From Adventure and Advancement to Derailment and Demotion: Effects of Nazi Gender Policy on Women’s Careers and Lives

When the Nazis came to power in 1933 they slammed shut many educational and professional doors newly-opened to women in the 1920s. This article examines how women in three cohorts (those who had already launched their careers in 1933, those who were finishing their higher education in 1933, and those who were still in Gymnasium in 1933) adjusted to Nazi decrees. It argues that despite the Nazis’ devastating attack on women’s education and employment, many women remained resourceful and resistant to state efforts to shape their behavior. Women who had launched their careers before the Nazis came to power and whose careers were not directly attacked by the Nazis were the most likely to maintain their careers. In contrast, women who were still in school in 1933 were the most likely to be derailed. Women in all three cohorts tend to remember Nazi policy as having no impact on their life choices. Whether they directly benefitted from Nazi policy or were harmed by it, they remember their decisions as personal. For many women whose careers paths were blocked by Nazi policy, motherhood offered an alternative to employment.