Opportunities and limitations: the new woman in third reich cinema

Abstract

Despite National Socialism's infamous anti-emancipatory reputation, looking at the reality of Women's lives in the 1930s and 1940s, clear signs of ‘modernity’ have to be acknowledged. Despite openly segregating men and women into ‘gender spheres’, the Nazis at the same time increasingly included women into society and were aware of their use in the creation of a national community based on racial criteria. The Nazi period represented a thrust to create a revolutionary New Order with women playing a vital part in its realisation. This article assesses the impact of the Nazi revolution on the lives of women and evaluates its aims and manifestations within the context of Third Reich ‘normality’ and everyday life. Using examples from the hugely prolific entertainment film industry, it aims to illustrate the interrelation between social awareness and media representation. Seemingly unpolitical films show that the cinema – as part of Third Reich ‘everyday history’ (Alltagsgeschichte) successfully blended ideology and entertainment to depict the New Woman in her national role, and thus exerted an educational function by bringing women in line with the expectations and demands of the state.