KINDER, KIRCHE, KUECHE:
WOMEN IN NAZI GERMANY
CAMILLE GARVEY

The government of Nazi Germany’s ideology for the place of women promoted a
return to ‘traditional’ roles such as marriage, motherhood and family. However,
the policies they put in place tell a different story. Although they led women to
believe that their main role was to increase the birth rate of the country, the
government was performing forced abortions and sterilizations. Women were
meant to aspire to marriage, yet the government created ‘Breeding’ camps where
women would be impregnated by officers they did not know, for the good of the
country. Despite wanting a return to the sacred family life, children were asked to
report on the discussions their parents had and remain loyal to the state above all
else. This essay will discuss the contradictions between the ideology of the Nazi
government and their policies in regard to the role of women.

Living under the Nazi regime in World War II Germany, women struggled with
their identity. Government-mandated livelihoods in direct opposition to Nazi
beliefs and the idealization of the female role in society and family matters became
a point of contention. This meant that although women were encouraged to increase
the birth rate, the Nazi government was using sterilization and abortion procedures
on particular groups of women giving birth. Alternatively, women were deemed
responsible to bring back the “traditional” and sacred family values, at a time when
the government encouraged children to report their parents for potential subversion.
The Nazi Government even went as far as to set up “breeding” camps, in addition
to maintaining that women should be domesticated, yet requiring them to work in
factories. This essay will discuss the contradictions between the ideology of the
Nazi government and their policies regarding the role of women.
Women’s primary role in the Nazi regime was to be mothers. They were seen as
either the ‘Mothers of the Race’ who were of pure Aryan stock or ‘Inferior Women’
who were to be discouraged and prevented from procreating. The ideal Aryan
woman was German by appearance, behaviour and mannerisms. She was to be
athletic, strong and healthy; qualities which not only ensured she could bear

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children but that she could also be put to work for the Reich. 1 Women were
expected, in times of war and peace, to be physically capable of replacing their
husbands and doing their duty for their country (which could mean working in
factories, working on farms or in other traditionally male-dominated labour roles),
while also keeping their children fed and their house clean. 2 Women who fit these
criteria and had no history of any sort of physical illness or mental disorder were
encouraged in many ways to procreate.
First, the government ensured that married couples who had children were
economically compensated. If a wife had been working and gave up her job when
she married, the husband was entitled to a ‘Marriage Loan.’ This would mean that
the wife was able to continue to get pregnant and stay home without worrying about
finances. The loan was introduced in 1933, had very low interest rates and if one
had four children, their debt was cleared. 3 There were also inheritance and income
tax rebates for families. In 1934 a tax on the childless was added to help fund these
loans. 4 In many ways, the Nazi government encouraged women to live their lives
in service to the Reich’s needs.
Secondly, the Nazi government closed all birth control clinics and banned
contraceptives. By making these inaccessible, the number of women who became
pregnant increased. The Nazi government also raised the penalties for abortion,
which in 1927 had been reduced. 5 As Dr Charu Gupta, Professor of History at the
University of Delhi, states, “From 1935 on, doctors and midwives were obliged to
notify the regional state health office of all miscarriages. Women’s names and
addresses were then handed over to the police, who investigated the cases suspected
of being actually abortions.” 6 These measures were taken to increase the potential
amount of service the Reich would receive once these babies came of working age.
Thirdly, propaganda and party slogans were used to encourage these women to
procreate. Pamphlets glorifying the role of mothers were distributed, Mother’s Day
became a nation-wide celebration and prolific mothers were given the ‘Honour
Cross’ as recognition for doing their duty to their country. 7 The Honour Cross was

Leila J. Rupp. "Mother of the "Volk": The Image of Women in Nazi Ideology." Signs 3, no. 2
(1977): 362-79.
2
George Duby, Michelle Perrot, and Pauline Schmitt. Pantel. A History of Women in the West.
Vol. 5. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1994, 162.
3
Duby, Perrott and Schmitt, “A History of Women in the West,” 165.
4
Duby, Perrott and Schmitt, 165.
5
George Duby, Michelle Perrot, and Pauline Schmitt. Pantel. A History of Women in the West.
Vol. 5. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1994, 162.
6
Charu Gupta. "Politics of Gender: Women in Nazi Germany." Economic and Political Weekly 26,
no. 17 (1991): WS40-S48.
7
Rupp, Leila J. “Mother of the "Volk,"” 370-371.
1

