Melita Maschmann: Women In The Middle Class

For those that didn’t want to embody the mother, childbearing role, Nazism provided child, adolescent and adult women opportunities to still be involved in society. Because of the strict system that fascism is and produces, women would become complacent of their traditional roles, as supporters and soothers of men. Therefore because of this women wanted to and did break out of this role. This restrictive hold the Nazis had on women in the middle class, created an ironic appeal to children and adolescent girls in the middle class to join the Nazi party in order to break free from their future lives of being mothers. This is seen in the example of Melita Maschmann. Maschmann growing up in a middle class home, found adventure, a sense of belonging, and passion in her time in Hitler Youth and
She describes her work for the Nazis “Our existence at that time was for us an adventure…. We felt that we had been summoned to take part in a noble service… Fulfilling our duty to the Reich. “ Fulfilling their duty to the Reich took Maschmann to Poland, the front lines, and behind some of the biggest propaganda movements. Maschmann is a prime example of Nazis appealing, to teenagers and adolescent girls into their society, and also an example of uplifting them as an important role in society. Nazi organizations provided girls with opportunities of learning, a sense of belonging, and activities that men and boys did. Organizations like the Bund Deutsche Mädel, or BDM, gave girls the same sort of education, physical activities, and activism that their male counterparts had as well. For many the BDM and Hitler Youth organizations provided a liberating outlet for young girls to express themselves, and express themselves in ways they were not allowed to in previous generations. While with everything in the Nazi system, the BDM and other organization had their downfalls; it was however an example we see of liberation for adolescent girls, which put them in equivalence to German