Changes to Women in the Weimar Republic (Edexcel GCSE History)

Did the Life of Women Improve in Weimar Germany? - Summary

The 1920s was a revolutionary decade for women across Europe. During the  First World War, women joined the workforce to fill the roles left empty by conscripted men. Many people believed that women had ‘proved’ themselves to be capable and equal members of society.

Weimar Germany became one of the most advanced societies for women’s rights. The Weimar Constitution created universal suffrage. This was rare for European countries. The right to vote and opportunity to work led to the development of the ‘New Woman’ of the 1920s. A ‘New Woman’ was independent, career-minded and reluctant to become a wife or mother. They enjoyed freedoms that women of previous centuries had never experienced before.

Germany’s progressive approach to women’s rights created many enemies within the Weimar Republic. The right-wing vilified the ‘New Woman’ for destroying the traditional family unit. Extremist parties like the Nazi Party campaigned to return women to their traditional role of wives and mothers. They argued this would increase male employment.

Women in Politics in the Weimar Republic

• After the First World War, the SPD became the leading political party in the Reichstag

  • Their moderate left-wing opinions meant that they were open-minded to increasing the rights that women had

  • Women had impressed the other political parties with how they had stepped into the world of work. The parties believed it was fair to reward them for their sacrifice

• The Weimar Constitution placed women’s right to vote into law

  • All women over the age of 21 could vote in elections. This was the same access to voting that German men had

  • This was more progressive than most European countries

  • Article 109 stated that marriage was an equal legal partnership between men and women

• German women were active in politics

  • Elections usually had a 90% turnout of women voters

  • In 1920, there were 111 women elected as party representatives in the Reichstag

Women at Work in the Weimar Republic

• The Weimar government had good intentions to improve women’s employment

Changes in women's employment in Weimar Germany

• Trade unions had a negative reaction to the presence of women in the workplace

  • Men dominated the trade unions

  • They believed that equality for women in the workplace would negatively affect male workers

  • They resented ‘double earners.’ This term referred to households where the husband and wife both worked

Women at Leisure in the Weimar Republic

• The right to vote and increased working opportunities allowed women the freedom to express themselves

• These ‘New Women’ could:

  • Buy more revealing clothes

  • Cut their hair short

  • Wear more makeup

  • Smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol

  • Be focused more on their careers than on becoming wives and mothers

• Companies used the image of the ‘New Woman’ to sell their products

  • This was a tactic used by cosmetic companies

Reactions to the 'New Woman' in the Weimar Republic

• Germany had mixed reactions to the introduction of women’s rights

• Some men used statistics to argue the damaging impact of the ‘New Woman’ on society

  • Many European countries had experienced a decline in birth rates after the First World War

  • Critics of the Weimar government argued that a decreasing birth rate left Germany vulnerable. If another war broke out, Germany would lack young men to become soldiers

  • The birth rate had fallen from 128 births per 1,000 women in 1913 to 80 births per 1,000 women in 1925 

  • Rates of divorce had risen from 27 per 100,000 people in 1913 to 60 per 100,000 people in 1925

Contrasting reactions to the 'New Woman'

• Extremists used people’s hatred of the ‘New Woman’ to increase support for their ideals

  • Hitler blamed the ‘New Woman’ for increasing unemployment rates among the working class

  • He campaigned against the ‘New Woman’ and encouraged a return to women’s traditional role in the household