Degree Name
MA (Master of Arts)
Program
History
Date of Award
12-2014
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Stephen G. Fritz
Committee Members
Henry J. Antkiewicz, John M. Rankin
Abstract
The historiography of women in Nazi Germany attests to the various roles of women in the Third Reich. Although politically invisible, women were deeply involved in the Nazi regime, whether they supported the Party or not. During Nazi racial schemes, men formed and executed Nazi racial programs, but women participated in Nazi racism as students, nurses, and violent perpetrators. Early studies of German women during World War II focused on the lack of Nazi mobilization of women into the wartime labor force, but many women already held positions in the labor force before the war. Nazi mistreatment of lower-class working women and the violence against their own people, as well as Allied terror bombing and mass rape, proved the Nazis inept at protecting German women. The historiography of women in Nazi Germany is complex and controversial but proves the importance of women in the male dominated regime.
Document Type
Thesis - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Nelson, Cortney, "“Our Weapon is the Wooden Spoon:” Motherhood, Racism, and War: The Diverse Roles of Women in Nazi Germany" (2014). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 2448. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/2448
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.