• Subject Name : Philosophy and social imperatives of education

Nazism: Nazi Philosophy, in Particular the Politics of Racial Nationalism, National Expansion and Government Control of The Economy

The ideology and practices of the NSP — officially the National Socialist German Workers Party — are more commonly known as Nazism. The full extent of Nazism 's implications remains little known as it is not just a radical philosophy, but instead a structure of governance that brought the world towards a second world war, a holocaust of millions, and a course towards extreme fascism and obedience. Nazism has swept over the German citizens' lives. It infiltrated cities, industries, classes, and society in a fashion that would revolutionize the way Germans viewed their control and destiny. Nazism gave power to the German people and a charismatic leader to follow its plan through. For the Germans, it was a deadly temptation that would push them to leave customs and culture they recognized to one where only the swastika flew from the pole.

Many threads of Nazi development may be linked to the fact that Germany, like other countries in Europe, did not undergo a successful bourgeois revolution. This absence of the people 's internal revolt trapped them in a kind of complacency that didn't crack the status quo in an elitist culture. Nazi doctrine and practice represent a number of main paradoxes that have also had a strong impact on how women's past has been depicted in the regime. One is the tension between the marketed picture of a "idealized" Nazi female mother and home grower, and the need for the government to satisfy their economic efforts. The effect of the regime's policies on women, while deliberately advocating a subordinate position for women in German society, is primarily the focus of the historical portrayals. The NNP has also culturally changed the female body. The purpose of this essay is to state the social policies set by the Nazis towards the woman.

In Nazi Germany, women's lives were influenced by policies and actions emerging from the government of the Nazi Socialist Party (NSDAP). Those policies were mainly influenced by Adolf Hitler's personal views. Hitler had conventional gender ideas. His mother, a simple yet caring housewife who protected the son from his harsh and sometimes heavy father, probably influenced them. The women's natural role, according to Hitler, was domestic: they existed to care for their husbands, to bear and look after their children. The Nazi Party (NSDAP), along with its governing body and executive boards, has placed women in Nazi Germany under the teachings of Nazism and advocated the exclusion of women of German political life. Women lived within a policy of enabling and encouraging them to fill mothers and women's roles and excluding them from all positions of power and influence, especially in politics and academia. Hitler thought that women were more infantile, milder, and emotional than men. He found them not qualified to withstand chaos and pressure at work, industry or policy.

Hitler favored the women in social situations to be calm, relaxed and motherly. He found it difficult to relax with women who were positive, trustworthy, well-educated or professional success. Validation of these views can be found in Mein Kampf and some of the Hitler's speeches in which he stated that: women are the eternal mothers of the nation, they are the eternal companions of the men, and they have the most triumphant task of bearing, looking after and raising their babies. Hitler rejected the idea or implication of gender equality. He opposes the call for the rights of women as a Socialist plot and the just pay for women. "The granting of equal rights to women, as demanded by marxism, does not give them the equal rights," said the Nazi leader in 1935 in the speech. In fact, women are not to be granted equal rights. The women are fighting their own battles which comes with giving birth to a child. With every child she brings into the world, she is fighting for the nation.

Nazi actions and rhetoric were driven by Hitler 's authoritarian ideologies. One of the Nazis' main social initiatives was to push women back to their task of parenthood in order to raise the German population. In July 1933, the Nazi government passed the Marriage Encouragement Act. Married couples received an advanced prototype of 'child benefit': a government loan of 1,000 Reichmarks. This credit was partially reimbursed every time the mother gave birth – one-quarter was resurrected after the first child and the loan was fully redeemed after four children. The Nazi government issued those state loans between 1933 and 1936 to nearly 695,000 married couples. Women had also been flooded with speeches and propaganda in Nazi Germany. Most of this propaganda indicated that their highest goals would be to get married, tend the home, and raise good offspring. People celebrated pregnancy and motherhood. As national heroes, Propaganda celebrated Kindersegen (women with children). A medallion, the Ehrenzeichen der Deutschen Mutter ('The German Mother's Cross of Honour'), was even awarded to women who bore multiple children. That cross was awarded for a fourth child in bronze, a sixth in silver, and an eighth in gold.

