Nazi society propagated patriarchal values and traditional gender roles, speaking to those who believed in social and economic reforms, which occurred since world war I to ruin the nation. As a counteract, large families were required to embrace traditions where women were devoted exclusively to home, husbands, and children in the household. Hitler’s speech on September 8, 1934, revealed that much conscious, pragmatic reasoning was concealed behind the conservative façade (Hitler 313). Thus, choice of words by Hitler clearly defined the role of women, which according to Nazi ideology, comprised mainly of giving birth to future soldiers.
In Nazi Germany, the lives of women were shaped by attitudes and policies occurring by the National Socialist government and the personal perspective of Adolf Hitler. The ideology of Hitler held that German women had no or little place in professional and political life. Their primary role entailed marrying, procreating, and raising children (Raoul 291). In his mind, the natural position for women was primarily domestic as they existed to tend their homes, care for husbands, and bear and raise children. Hitler believed women to be kinder, gentler, and more emotional than men. As a result, he did not consider them equipped to survive the turmoil and pressure of politics, businesses, and the workplace.
Hitler’s preference in social settings entailed women who were quiet, timid, and motherly and found it challenging to be around women with successful professions, confidence, and outspokenness. Therefore, Hitler made it clear that women in Nazi Germany had the specific role of being good mothers and bringing up children at home while their husbands worked (Raoul 291). He saw no reason why a woman would work outside of specialist fields. At their earliest age, girls were taught to understand the role and lifestyle they needed to live.
Works Cited
Hitler, Adolf. My new order. Reynal & Hitchcock, 1941.
Raoul de Roussy de Sales.”Hitler, Adolf, and My New Order.” New York, Reynal and Hitchcock (1941): 291.