In Nazi Germany

In Nazi Germany there were many different groups of society. Each group was affected in different ways some good some bad. In this essay I will talk about the five main groups that were affected which were the women, the industrial workers, the agricultural workers, big businesses, Jews and other minorities, and the youth. I will also show you why the industrial workers benefited the most by Hitler coming to power.

The Nazis were a male-dominated organisation. Hitler believed in the traditional view of a woman. Women were to be mothers and wives. Many women agreed with him. Especially those in rural areas and small towns. Many thought it was their role to support their husband. There was still resentment towards women as women took over the men’s jobs during the First World War. There was pressure on women to have a traditional home. They weren’t allowed to wear trousers. No powerful dominant roles went to women. They were encouraged to have as many children as possible. They were awarded for having 4-8 children. People were encouraged not to give women jobs. There was an increase in pregnancies outside marriage they even had types of brothels to make a pure German race. Overall I think women that thought it was their place to support their husband and to be a traditional woman benefited. But the women that wanted jobs weren’t allowed an opportunity they were forced into Hitler’s view of women.

When Hitler came to power in 1933, six million Germans were unemployed. His most important task was to find them jobs. During the election he had promised voters ‘work and bread’ if he ever became leader. Hitler's first action was to set up a National Labour Service. This organisation gave men jobs in public works schemes. These were jobs such as digging drainage ditches on farms, planting new forests, or building schools and hospitals. The biggest public works scheme was the construction of motorways. Some Men had to wear military uniform, live in camps and were only given pocket money as wages. But for many thousands of men that were better off when life had no job - they got free meals and were made to feel proud as they were helping build Hitler’s new Germany. The results of Hitler’s trying to get rid of unemployment may look very impressive at first sight: Yet the drop in unemployment was not all due to the creation of new jobs. Soon after the Nazis came to power many Jews and women were forced out of their jobs. Their jobs were given to unemployed people. Within months of coming to power, Hitler abolished trade unions. The Nazis set up KdF (Strength through Joy), which gave workers rewards for their work - evening classes, theatre trips, picnics, and even free holidays. There were some improvements for workers - bosses were not allowed to sack workers on the spot. However, workers were also banned from leaving a job without the government’s permission and only a few government run labour exchanges (job centres) could arrange new jobs. They abolished the right of workers to bargain for higher wages and he made strikes illegal. He also removed the restriction on the number of hours a person could be made to work. By 1939 many Germans found themselves working 60 - 72 hours a week. Not many complained though. This was not just because they were afraid of what might happen if they did complain. By 1936 the average factory worker was earning 35 marks a week - ten times more than the dole money which six million people were receiving in 1932.

Between 1925 and 1939 there was a significant drop in the number of workers employed in agriculture and a proportional rise in public employment. Hitler's belief that the rural peasants were the foundation of a healthy German economy prompted him to distribute handouts, secure control of imports and set agricultural prices at higher levels. Despite this, the fact that farmers could not compete with urban industry in terms of wages ensured a steady flow of workers to the towns. Accordingly, Germany became urbanised very quickly and the nation found that she had to import many raw materials from other nations. Agricultural workers started to change jobs as well to better wages.

Big Businesses weren’t allowed to open in small areas; they wanted to let the other shops grow. Businessmen hated having to acknowledge the trade unions, which they believed had too much power. Hitler gained the acceptance of big business by ordering the disbandment of the trade unions and a share of the remunerative profits from armaments contracts. Throughout this, businesses had to survive several constraints, not the least of which was competition from high-ranking Nazis like some people who received priority treatment under government regulations on imports, wage and price levels and the allotment of raw materials. Big businesses flourished, but not as well as much as they would have wanted. In some ways they did benefit but they also didn’t at the same time in nazi germany.
Jews in Nazi Germany were in my opinion affected the worst. They were thrown out of their jobs. They were thrown into a turmoil of anti-Semitism. There were forced out of there homes. Places started writing on their walls No Jews allowed. People started vandalising their property. The Jews were blamed for things that there is no possible way it was their fault the Nazis blamed the Jews Hitler blamed the Jews for all the misfortunes that had happened in Germany the loss of the First World War was the result of a Jews the Treaty of Versailles was also a Jewish conspiracy designed to bring Germany to her knees the hyperinflation of 1923 was the result of an international Jewish attempt to destroy Germany .The Nazis used them as scapegoats as well as all the other minorities like disabled people and gypsies. The Nazis wanted the aeron race a pure German race with no imperfections. Some rich Jews could afford to leave Nazi Germany (or were forced to) but many could not. Thugs in the SA and SS were given a free hand in their treatment of the Jews. The Jews were frequently referred to in "Mein Kampf" and Hitler had made plain his hated for them. References to the "filthy Jew" litter the book. In one section, Hitler wrote about how the Jews planned to "contaminate" the blood of pure Germans. On buses, trains and park benches, Jews had to sit on seats marked for them. Children at schools were taught specifically anti-Semitic ideas. Jewish school children were openly picked on by teachers and the bullying of Jews in the playground by other pupils went unpunished. If the Jewish children responded by not wanting to go to school, then that served another idea that could be used for propaganda that Jewish children were inherently lazy and could not be bothered to go to school.
Hitler was very clever he targeted the youth he filled them with propaganda Hitler's belief that the future of Nazi Germany was its children. Hitler started made camps for children he created clubs like scouts called the Hitler youth. The Hitler Youth was seen as being as important to a child as school was. In the early years of the Nazi government. After Hitler came to power, all other youth movements were abolished and because of this the Hitler Youth grew quickly. In 1936, the figure stood at 4 million. In 1936, it became compulsory to join the Hitler Youth. Youths could avoid doing any active service if they paid their subscription but this became impossible after 1939. The Hitler Youth catered for 10 to 18 year olds. There were separate organisations for boys and girls. The task of the boys section was to prepare the boys for military service. For girls, the organisation prepared them for motherhood. At the camps the boys were taught basically military skills. They had mini wars were lots of people got hurt broken bones blood noses the lot. They got taught how to throw a grenade at the right angles. The girls learned the opposite cooking cleaning and hiking. The Hitler youth was so appealing because it was new and exciting, great fun and they had cool uniforms. In a way Hitler used the children as spies some kids told the Hitler youth about what their parents had said to them that was anti Nazi they turned in their own parents for the Hitler youth. At school they were taught pure propaganda, they were taught how life would be better without Jews. Textbooks were rewritten to support their views. Youth started rebelling some beat up Nazi officials, listened to American jazz, refused to join the Hitler youth they were severely punished to stop others doing the same they hanged the rebels. He made the youth into ready to go military men. He gave new and exciting parts of their lives. They certainly benefited by Hitler coming into power but he changed the youth he made them into disciplined ready to fight men which in my opinion wasn’t always a benefit.
I think the industrial workers benefited the most because Hitler knew what they wanted. He found them jobs and food. Even though many of the jobs didn’t pay well and they had to work long hours. It fixed the problem of unemployment he gave all the people that needed jobs a job. He also gave them holidays if they were good German workers. He rewarded them for their dedication in many ways. People started to like Hitler even more because of everything he had done for them. He actually carried out what he had promised when he was trying to become chancellor .