Concept of the Ideal Family Within the Volksgemeinschaft

Concept of the Ideal Family Within the Volksgemeinschaft

Adolf Hitler and the Nazis esteemed Aryan women as heroes in Nazi Germany because of their ability to procreate. Women had no place in such an industrial society so they were encouraged to focus on their role as a dutiful wife and mother. They contributed to the Volksgemeinschaft by constructing the future generation and making more of the Aryan race. Thus, since all women were valued as the creators of the nation’s most important product—pure Aryan people—there were no restrictions on their sexual orientation. Women were allowed to become homosexuals while men were prosecuted and imprisoned for partaking in any homosexual offences. The Nazis were fervent in preserving the concept of the ideal family within the Volksgemeinschaft, and thus they reinforced masculinity within men and instilled the significance of maternity within the women.

The textbook that high school students are studying in the Santa Ana School District barely emphasizes the topic of gender in Nazi Germany. Unfortunately, these high school sophomores will not be able to understand the significance of gender nor will they be able to see Nazi Germany in a different light. The authors of the textbook, however, emphasize the maternity role of the women. The Nazis dismissed women from their upper-level occupations so they could pursue the maternal role. It was the responsibility of the women to increase the birthrate of pure-blooded Aryans. Women were even offered rewards for having more children. Although the text highlights the importance of women in their household roles, it does not offer a comparison between men and women.

The Nazis stressed the importance of maintaining a utopian society within the Volksgemeinschaft. Hitler wanted to keep Germany as pure as possible—meaning no Jews, no homosexual males, nothing outside of the citizens of the Aryan race. Laws were established to preserve the Aryan purity of Nazi Germany. The Reich Penal Code of 1871 was revised in 1935 as Germany had changed under the stronghold of its new leader, Hitler. Section 175 under the revised code listed the penalties for a sex offence between males: “A male who commits a sex offence with another male or allows himself to be used by another male for a sex offence shall be punished with imprisonment.