Pine, Lisa N. N
(1996)
Family and the Third Reich, 1933-1945.
PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.
Abstract
The thesis is a study of Nazi family ideology and policy, and of the impact of the Nazi regime upon different types of family within German society. As such, it tackles an aspect of life in the Third Reich that has until now remained inadequately researched. This thesis advances the study of the subject by adding to existing knowledge, rather than by challenging the literature. It does not claim to answer every remaining question, but rather focuses in more detail on a number of specific areas. It considers the nature of Nazi family ideology, giving an overview of the eugenics movement and of Nazi policies towards the family. This is followed by a consideration of the dissemination of Nazi family ideals, by means of education and socialisation. Beyond these areas, the thesis does not deal with the 'average' or 'ordinary' German family, but focuses on areas that are less well-trodden in the secondary literature. It considers the families at different ends of the spectrum in the Third Reich - the Nazi 'ideal' or 'model' family, the kinderreich family, and the 'undesirable' family that did not fit into the Volksgemeinschaft. For the latter, 'asocial' and Jewish families are the categories selected for discussion, the former representing the 'socially unfit', and the latter, the 'racially inferior' or 'alien'. The concluding chapter presents an overview of the regime's ultimate legacy for the family in post-1945 Germany, not least the effects of the Second World War. It also gives an overall assessment of the regime's family policy and a discussion of how the Nazi period fits into the framework of the history of the German family.
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