2. CHANGE IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM
Education played a very important part in Nazi Germany in trying to
cultivate a loyal following for Hitler and the Nazis. The Nazis were aware
that education would create loyal Nazis by the time they reached
adulthood. All teachers had to swear an oath of allegiance to Hitler and
teach in accordance with Nazi ideas and values. All Jewish teachers
were dismissed, as were teachers who refused to support the Nazi
Party‟s ideals.
Subjects underwent a major change in schools. History was based on
the glory of Germany - a nationalistic approach was compulsory. Biology
became a study of the different races to 'prove' that the Nazi belief in
racial superiority was a sound belief. "Racial Instruction" started as the
age of 6. Hitler himself decreed that "no boy or girl should leave school
without complete knowledge of the necessity and meaning of blood
purity." Geography taught pupils about the need for Germany to have
living space - lebensraum. Science had a military-slant to it. PE became
a very important part of the curriculum.
Girls had a different curriculum in some regards as they studied
domestic science and eugenics - both of which were to prepare young
girls to be the prefect mother and wife.
3. YOUTH ORGANISATIONS
The Hitler Youth catered for 10 to 18 year olds. There were
separate organisations for boys and girls. The task of the boys
section was to prepare the boys for military service. For girls, the
organisation prepared them for motherhood.
Boys aged 6 years joined the Little Fellows. They did mainly
outdoor activities such as hiking and rambling .Boys aged 10 - 13
years joined the German Young People / Jungvolk. They did
sporting activities which had a more military emphasis . They also
learnt about Nazi views on racial purity and anti-semitism (hatred
of Jews). Boys aged 14 - 18 years joined the Hitler Youth where
they were prepared to be soldiers.
Girls aged 10 years joined the Young Maidens and those aged 14
joined the League of German Maidens where they were taught
good health practices as well as how to become good mothers
and housewives
4. THE NAZI CULT OF MOTHERHOOD
In order to increase the master race and to fit in with Nazi philosophy,
women had a specific role. Discouraged from the workplace, their job
was to be mothers, organise the home and produce children for the
master race. Their role was referred to as the „Three Ks‟: Kinder, Kirche,
Kuche (children, church, cooking).
Many social programs were implemented by Hitler to encourage the
growth of a strong German Nazi Volk. One such program was to
advocate the virtues of motherhood. Cash incentives were paid for each
child born. On the 16th of December 1938 Hitler instituted a new award
to honor German Nazi motherhood. The cross of Honor of the German
Mother was created in three classes. The Bronze 3rd Class Mother's
Nazi Cross was awarded to bearers of 4 children, the Silver 2nd
Class Mother's Nazi Cross to bearers of 6 and the Gold 1st Class
Mother's Nazi Cross to bearers of 8 or more children.
5. Hitler established a Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and
Propaganda headed by Joseph Goebbels. The Ministry's aim was to
ensure that the Nazi message was successfully communicated through
art, music, theater, films, books, press etc. To ensure that everybody
thought in the correct manner, Goebbels set up the Reich Chamber of
Commerce. To produce anything that was in these groups, you had to be
a member of the Reich Chamber. As a result of this policy, Nazi
Germany introduced a system of censorship.
Books that did not match the Nazi ideal was burnt in public . The Nazis
also controlled film production. Films released to the public concentrated
on certain issues : the Jews; the greatness of Hitler and the way of life
for a true Nazi.
Special terms were created by Nazis as euphemisms to hide acts of
terror. For example, in the language of the
Nazis,Sonderbehandlung (“special treatment”) meant execution, and the
term Endlösung (“final solution”) referred to the systematic extermination
and mass murder of the Jewish people.
THE NAZI ART OF PROPAGANDA
German children read an anti-Jewish
propaganda book titled DER GIFTPILZ
( "The Poisonous Mushroom").
6. THE HOLOCAUST AND ITS IMPACT ON THE JEWS
The Holocaust is the name given to the murder of millions of
Jews by the Nazis. During the Holocaust, concentration camps,
such as at Auschwitz-Birkenau and Sobibor , were built to ensure
that the mass murders were carried out.
In 1945, when Anglo-American and Soviet troops entered the
concentration camps, they discovered piles of corpses and bones
—testimony to Nazi mass murder. Soldiers also found thousands
of survivors suffering from starvation and disease. After liberation,
many Jewish survivors feared to return to their former homes
because of the antisemitism that persisted in parts of Europe.
With few possibilities for emigration, tens of thousands of
homeless Holocaust survivors migrated westward to other
European territories liberated by the western Allies where they
were housed in hundreds of refugee centers and displaced
persons (DP) camps .
