similar to how it was written
in the constitution?
WEIMAR
•It did not change the legal status of women under the Civil code
•some people (mostly SPD) supported equality and women's rights but others
thought women should return to being wives and mothers
What were the birth rate and divorce rates like? Why was this cause
for concern?
WEIMAR
•Birth rate fell from 128 live births per 1000 women in 1911 to 80 in 1925 and
59 in 1933
•Divorce rate was of concern too, it had been 27 per 100,000 inhabitants in
1913 but it rose and stayed high to the end of the Weimar period (59 per
100,000 in 1920 and 65 per 100,000 in 1932)
,What were women encouraged to do after the war?
WEIMAR
Encouraged to give up jobs to returning soldiers.
By the first post-war census, taken in 1925, the percentage of the workforce
that were female (36%) was almost back to pre-war levels (34%)
How much less were women paid than their male counterparts?
WEIMAR
33%
What was the difference in attitude to married and single women
working?
WEIMAR
The idea of single women working was more accepted than that of married
women working.
Single women working was seen as a temporary activity until they were
married; they were not expected to pursue a career.
How many women were there in the professions?
WEIMAR
Women could qualify as lawyers (by 1933 there were 36) and the number of
women working at the lower levels of the legal profession, as notaries or
drawing up documents such as wills and contracts rose from 54 in 1925 to
251 in 1933.
In 1925, there were just over 2,500 women doctors; this had almost doubled
by 1933.
What hurdles did women have to overcome in order to work?
WEIMAR
•hostility and discrimination from male colleagues
•married women had to face practical hurdles as well as opposition if they
wanted to work- the school day was structured to end at lunchtime, so they
had to find childcare or work from home or part-time
•1925, over a quarter of a million women were doing poorly paid work from
home because they could do this and look after their children, by 1935 this
figure doubled
•hostile to 'double earners' (married women bringing a second wage into the
home) because they were fighting hard for men to be paid enough to support
a family
, What were 'new women' like?
WEIMAR
•wanted independence
•found work in 'white blouse' industries in offices and shops
•wore more revealing clothes
•cut their hair short
•smoked and drank
•behaved with the freedom of a man
•many took advantage of contraception to enjoy sexual freedom
•mostly city based and part of racy city culture that emerged in the 1920s
Why were 'new women' criticised?
WEIMAR
•politicians and the media criticised these women calling them immoral and
urging them to marry and settle down
•images of 'new women' were blamed for seducing good girls to move to the
city and chase the dream of becoming a 'new woman' rather than settling
down and living a sensible, productive life
What was life like for women during the depression?
WEIMAR
•even more hostility towards working women and even more desperation
among those women who were the breadwinners in their families
•neither men nor women were able to press for reforms or better working
conditions when jobs were scarce
•both men and women were hit by unemployment but women suffered a less
steep level of unemployment because they were cheaper to employ than men
•1932, 46% of men unemployed compared to only 33% of women, although
difference made up with part-time work
•30th May 1932 Bruning passed a decree allowing for the dismissal of married
women in government service if they had husbands who were earning. The
same was happening in privately owned industry.
•women, often the last hired, were the first to be fired
What was the slogan Nazis adopted for women?
NAZI
Kinder, Kirche, Kúche
How did the Nazis encourage women to be mothers?
NAZI
•women had their own Nazi organisation, National Socialist Womanhood (NSF)
•a wider based movement called the German Women's enterprise organised
activities for non-party members
•encouraged 'pure' German couples to breed