As stated by Mayer, Nazi Eugenicist, “a nation's worth is reflected in its women 's willingness to become valuable mothers. Germany should become hence a fertile land of families and individuals. Only the mother decides the existence or non-existence of our people.”

Apart from encouraging women to become mothers, the Nazi regime had strict restrictions on contraception and abortion. Rather than any firm ideological positions, these restrictions were driven by practicalities. German scientists led the world during the Weimar period in the creation of contraception devices, especially condoms, intrauterine devices (IUDs), and uterine perforation devices. It further angered the Nazis that Jewish were the pioneers of many of the contraceptive medicine. Nazi approaches to abortion were what scholar Jill Stephenson terms, a peculiar between persecution and evident enlightenment. The Nazis, especially among Aryan members, wanted to raise birth rates – but they also acknowledged the deteriorating negative impacts of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Therefore, condoms were made available in German cities while contraception was nominally banned. Military doctors stored and distributed them, too. The Nazi regime was keeping tabs on abortion, too. The Nazis set strict conditions for ending pregnancy and severe sentences for unlawful pregnancies for medical reasons. Nazism called abortion a crime against government and body. In 1932, the year before Hitler's rise to power, just under 44,000 German women applied for termination of a pregnancy and of those the approval count was of 34,698. During the duration from 1935 to 1940 there were just 14,333 petitions and 9,701 approvals. By contrast, if the patient happened to be non-Aryan, doctors would allow the abortions and were also promoting it. A Nazi-run state court ruled in November 1938 that all Jewish people would have access to abortion legally and without limitation.

Although the Nazis presented German mothers as national heroes, they viewed single people and working women as second-class people. For women in paid employment, Hitler was full of scorn. He called it a Marxist trick, an effort to dress up women in overalls and work boots to rob them of their female sexuality. The derision has been expressed in policy for single and working women. Single women were regarded by law as Staatsangehoriger, "the state subjects", the very same legal status was subsequently granted to the Jews, and the mentally impaired. When the Nazis took power in 1933, 100,000 female teachers were working in Germany, and 3,000 female doctors. Ultimately, many were terminated, forced to step down, or forced to marry and parenthood. The Nazis also tried to 're-feminize' women by completely removing which individuals regarded the fascist renaissance civilization. Cabarets and jazz clubs were closed in 1935 (although many underground clubs continued to provide entertainment for officers and members of the parties). Local Nazi-run governments passed by-laws restricting women to sing, dance, or appear bare-legged in public. School programs were also changed for the girls during the Nazi Regime. Women's college and university seats had been limited to a fixed 10 percent quota.

School programs for girls were changed in 1933, in particular, to discourage them from pursuing university studies. The five-year Latin and three-year science classes were replaced with German and national skills courses. On the one hand, there are a large number of girls enrolled in boys' schools while on the other hand, the "enrollment limit" of 10% was usually ignored at the university level. Therefore, enrollment in medical schools was reduced only from 20 to 17 percent by the initiatives.

Women were barred from serving as judges, prosecutors, administrators, and several other occupations as of 1936. Women were often expelled, to be replaced by men, from high-ranking or prominent roles in government departments, charities, schools, and hospitals. In 1936, there was a law that excluded women (notably judges and prosecutors through the personal interference of Hitler and the medical profession from some high-level roles in the judicial system. The medical association, which was absorbed into its male counterpart, also dissolved, before their loss harmed the health needs, and some were called upon to work. Females held just 1% of university positions under the Weimar Republic. In a decree of 8 June 1937 only men, if not in a social field, were appointed to those posts.

