8. Nazi Germany - Nazi Ideas about Society and the ... Ideas... · When Hitler took power in January 1933 there were six ... benefits of Nazi policies outweighed their disadvantages?

© Boardworks Ltd 2005 1 of 16

Nazi Ideas about Society and

the Treatment of Workers

Nazi Germany

For more detailed instructions, see the Getting Started presentation.

This icon indicates the slide contains activities created in Flash. These activities are not editable.


What we will learn today

So far in this unit we have focused on how the Nazi

regime developed politically – through propaganda

and the creation of a police state. We will now move

on to look at the social policies of the regime.

In this presentation you will learn:

1. What sort of society the Nazis hoped to create.

2. How the Nazis sought to put these policies into

practice.

3. How this affected ordinary Germans.


Introductory activity


What Sort of Society did

the Nazis Want?


The Volksgemeinschaft

Hitler aimed to persuade ordinary Germans that their

purpose was to contribute to the greater good of the

German people (Volk).

He therefore attacked the idea of individual liberty, which

he felt was incompatible with a strong people’s

community (Volksgemeinschaft).

For Hitler, life meant struggle – against Bolsheviks,

Jews, foreign nations. Only if all members of the

Volksgemeinschaft stood against these threats with

common aims and perspectives (Weltanschauung)

could the Volk hope to survive.


Blood and Soil

Blood: Only physically and mentally fit Aryans had any

place in the new society. There was no room for social

outcasts, the disabled or non-Aryans.

Soil: Hitler felt that this Volksgemeinschaft should be

based around the peasantry – whom he considered

the most racially pure element in Germany, and the

source of all true German culture.

Society would be classless and all would share a belief in

the beauty of labour. This was stressed in propaganda,

using slogans such as ‘Arbeit macht frei’ (‘labour liberates’).

Hitler himself was called the ‘first worker of the nation’.

What possible problems could arise from this

focus on (a) Aryans and (b) the peasantry?


A speech from Hitler


What was Life like for

Workers under the

Nazis?


Introduction

When Hitler took power in January 1933 there were six

million unemployed people in Germany. By 1939,

unemployment had almost disappeared.

This dramatic reduction in unemployment won over

many workers to the Nazi cause.

Also important was the DAF (German Labour Front) led

by Dr Robert Ley. Within this were:

the SdA ('Beauty of Labour') and the RAD movements

designed to improve attitudes to work,

the KdF ('Strength through Joy') programme which

organized activities for workers to do in their leisure

time.


The DAF (German Labour Front)


The SdA ('Beauty of Labour') and the RAD

The 'Beauty of Labour' movement encouraged employers

to improve working conditions, and organized various

campaigns, for example they campaigned for:

good ventilation in the work place,

hot meals in the factory.

After 1935 the RAD (Reich Labour Service) made it

compulsory for all men and women between the ages of

18 and 25 to do six months labour service.

This was intended to encourage a sense of hard work in

young people. The work was poorly paid, and involved

hard manual labour on farms or road-building projects.


The KdF ('Strength through Joy') programme

The 'Strength Through Joy' programme (KdF) organized

trips to concerts, plays, exhibitions, sporting events, folk

dances, educational events and even arranged holidays.

By 1938, a special KdF office was organizing holidays and

travel for approximately 10.3 million Germans. The idea

was that people would work better if they were refreshed.

What did Hitler say about the KdF?

… the German worker will receive

an adequate holiday and …

everything will be done to ensure

that this holiday and the rest of his

free time offer a genuine recovery.


KdF schemes: The Nazi holiday camp

One of the Nazi’s most

ambitious projects was

to develop Prora, a

huge holiday resort on

the Baltic Island of

Rugen. It was one of

five planned to be built,

but the only one started.

It was never finished,

due to the war. Work

began in May 1936 with

48 construction

companies, employing

2000 workers. What impact do you think this had, both on Nazi

popularity and the German economy?

0 100

kms

Prora

Denmark Sweden

Rostock

Hamburg

Berlin

Frankfurt Magdeburg

Stettin

Kolberg


KdF schemes: The Volkswagen plan


Assessment

Workers lost important freedoms but gained improved

conditions and facilities.

Freedoms lost:

Trade unions were banned and workers were not allowed

to bargain for increased wages.

Workers were controlled by the state. From 1935, all

workers had to carry a booklet detailing their work record.

Benefits gained:

Workers had more job opportunities, more holiday time

and better working conditions than ever before.

Do you think that most workers would consider that the

benefits of Nazi policies outweighed their disadvantages?


Plenary

Documents

8. Nazi Germany - Nazi Ideas about Society and the ... Ideas... · When Hitler took power in January 1933 there were six ... benefits of Nazi policies outweighed their disadvantages?