Women in Nazi Germany experienced different circumstances and conditions. Not all women were treated the same the Nazi regime. Some found the regime supportive of their new found freedoms of individuality while others seemed to be forced to confine to social norms such as being at home, having a family, and nurturing kids. German women who were held up as role models for the nation were given the opportunity to marry and receive loans from the government. However their freedom was curtailed ironically. Even though they were held as the ideal "German" woman, they were the one expected to get married, stay at home, and raise kids.
Those were not held with high standards, some of them experienced individual freedom than ever before. Some single woman were now able to work and live independently without the obligation of staying at home or getting married. Despite single woman having the freedom to live independently, they were shunned from society and treated like a pariah. The Nazi government nonetheless demeaned them either because of their flaws in their physical characteristics or their personalities.
In Nazi Germany, the treatment of women was mixed and contradictory. Women who the Nazis saw as the "Aryan" type were held in high regard but confined to strict social norms. Single women who were not allowed to get married, for the first time, had the opportunity to experience independent life although their situation was not any better than married women who were considered part of the "Aryan" race.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
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The point you raise about women in Nazi Germany holds true for almost any group, making it hard to generalize about life under the Nazi regime. The regimes policies affected different types of people in different ways, depending chiefly upon their racial category but also on their sex, age, class status, skill set and political viewpoint. Life experiences in Nazi Germany varied greatly, an important fact to keep in mind when studying this period.
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