Hitler and Stalin. Perceptions of Women

Twentieth Century Dictatorships

Would it be fair to say that both Hitler and Stalin looked upon women merely as a resource to be exploited for building the state and for war? Explain your answer.

The regimes of both Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin, in Germany and Russia respectfully, were highly totalitarian in nature and it is arguable that both men employed exploitative methods in order to achieve their goals. These goals included, among others, an expansion if the population, advancement of the state, and a successful war effort. Women were utilised under both regimes, essentially as a means to achieve these desired ends.

Germany and Russia were experiencing low birth rates and population declines when both Hitler and Stalin became political leaders and in order to combat this issue and encourage growth they implemented several policies. Both legally prohibited abortions, toughened divorce laws, provided tax benefits to married couples and upon a child’s birth, and provided social rewards to women who bore multiple offspring. It is arguable that the policies imposed by Hitler were much harsher and sexist in nature than those implemented by Stalin. However, both leaders exploited women by controlling their decisions regarding motherhood, their bodies, and their futures.

Under Hitler’s extremely tyrannical regime women needed to be conscious of traditional expectations of females. Intolerance was demonstrated towards women who did not conform to social norms and such women were labelled ‘asocial’. Asocial women were perceived in a negative manner and were often subjected to social disapproval as they were relegated to the bottom of the established hierarchy. The Nazi regime implemented a strict program and “on the grounds of their ‘asociability’, hundreds of thousands of women were declared wards of the state, were sterilized, and were institutionalized or imprisoned”.

The sterilization of women perceived to be asocial exemplifies the desire of Hitler to...