8. Nazi Germany - Nazi Ideas about Society and the ... Ideas... · When Hitler took power in...
Transcript of 8. Nazi Germany - Nazi Ideas about Society and the ... Ideas... · When Hitler took power in...
© Boardworks Ltd 2005 1 of 16
Nazi Ideas about Society and
the Treatment of Workers
Nazi Germany
For more detailed instructions, see the Getting Started presentation.
This icon indicates the slide contains activities created in Flash. These activities are not editable.
© Boardworks Ltd 2005 2 of 16
What we will learn today
So far in this unit we have focused on how the Nazi
regime developed politically – through propaganda
and the creation of a police state. We will now move
on to look at the social policies of the regime.
In this presentation you will learn:
1. What sort of society the Nazis hoped to create.
2. How the Nazis sought to put these policies into
practice.
3. How this affected ordinary Germans.
© Boardworks Ltd 2005 5 of 16
The Volksgemeinschaft
Hitler aimed to persuade ordinary Germans that their
purpose was to contribute to the greater good of the
German people (Volk).
He therefore attacked the idea of individual liberty, which
he felt was incompatible with a strong people’s
community (Volksgemeinschaft).
For Hitler, life meant struggle – against Bolsheviks,
Jews, foreign nations. Only if all members of the
Volksgemeinschaft stood against these threats with
common aims and perspectives (Weltanschauung)
could the Volk hope to survive.
© Boardworks Ltd 2005 6 of 16
Blood and Soil
Blood: Only physically and mentally fit Aryans had any
place in the new society. There was no room for social
outcasts, the disabled or non-Aryans.
Soil: Hitler felt that this Volksgemeinschaft should be
based around the peasantry – whom he considered
the most racially pure element in Germany, and the
source of all true German culture.
Society would be classless and all would share a belief in
the beauty of labour. This was stressed in propaganda,
using slogans such as ‘Arbeit macht frei’ (‘labour liberates’).
Hitler himself was called the ‘first worker of the nation’.
What possible problems could arise from this
focus on (a) Aryans and (b) the peasantry?
© Boardworks Ltd 2005 9 of 16
Introduction
When Hitler took power in January 1933 there were six
million unemployed people in Germany. By 1939,
unemployment had almost disappeared.
This dramatic reduction in unemployment won over
many workers to the Nazi cause.
Also important was the DAF (German Labour Front) led
by Dr Robert Ley. Within this were:
the SdA ('Beauty of Labour') and the RAD movements
designed to improve attitudes to work,
the KdF ('Strength through Joy') programme which
organized activities for workers to do in their leisure
time.
© Boardworks Ltd 2005 11 of 16
The SdA ('Beauty of Labour') and the RAD
The 'Beauty of Labour' movement encouraged employers
to improve working conditions, and organized various
campaigns, for example they campaigned for:
good ventilation in the work place,
hot meals in the factory.
After 1935 the RAD (Reich Labour Service) made it
compulsory for all men and women between the ages of
18 and 25 to do six months labour service.
This was intended to encourage a sense of hard work in
young people. The work was poorly paid, and involved
hard manual labour on farms or road-building projects.
© Boardworks Ltd 2005 12 of 16
The KdF ('Strength through Joy') programme
The 'Strength Through Joy' programme (KdF) organized
trips to concerts, plays, exhibitions, sporting events, folk
dances, educational events and even arranged holidays.
By 1938, a special KdF office was organizing holidays and
travel for approximately 10.3 million Germans. The idea
was that people would work better if they were refreshed.
What did Hitler say about the KdF?
… the German worker will receive
an adequate holiday and …
everything will be done to ensure
that this holiday and the rest of his
free time offer a genuine recovery.
© Boardworks Ltd 2005 13 of 16
KdF schemes: The Nazi holiday camp
One of the Nazi’s most
ambitious projects was
to develop Prora, a
huge holiday resort on
the Baltic Island of
Rugen. It was one of
five planned to be built,
but the only one started.
It was never finished,
due to the war. Work
began in May 1936 with
48 construction
companies, employing
2000 workers. What impact do you think this had, both on Nazi
popularity and the German economy?
0 100
kms
Prora
Denmark Sweden
Rostock
Hamburg
Berlin
Frankfurt Magdeburg
Stettin
Kolberg
© Boardworks Ltd 2005 15 of 16
Assessment
Workers lost important freedoms but gained improved
conditions and facilities.
Freedoms lost:
Trade unions were banned and workers were not allowed
to bargain for increased wages.
Workers were controlled by the state. From 1935, all
workers had to carry a booklet detailing their work record.
Benefits gained:
Workers had more job opportunities, more holiday time
and better working conditions than ever before.
Do you think that most workers would consider that the
benefits of Nazi policies outweighed their disadvantages?