However, after lobbying Gertrud Scholtz-Klink, a female scientist Margarete Gussow obtained a post in astronomy on 21 February 1938 “in person and exceptional ability”. Mathematician Ruth Moufang received her Ph.D. but could not gain a teaching right and was forced to work for the national industry. Another mathematician, Emmy Noether, was terminated by the German Public Service Restructuring Act of 7 April 1933 for his activity in the USPD and the SPD in the 1920s. The physics researcher Lise Meitner was able to remain in her post until 1938 and was head of the physics department of Kaiser Wilhelm 's society only through her Austrian citizenship, which ends with Anschluss. In science, there were hardly any women appointments; in 1942, although no male candidate had applied, a woman could not direct a scientific institute. Make-up and extreme or 'unfeminine' hairstyles were also discouraged, such as perms or shorter hair-cuts and styles.

The use of makeup was generally forbidden, and women were expected to be respectful, as opposed to the Weimar Republic era, which witnessed more cultural liberty. The meetings of the NSBO in 1933 proclaimed that women's 'painted and powdered' were forbidden at all meetings of the NSBO, the Women's Section for the German workers' front and the NSBO will exclude women who smoked openly – in hotels, cafés, on the street, etc. Recommendable venues were restricted to practices deemed to be more or less traditional: music, handwork, gymnastics. Except for reproductive purposes, sexuality had been prohibited; free young women had been viewed as 'depraved' and 'anti-social.' The Nazis also had a racial theory in which the women were supposed to have an ideal appearance.

The "Aryan" (nordic) archetype has been promoted as a perfect physical appearance by Nazi racial theory: women have been blond, beautiful, tall, fine, and sturdy all at once. The Nazis even appointed fashion designers to create new styles that mirrored gender perceptions of the National Socialists. Females were encouraged to wear skirts and coats, rather than pants. Dress made of foreign-made or costly garments has been condemned as wastage. Women's fashion became a problem for Nazi officials in Nazi Germany. The Nazi administration wanted the "Aryan" woman to spread the population as they were considered to be true Germans. This ideal Nazi woman was powerful, fertile, and used traditional German clothing in various posters and other forms of the media. Yet the Nazi officials also refused, as they were still seeking to create a consumerist society focused solely on German domestic goods, to prevent German textile and fashion factories from making a profit. These differences in objectives often led to disparities in what in Nazi Germany were considered trendy, nationalistic, and politically correct for women. Although the Nazi administration sought to create an ideal material for the Aryan woman, the textile industry also sought financial gain. While Hitler called for women to eat, he concluded that women should only eat German products. The creation of a German Fashion Institute to create a Western niche market created different opinions about the interaction between fashion and Nazis.

Two women's Nazi organizations, the Nazi Women's League and Werk Glaube und Schönheit (Work, Faith, and Beauty) ran classes that stressed health, beauty, and domestic work. Both groups aimed to make Aryan women loyal to the Nazi regime, to attract men, and to prepare themselves for their maternity. Mixed results are produced by the evaluation of Nazi women's policies and population growth. Hitler's attempts to prosecute and gain German women's allegiance were successful mostly. Thousands of German women considered Hitler their savior, having been largely ignored by previous leaders. For German homes, it was not unusual to have Fuhrer's picture, even a tiny shrine with candles and flowers. However, the Nazis failed to achieve much population growth, despite their policies and intensive propaganda.

From the above paper, it can be concluded that Women differed in the way they lived in Nazi Germany. People will find evidence of this in the book of Jill Stephenson, "Women in Nazi Germany." Although women were flattered and praised by the Nazis, freedom of choice was minimal. This applies to women's reproduction, marriages, relationships, and the workforce. These areas restricted women's free choice. The idea of the 'perfect race' is obvious that women were of value to the Nazis, but in turn, they have been utilized. People begin to notice not only the women but also men who were put into various classes and treated differently throughout the Nazi period.

The way non-Aryan women are treated when they want to be reproduced showed one of the great factors that women have no freedom of choice. Women of the Aryan race were encouraged and persuaded to breed, while Non-Aryans were discouraged to breed, and were treated "socially isolated" or "Worthless." Aryan women were not given birth controls and abortions were not permitted to them. Abortion among the Aryan women who were considered as precious was a crime for the Nazis. The Aryan woman who aborted and anyone who helped her was disciplined with a heavy penalty and penalized into prisons. The Penal Code of 1933 laid down this law. The Aryan women were able to have an abortion if the woman continued pregnancy and the life of the woman was in danger because of it. Non-Aryans, on the other hand, had plenty of exposure and were forced to have abortions or birth control. The Nazis wanted to get rid of people they did not consider to be apart from the 'full race' so the non-Aryan women were not allowed to have children.