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given to the women who had gone above and beyond their role as mothers and
received a high level of respect from the German people.
Many women however were considered ‘inferior.’ They were of different races;
Gypsies, Jews, Blacks, Roma or anyone who was visibly different or from lower
classes; prostitutes, servants and unskilled workers, were excluded as well as any
woman who had any sort of mental or emotional ‘defect’ (this could be depression,
schizophrenia, epilepsy or any sort of proven or alleged “feeble mindedness.”) 8
This meant that a large portion of the female population had to be stopped from
procreating.
To ensure this, the Nazi government used propaganda, with a focus on the
philosophical concept of Anti-natalism. 9 This was a concrete way for the Nazi party
to further their socio-political ideologies on the German people. They also used
education. In school textbooks for the girls, there were twelve pages on the
possibility of “having to sterilize one’s child” and the prohibitions of race
interaction as opposed to the three pages on the “Glory of Motherhood.” 10 This
shows how the Nazi government prioritized the ‘Master Race’ over the role of
women as mothers.
In 1933, the Nazi government mandated eugenic sterilization to include all women
who were deemed ‘inferior.’ A new medical department within the government was
created to find such women and use force if necessary to ensure they were
sterilized. 11 In 1935, when the government mandated abortion as a severe crime,
punishable by death, they did so with the exception that doctors were able to
perform abortions for eugenic reasons. This meant that if an ‘inferior’ woman
became pregnant, it was the doctor’s duty to ensure that the baby was aborted and
the woman subsequently sterilized.12 Abortion became a tool for the government
to prevent the birth of these children who would not fit into the new Aryan Race.
In 1939, the Nazi government took their plan a step further when they introduced
the idea of the “Annihilation of Unworthy Life.” 13 Euthanasia was used as a tool to
dispose of those who were not a part of the ‘Aryan’ race. This begun mainly in
asylums and hospitals with patients (both male and female) who were seen as being
incurable, but would escalate as a way to rid the nation of entire ethnicities;
principally but not exclusively, the Jews. 14
Duby, Perrott and Schmitt, 152.
Duby, Perrott and Schmitt, 169.
10
Duby, Perrott and Schmitt,155.
11
Duby, Perrott and Schmitt,152.
12
Duby, Perrott and Schmitt,165.
13
Duby, Perrott and Schmitt,155.
14
Duby, Perrott and Schmitt,155.
8
9

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Another priority for the Nazi regime was to bring back traditional family values
and ensure that the family was a sacred unit with marriage at its heart; however,
they also encouraged prostitution, encouraged children to report on their parents
and set up ‘breeding camps.’ During the late 1930s, as Nazi power stabilized and
they no longer needed the support of the Catholic Church, reforms were put in place
to ensure that regulated brothels were re-introduced. 15 The reasons for this were
two-fold, firstly the police and specifically Heinrich Himmler, the commanding
officer of the Schutzstaffel (SS), believed this was the best way to control the
criminal network of prostitution. Secondly, with the Second World War being
planned, the Nazis saw this as an opportunity to ensure that morale was high for the
troops, while ensuring that venereal diseases were not being spread. 16 With the
brothels under their control, they could ensure that the prostitutes were tested for
diseases, were not part of the ‘undesirable’ races and, as Dr Annette Timm explains,
“valuable men were sexually satisfied.” 17 By allowing the men in the military to
have extramarital affairs with prostitutes, they believed they were giving men a
sexual outlet so they could focus on the challenges at hand while out on the field.
However, this clearly went against the propaganda of the ‘German family’ and how
important marriage was to the Nazi government. Himmler ensured this was used
to the government’s advantage by also creating the “Lebensborn” scheme. Created
in 1935, this was designed to give financial support to families that had racially
pure children and to encourage men and women who were of pure Aryan stock to
help repopulate Germany. 18 Himmler recognized an opportunity and decided to test
this idea by using the SS men to impregnate women who had passed a series of
physical and mental health examinations, background checks and were proven to
be “pure” Aryan women. 19 The scheme also ensured that the pregnant (often
unwed) women received high end prenatal treatment and that when the babies were
born, they were closely followed by doctors to ensure that they had the best chance
of survival. 20 By being given the best care in the first few years of their lives, the
government hoped that these children would grow to be healthy and strong fighters
and breeders for the Reich.
By encouraging the Lebensborn scheme, the Nazis were encouraging men to have
extramarital affairs to increase the birth rate, and to further the purification of the
Aryan race. They were actively encouraging women who were unwed to use their
wombs for the benefit of the race and country, while continuing to promote the idea
15
Julia Roos. "Backlash against Prostitutes' Rights: Origins and Dynamics of Nazi Prostitution
Policies." Journal of the History of Sexuality 11, no. 1/2 (2002): 86.
16
Roos, “Backlash against Prostitutes’ Rights,” 87.
17
Annette Timm. “Sex with a Purpose: Prostitution, Venereal Disease, and Militarized Masculinity
in the Third Reich.” Journal of the History of Sexuality, (2002): 226.
18
Larry Thompson. "Lebensborn and the Eugenics Policy of the Reichsführer-SS." Central
European History 4, no. 1 (1971): 54. http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.langara.bc.ca/stable/4545592.
19
Thompson, “Lebensborn and the Eugenics Policy of the Reichsführer-SS,” 60.
20
Thompson, 61.

