what was the nazis ideology regarding motherhood?
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Under Nazism all mothers were not treated equally. Women who bore racially undesirable children were punished and those who produced racially desirable children were awarded. They were given favoured treatment in hospitals and were also entitled to concessions in shops and on theatre tickets and railways fares. To encourage women to produce many children, Honour Crosses were awarded. A bronze cross was given for four children, silver for six and gold for eight or more.
From the years 1933 to 1945, Germany was ruled by a harsh totalitarian regime, led by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. Promises of prosperity and a bright future delighted the bankrupt nation, still angry and bitter over its World War I losses. However, Hitler’s plans for success were far more sinister than anyone had imagined; the Nazi party desired control over all aspects of life in an attempt to create social purity. Racial hygiene became a “cornerstone of state policy…with the introduction of legislation designed to improve not only the quantity but also the quality of the Germany population” (Pine 11). This meant exterminating anyone whom the Party deemed inferior: Jews, Gypsies, the mentally and physically disabled, homosexuals, and other minorities. Hitler sought a superior Aryan race, with development of strong characteristics beginning at birth. In order to enhance those deemed suitable, the Nazi party emphasized the family and gave instructions as to how to raise fit children. They also instituted a number of programs aimed at mothers, and gave incentives for having as many children as possible. The Nazi party created political programs and initiatives that molded women into their ideal mother archetype, in order to achieve their quest of attaining a pure Aryan race in Germany.
One of the Nazis’ first tasks was to encourage families to produce as many children as possible. With a greater population, Nazi Germany could flourish as a strong and pure nation. In the time before Hitler took power, the Weimar era, the birth rate was steadily dropping “from 36 births per thousand inhabitants in 1901, to 14.7 births per thousand inhabitants in 1933” (Pine 10). In an effort to change this, the Nazis encouraged motherhood through propaganda in order to sway public opinion. Mothers were esteemed as heroes, and this idea was instilled in children through books and radio programs. One story portrayed a mother’s many tasks when taking care of her children; though her work is difficult at times, she is happy because she is serving her nation. A children’s play also centered on that same idea, but when the children want to give their mother a break, she claims that she does not want to be relieved of her duties because it proves her patriotism (Pine 64-65). Children’s textbooks also included illustrations of perfect families, with both parents present and as many as ten to twelve children around them. With this propaganda, Nazis hoped to instill their prenatal ideology in children at early ages.
Propaganda also came in other forms, which was aimed at mothers and families directly. In order to encourage the births of more “valuable” children, the Nazis created the idea that creating a large family was a sign of prosperity and nationalism. One such way was in the terminology; an example of this is the word ‘kinderreich.’ This word was used during the previous eras in Germany simply to describe a family with many children. However, the Nazi regime claimed that this was a falsehood; the honor of being a kinderreich family not only denoted size, but further described a family that matched the pure Aryan racial and social standards. Thus, only valuable families were deemed kinderreich (Pine 88).