In Stephenson 's book, it says that women were honoured and given metals according to how many children they had to show how persuasive the Nazis would be to bring women of the Aryan race into reproduction. The Honour Cross from the German mother at NSDAP ceremonies was awarded in 1938 to 3 million precious prolific women. Little before that in 1934, the local authority of Darmstadt issued vouchers for free movie tickets with 1500 mothers having 3 or more children. The Nazis were able to influence women in this respect. The Nazis did not force them to conceive children, but they persuaded the women strongly. The Nazis have power over the women with the abuse of birth controls.

When it came to interrelationships, Aryan men and Aryan women were allowed to live together and to multiply. They were prohibited to reproduce if there were Jewish couples or an Aryan, and a Jew. To get married these couples had to receive 'Certificate of Suitability for Marriage'. This falls within the framework of the Marriage Health Act, which requires a medical examination by couples. The woman and the man had to be tested for this certificate to see if they were fruitful, or if one was flawed. Those women did not have a good chance because they couldn't get married if the partner isn't fertile, even if they are fertile. If couples did not receive the certificate, they would also be branded as socially isolated and sterilized. If the woman was pregnant already, she was asked and heavily persuaded to have a miscarriage. It was said during the Third Regime that 400 000 sterilizations were carried out. Half of them are women and half of them are men. Sterilization took place if somebody was Jews, Africans, or did an activity because of which the Nazis thought the "perfect race" would be harmed.

The "foreign contract" prohibited a relationship with a foreigner. The German blood was polluted to the Nazis if an Aryan man or woman should have an intimate relationship with a foreigner. When a woman was found with an alien man, she was forced into a prison or extermination camp, after being ritually violated by Nazi vigilante groups, usually by publicly shaving her head. Hitler ordered this to be stopped shortly. So afterward, when a woman was sent to a concentration camp who violated the foreign contract, she was forced into prostitution. This showed that even if you were an Aryan, you would be punished if you disobeyed any policies established by the Nazis.

Women played a significant role in the workplace during the war. It was the women's job to step up in the various jobs that men had left behind with the men struggling during the war. Women worked in low pay, and the higher paying workers did not get to work. They took over the positions when the men came back from battle. The example that has been used and misused by these women is a good one. This also shows that she wouldn't get it, even though a woman desires a big paying career.

When people learn some of the things that took place in Germany, they begin to understand that German women had less or no free choice. The Nazis shielded the extent to which they regulated these women. The Nazi masterpiece was manipulation and they succeeded without us knowing what they did. The way they chose to reproduce had a significant influence on the respect and recognition provided to the women in the Nazi Regime. In reproduction and marriage, women were often limited to having free choice. Not allowing a woman to reproduce or not allowing women to marry whoever they want, limits the freedom of choice. In saying that, it is obvious that when it came to the Nazis making a choice that would affect the 'perfect race' those women were taken advantage of and were considered limited and left.

It is finally concluded that Adolf Hitler's traditionalist, patriarchal views reflected Nazi attitudes towards women. Women had been best equipped to be wives, mothers, and housekeepers, according to Hitler. Professional women were removed and discouraged from paid employment through both Nazi policy and propaganda, while single and working women were marginalized. By promoting and rewarding motherhood through propaganda, state-sponsored loans, and medals for women who bore four or more children, the Nazis also attempted to boost the birth rate. The Nazi government also implemented abortion and contraceptive laws (though only for Aryan women) and sought to 're-feminize' women by changing the way they dressed and acted. Thus, indicating that the social policies towards the woman gave them limited free choices.

Remember, at the center of any academic work, lies clarity and evidence. Should you need further assistance, do look up to our Philosophy Assignment Help

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