„Species-Specific“ Girls‘ Education in the Third Reich

Dishwashing taught in school during the Third Reich

I found this in the newspaper Hamburger Fremdenblatt. Ihe article is from July 4, 1936. It is about traditional family values of the Third Reich and a “species-specific girls‘ education based on “natural abilities and dispositions” of females. Unfortunately, such “traditional values” have a rivival today. (Click on the photo to enlarge it.)

Hamburger Fremdenblatt 1936, arteigene Mädchenerziehung

Some captions: Counting cutlery (spoons) partially replaces math lessons for these girls. The next photo shows them being taught in dishwashing. The caption reads: “Also dishwashing needs to be done with calculation and intellect.” They are also taught the practical use of physics and chemistry: It’s associated with baking cake.

The Nazis usually gave biological pseudo-reasons to justify their view on people. Until today such rigid gender roles have been based more on religious beliefs that have been obviously developed by men throughout the centuries.

Such “traditional values” have a comeback. They are connected to idealized images of strong men who are destigned to subjugate and dominate everything. In truth, the proponents of such ideologies lead us into crude simplifications that don’t grasp the complexity of us being individuals and therefore humans.

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