Designed to reinforce the Nazi's racial policy and to groom future SS wives, the Reich Bride Schools, or Reichsbrauteschulen, were created by Heinrich Himmler and Gertrude Scholtz - Klink in 1936. What did these courses entail? Why were they created in the first place? These are only a couple of the question that I plan on addressing here in this research post. When I first heard about these schools, I have to admit that I found them to be rather interesting and almost odd. Well, to be honest not really given what I already knew (which wasn't much) about this bizarre regime.
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| SS Wedding Couple - source What is very interesting about this SS wedding is that it is in front of a church. SS members were encouraged to have neo-pagan wedding ceremonies. |
The these schools were designed to train young women to art of good housekeeping and how to be the most ideal SS wives. These schools were considered important because these women would help carry out the Nazi's racial policy of creating a pure Aryan generation. Since the SS was an important part of the regime in that they supported and enforced the ideologies of this dictatorship, their wives and families had to do likewise. To ensure that these SS wives to be also endorsed the Nazis racial policies and made sure their new husbands were comfortable, the schools were established. How many women attended these schools? Based on reports, it is estimated that by 1939, 1.7 million women had attended and completed these courses (source). By 1940, the membership of these schools was extended to include not only brides but also any girls who were considered good matches for any SS personnel. Originally, the schools were intended for brides who were about 2 months away from the wedding.
It was not until the war and Germany began to lose that they schools lost membership as the women were encouraged to go into factory work. By 1944, membership was at its lowest. How did a woman get into these schools? To get into the schools, a woman has to have paid 135 Reichsmarks, had to have proven that she was of pure Aryan blood with marriage and birth certificates going back to the 1800s, and been measured to ensure that she had the proper physical Aryan characteristics. Only once she passed these requirements could she and her husband to be re allowed to marry and she to attend the schools. Where were these schools? In Berlin there was reportedly nine alone but these schools were scattered throughout Germany.
What was taught at these schools? To put it simply, these schools were very much like home ect courses . . but with an intense political tilt to them. Basic homemaking skills were taught such as cooking, cleaning, and, gardening, and child care.
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| Reich brides learning the art of cooking source |
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| Reich brides learning the value of physical fitness source |
Training in how to engage in proper small talk was taught was well. One of the most important courses taught at these schools were the racial values that the Nazi's saw as important. Along with these racial values, religion was removed and replaced with a more secular training to prepare them for their SS wedding ceremony which would be seemed in neo pagan ceremony and décor. These women were also trained and made to pledge loyalty to Hitler and the values of the SS. Besides the political indoctrination and general housekeeping, these young women were also taught how to make a budget and plan a menu.
Conformity and community were only some of the components of the Nazi's ideology and these bride schools contributed to this by building a sense of community among the young brides to be. In this six week course, twenty women were made to live, sleep ,and learn next to each other. In an article from the Frauen -Warte, the sense of community created in these schools was described:
' . . [in] six weeks the unity and organization that so pleased the brides, [created] that atmosphere of community that would last past the course. The fact that most of the girls were engaged to soldiers at the front strengthened the sense of togetherness, both in good and bad times.'(source of quote)Throughout the article, 'An Illustrated Report from the Reich Brides’ and Housewives’ School at Husbäke in Oldenburg', the values of the Reich Bride schools are exhaled as they claim that they prepare and calm the future wife and assure to her that all will go well in her new marriage. The article claims that the schools prepared the young women on how to set up a successful household budget, plan healthy meals, and save money by sewing for herself.
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| page from the Frauen Warte depicting the schools - source |
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| Page from the Frauen Warte depicting the schools - source |
These Reich Bride schools may seem like an odd anomaly but they are completely in keeping with Nazi ideology and practices because they support the concept of unity, conformity, and racial purity - all were vital components in the Nazi regime. Although this dictatorship is frequently seen as very masculine in nature, and it is, we much not forget the women who were involved in this regime as well. Many women were equally involved in maintaining and participating in this regime and these schools are evidence of that.
Jane Thynne, 'Sinister secrets of the school for Nazi brides: From love pledges to the Fuhrer, to lessons in breeding the master race... The astonishing expose of Himmler's bridal bootcamp' Daily Mail.com. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2570959/Sinister-secrets-school-Nazi-brides-From-love-pledges-Fuhrer-lessons-breeding-master-race-The-astonishing-expose-Himmlers-bridal-bootcamp.html. March 1, 2014
Sarah Rainey, 'Nazi Bride Schools' 'These Girls were the Nucleus of the Reich'', The Telegraph, http://www.telegra, ph.co.uk/history/world-war-two/10247550/Nazi-Bride-Schools-These-girls-were-the-nucleus-of-the-Reich.html, August 16, 2013
Paul Roland. Nazi Women: The Attraction of Evil (London: Arcturus Publishing Limited, 2014)
'An Illustrated Report from the Reich Brides’ and Housewives’ School at Husbäke in Oldenburg'/ “Gelernt ist gelernt: Mit Bildbericht aus der Reichsbräute- und Heimmütterschule Husbäke in Oldenburg, NS Frauen Warte, 8 (#22), 2. Maiheft 1940. from the German Propaganda Archive
