This GCSE and IGCSE level revision podcast looks at experiences of three broad groups in Nazi Germany – young people, women and families, and the persecution of minorities.

This episode opens with an overview of the ways in which the Nazis reorganised systems for young people in order to secure their support from an early age.  Reference is made to changes in education and the introduction of Nazi youth organisations such as the Hitler Youth and the League of German Maidens.  These, combined with propaganda that was often targeted at young people, secured the support of large numbers of children in Nazi Germany.  However, some young people remained opposed to the Nazis so the podcast also outlines the actions of the Swing Movement and the Edelweiss Pirates.

The second part of the podcast describes the role of women and families within Nazi society.  Opening with an overview of the extent of traditional ideas about the role of women in Germany at the time, it goes on to explain the effect of the Nazi removal of women from a range of jobs and the introduction of policies to encourage women to stay at home to become ‘homemakers’ and raise a family.

The final section of this episode broadly describes the experience of minority groups under the Nazis.  This focuses on the persecution of racial minorities, but also makes reference to so-called ‘undersirables’ who did not, according to the Nazi ideal of the ‘perfect German’, contribute to German society.