The Status of German Women under Nazism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Status of German Women under Nazism - Essay vitrineThe end of World War I harkened the birth of several political groups in Germany possessing extreme views, such as those professing ultra-nationalistic and anti-democratic ideas. Adolph Hitler joined one of these groups cognize as the German Workers Party. In the years following 1920, he became the leader of the party, later reorganizing and reorienting it to reflect his personality. He also renamed the party to the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP) or, as translated into English, the National socialistic German Workers Party. Nazism was the term by which the partys ideology, its doctrines, and its policies came to be known. (Columbia Encyclopaedia 2004)The ideology of Nazism was based on an amalgam of doctrines of racism, nationalism, and what was known as the hero-cult espoused by unlike writers and interpreted by Hitler and others in works such as Hitlers Mein Kampf. Instead of a set of well-described principles, Nazism was a vague ideology glorifying myth, prejudice, and nihilist views. operate was paramount and democracy was viewed as a corrupt form of government that served to protect the mediocre and weak elements of society. Under Hitler, Nazism became national law in Germany. (Columbia Encyclopaedia 2004) Nazism was a reaction to the emancipation of society, which occurred as monarchies throughout Europe fell and as Marxist ideology grew in popularity. Nazism, contrasted to the Marxist dialect on the desire for equality in property ownership, focused on issues of social equality, primarily the issues of racial superiority and inferiority. (Harvey 1999 77+)The anti-feminist spirit of Nazism was cerebrate in a significant manner to the movements racist ideology, according to Stibbe (1993 35+), who writes that like the Jew, the modern emancipated woman was seen as an agent of degeneracy and national decline, bringing in her wake the destructive forces of Bolshevism, democrac y, and parliamentarianism. A hint of Hitlers perspectives on the role of women became apparent shortly after his assumption of power in January of 1933. In his governments handbook for Nazi leaders and their organisations and members, entitled and translated as The rudiment of National Socialism, the following translated entry, which was directed at Jewish women, appeared The Jewish housewife, herself, is no picture of cleanliness, but idly sits around, painted up and powdered and adorned in silk and baubles (Rosen 1933, cited in Guenther 2004 92). But Hitlers views of women in German society were not restricted to Jews alone. Women, in general, were criticised for purchasing cosmetics, perfumes, and other luxury items earlier than saving the money or spending it on household items. Hitler, both through the ideology he promoted and the policies he enacted, insisted that German women must return to their pre-emancipation roles (Guenther 2004 93). The ABCs of National Socialism, as translated, stated (Rosen 1933, cite