Germany, 1871–1990: united, divided and reunited - 1 Social change in…

The idea

Study women's roles in family and workplace across 1871–1990. In the nineteenth century, middle-class women were expected to manage the household while working-class women often combined domestic duties with paid work in factories, domestic service or agriculture. The First World War drew many women into munitions and transport, but most lost these jobs after 1918. Nazi policies pushed women towards motherhood and away from paid employment, though labour shortages later pulled them back. The Second World War again expanded female employment, and post-war opportunities in West Germany grew through the 'economic miracle', education and service-sector work, while the GDR encouraged women to combine work and family. Assess change and continuity, and compare phases.

What earns the marks

• Explains nineteenth-century expectations: middle-class women confined to the home, working-class women combining domestic labour with paid work in factories, service or agriculture.
• Analyses the First World War as a turning point that drew women into munitions, transport and other male-dominated work, followed by post-war retreat from many of these roles.
• Explains Nazi policies that promoted motherhood and discouraged paid work, alongside later labour shortages that pulled women back into employment.
• Assesses the Second World War and post-war opportunities, including the 'economic miracle', expanding education and service-sector jobs, and the GDR's encouragement of women combining work and family.
• Evaluates continuity and change across the whole period, weighing short-term wartime gains against longer-term structural shifts in family and workplace roles.

Common mistakes and how to put them right

• Treating the First World War as a permanent transformation of women's work.

  Put it right: Recognise that many wartime gains were reversed after 1918, so change was partial and uneven.

• Assuming Nazi policies alone determined women's lives.

  Put it right: Consider economic pressures, regional differences and women's own choices alongside ideology.

• Describing post-war opportunities as identical in East and West Germany.

  Put it right: Distinguish West German growth in service and education from the GDR's encouragement of combining work and family.

Exam tips

• Anchor each phase to a specific development named in the specification, such as the First World War, Nazi policies, the Second World War or post-war opportunities.
• Use precise evidence, for example employment sectors or policy names, rather than general statements about women's progress.
• Address both family and workplace roles in each period to show balanced coverage of the statement.