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of the importance of marriage and family. In addition, there was a rise in teenage
pregnancy during this time, previously these situations were considered shameful,
but now the young girls and boys boasted about this as they were doing their duty
to the country by breeding babies as soon as they could. 21 These conflicting ideas
both had the same goal, to repopulate Germany with pure Aryan babies.
Despite the traditional ideology of a loving and close-knit family, the Nazi
government was constantly encouraging children to report on their parents. They
were indoctrinated from a very young age through the public education system as
well as through various extracurricular groups such as the Hitler Youth and the
League of German Girls. 22 Children were led to believe that they could trust their
government more than their parents. They were encouraged to report on their
parents and were often asked to write essays on what they overheard their parents
speaking about at home, and their political opinions. 23 Author and researcher Paul
Roland states, “Far from preserving the traditional German family as it had
promised to do, the regime was actively isolating the children from parental
influence and working on each family member to ensure that their loyalty was
primarily to the party.” 24 Distrust among family members grew as the relationship
between child and country became more important than the relationship between
child and parent.
The role of mother was a top priority for the ideal Aryan woman. However,
domestic chores were also her responsibility as the archetypal German wives kept
good homes. Due to economic hardship and wartime, women were called to do
their duty to the state and participate in the war effort, which often got in the way
of their domestic chores. Women were expected to work not only during war time
but also as a service to the country when the country needed economic support.
However, they were paid a third less than their male colleagues, excluding the price
of transport to and from the factories, as well as any food the company provided. 25
In 1933 there were 11.5 million officially registered female employees, and by
1939, this had gone up to 12.8 million, a huge increase even before female
conscription was introduced in January 1943. 26 During the war, a large portion of
women worked in munitions factories where their shifts could be between 12-14
hours, which would mean that all the shops would be closed and their children
would likely be in bed when they returned. 27 Although the fact that they were
employed falls into line with some aspects of the Ideal Aryan woman (mainly that
Paul Roland. Life in the Third Reich: Daily Life in Nazi Germany 1933-1945. London: Arcturus,
2018, 60.
22
Paul Roland, “Life in the Third Reich,” 42.
23
Paul Roland, 54.
24
Paul Roland, 53-54.
25
Paul Roland, 35-36.
26
Duby, Perrott and Schmitt, 158.
27
Paul Roland, 36.
21

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she should be fit and athletic and able to do her part for her country) it directly
contrasts the push on domesticity and the role of women primarily as mothers.
Women viewed themselves not only as mothers, but as active members of the state
who had something to give other than their womb. Children and young adults had
to fend for themselves or be put into the care of youth groups. These had the main
goal for the boys of being trained for the military, and for the girls the three Ks,
"Kinder, Kirche, Kueche” (Children, church and kitchen). 28 So although the girls
were being taught that their main responsibilities lay in their children, the church
and the kitchen, they were seeing their mothers working traditionally male
dominated jobs.
In conclusion, it is clear that despite the Nazi ideology of women as married
mothers who stayed home, the Nazi government were contradicting themselves by
creating policies that directly opposed this idealized view. They encouraged women
to procreate and give birth to as many babies as possible, however this only applied
to some women; the women deemed ‘pure’ by the government, while the other
women were suffering forced abortions and sterilization due to their ethnicities or
illnesses. The Nazi government was simultaneously holding up marriage and
family as sacred entities; yet dividing the family by encouraging extramarital
affairs, children to report on their parents and by bringing back regulated brothels.
Finally, they were teaching girls that their place was in the home, yet under the Nazi
regime, there was an increase in the overall numbers of female employees and even
conscription for the war effort. Although the Nazis’ view of women is often
simplified, it is demonstrated that beneath the surface, they had a vision of a pure
German race and they were willing to make ideological sacrifices in order to obtain
it, particularly regarding their female citizens.

Stephen Pagaard, "Teaching the Nazi Dictatorship: Focus on Youth." The History Teacher 38,
no. 2 (2005): 196.
28

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
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GUPTA, CHARU. "Politics of Gender: Women in Nazi Germany." Economic and
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PAGAARD, STEPHEN. "Teaching the Nazi Dictatorship: Focus on Youth." The
History Teacher 38, no. 2 (2005): 189-207. doi:10.2307/1555719.
ROOS, JULIA. "Backlash against Prostitutes' Rights: Origins and Dynamics of Nazi
Prostitution Policies." Journal of the History of Sexuality 11, no. 1/2
(2002): 67-94. http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.langara.bc.ca/stable/3704552.
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Signs 3, no. 2 (1977): 362-79.
http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.langara.bc.ca/stable/3173289.
TIMM, ANNETTE F. “Sex with a Purpose: Prostitution, Venereal Disease, and
Militarized Masculinity in the Third Reich.” Journal of the History of
Sexuality, 2002, 223.
THOMPSON, LARRY V. "Lebensborn and the Eugenics Policy of the ReichsführerSS." Central European History 4, no. 1 (1971): 54-77.
http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.langara.bc.ca/stable/4545592.

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