Explain the Role of Women in Nazi society. Return to Chapter 1 on the French Revolution. Write a Paragraph Comparing and Contrasting the Role of Women in the Two Periods.
By BYJU'S Exam Prep
Updated on: November 9th, 2023
The Role of Women in Nazi Germany was radically different from the French Revolution. They were taught to become the bearers of the Aryan culture and maintain the purity of the race. On the other hand, during French Revolution, demands were raised for social and political equality for women and an end to male domination. We have explained the different conditions and roles that women played in Nazi Germany and in French Revolution.
Table of content
Role of Women in Nazi Society and the French Revolution
The role of women in Nazi society and the French Revolution are in contrast with each other. We have illustrated some major differences in the table below:
Role of women in Nazi society | Role of Women in the French Revolution |
Girls were taught to become good mothers and rear pure-blooded Aryan children. | Women’s second-class status was confirmed by the Napoleonic Code. |
They had to maintain the purity of the race. | They used events to force their way into swearing oaths of political loyalty and affirmation of the political responsibilities of citizenship. |
They had to distance themselves from Jews. | They were at the forefront of a crowd demanding bread and the Constitution of 1793. |
Girls were told to look after the home and teach their children Nazi values. | They played an important role in Marat’s funeral, carrying the bathtub in which he died as well as a shirt stained with his blood. |
They were the bearers of the Aryan culture and race. | The procession “passed through the halls of the Legislative Assembly, into the Tuileries Garden, and then through the King’s residence.” |
Women who gave birth to racially desirable children were rewarded, while those who gave birth to racially undesirable children were punished. | They demanded price controls on bread to prevent it from becoming prohibitively expensive. |
Nazi Society and French Revolution
In Nazi Society: Women were encouraged to have large families and leave the labor force. They received gold medals for having eight or more children, silver for having six children, and bronze for having four children.
In the French Revolution: Women’s clubs were outlawed, and the assembly crushed the movement. In 1793, the Society of Revolutionary Republican Women, a militant far-left group, demanded that all women wear the tricolor cockade to demonstrate their loyalty to the Republic. It backed the Jacobins, held protests in the National Assembly, and marched to Versailles in October 1789.
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