THE GOLDEN AGE
WOMEN
An artistic portrayal of urban life during the Golden age in Weimar Germany
Women in 'The Golden Age' in Weimar Germany.
An artistic portrayal of urban life during the Golden age in Weimar Germany
“A welcome attitude to vehicles and machines… Avoiding all decoration… Using only basic shapes and colours… Economy in the use of space, materials, time and money… Simplicity.”
Walter Gropius on the principles of Bauhaus
The constitution gave women greater equality in employment right, and by 1925, 35% of the German workforce were women. Additionally, by 1933, there were 100,00 women teachers and 300 women doctors.
Birth control became more widely available, and the birth rate declined. However, divorce rate begun to increase and there was a rise in the number of abortions; by 1930, there was an estimated 1 million abortions a year.
Women started to gain equal voting rights, and the right to be Reichstag deputies in the Weimar constitution. In 1919, 41 women were elected to the Reichstag, and the number of women deputies fell in subequent elections (the Reichstag had a higher number of female deputies then the house of commons). Women were also very active in local government at state and city level.
The 'demoblisation laws after the war required women to leave their jobs so that ex soldiers could find employment - women were also requested to give up work once they were married. Women were paid much less than men even though they were doing an equal amount of work as men.
Married women who continued to have paid jobs were attacked as 'double earners' and blamed for male employment. There were campaigns in the press and by conservative parties for the dismissal of married women workers.
Abortion was a criminal offence and would've been performed often by unqualified people. In 1930 there an estimated 10-12,000 deaths each year from abortions. The decline of birth rates were attacked by conservative press and politicians as 'birth strike' that threatened the health of the nation and the continued existence of the race.
Catholic and Protestant churches were vigorously opposed to birth control, divorce, and abortiion - many German women were committed members of church congregations.
The constitution gave women greater equality in employment right, and by 1925, 35% of the German workforce were women. Additionally, by 1933, there were 100,00 women teachers and 300 women doctors.
There were no female representatives in the Reichstag - no women became a cabinet member during the Weimar republic. No political party had a female leader in the Weimer years/ Only the KPD made gender equality a key element in its programme but it was a less appealing party to women.
JEWS
“To highlight the immorality of Germans abandoning their moral duty to think.”
Richard J Evans
There were more than a half a million Jews living in Germany under the Weimar republic. 80% of Jews in Germany (400,000) lived in citites and were well educated.
Many of the Jews felt more German than Jewish - they were very much patriotic. Many Jews beleived in assimilation (being a fully intergrated member of society - but keeping their own identity.
German Jews were already well established in the world of politics before 1914. Jewish publishing firms had a powerful influence in the media with two Jewish run newspapers in particular, the Berliner Tageblatt and Frankfurter Zeitung - promiting liberal views.
Both Hugo Hasses and Kurt Eisner came from Jewish backgrounds.
Jews were immensly successful in the professions - especially law and medicene. Jews also had a significant impact on the academic life of Germany. Jewish banking families like the Rothchilds owned about 50% of private banks.
The vast majority of German Jews wished to assimilate. In language, dress and lifestyle, thousands of Jews looked and acted like any other Germans.