Rise Of Nazism's Influence On Women

It is often spoken that the Nazis created a collective dream that over took the hearts and minds of the German people causing them to do unspeakable things. Not only did the ideology capture the hearts of young men, but women as well. Nazism being known as an incredibly masculine ideology begs the question how it enraptured so many women as well. It may seem farfetched, but the benefits Nazism gave to its followers and the growth it created in for its nation left people even today who see the ideology as perfect in spite of the known atrocities they committed. Nazism achieved prestige among women by understanding and taking control of the portions of life most influenced and influencing on women. Nazism was the cure for the problems of Weimar,

Though the failure of stopping the rise of Nazism is certainly the most well-known failure the failure perceived by the people, especially the women, may well be just as significant. How could a government that gave women suffrage fail them more than one that was not only masculine, but a borderline misogynist? Weimar may have been free, but it was not earned freedom. It was a liberal state that was implemented far too quickly and left citizens “disoriented by a stagnant economy, humiliated by military defeat, and confused by new social norms among the urban youth” , which caused moral panic. Despite being given suffrage and the ability to be employed many women voted to return to a more classic system. The contrast is stark, “while American feminists were demanding entry into the paid work, poorly paid German women dreamed of escaping from it.” This compounded with a poor economy that Weimar intentionally caused led to a sense of relief in someone who wanted to bring economic prosperity like Hitler. People often say they would support a system that is live and let live, but this tends to not be the case when it impacts their family. Nazi women condemned Weimar for its “Cultural decadence, sexual license, materialism, and disorder” which gave them a moral stance to oppose liberalism. The decline in birth rates also caused further unrest drawing in more religious women, especially Protestants, causing “national alarm

How does this entice women? Simply put the church was the center of social life for many German women at the time, so it was not a dramatic shift. According to the reading “the church, not the state, had for generations been the center of a women’s public life. And Hitler presented himself as a messiah.” The Nazi party initially puts up the front that they wanted to coexist with the various religious organizations in Germany, well non-Jewish ones at least, but this was nothing more than just that as “ultimately, Hitler aimed at subverting Catholicism and Protestantism into a single pagan religion” one which he would lead. To far too many women this seemed ideal. The similarities to what was expected in church life was not far Hitler asked when he “demanded the sort total surrender that wives give to husbands or clergymen and nuns render to the Church” with regards to becoming a National Socialist. If that was already their lifestyle, why not switch to an ideology that gives so very many benefits? While the relationship between Hitler and the churches would become estranged as he advanced his goals this was not at all obvious to the German people. The Vatican did not stand up to Hitler, but instead remained silent while “ many priests wanted to ‘find the healthy core’ of his (Hitler’s) doctrine and encourage Nazism as a