Lesson video

Hello, welcome to History here at Oak National Academy.

My name's Mr. Newton, and I will be your teacher today, guiding you through the entire lesson.

Right, let's get started.

Today, we're going to explore how the Nazis tried to win over Germany's workers, not just by offering jobs and rewards, but by reshaping daily life.

We'll ask, did the workers truly benefit, or were they simply controlled in new ways? By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to evaluate the changes that took place to German workers' lives under the Nazis.

Before we begin, there are a few keywords that we need to understand.

Labour is work, especially physical work done for wages.

Trade unions are organisations that represent workers, protect their rights, and discusses their pay and working conditions with employers.

The German Labour Front, or the DAF, is the Nazi replacement for trade unions.

It controlled workers with rewards and limited rights.

Strength through Joy, or KdF, is a part of the German Labour Front that aimed to improve workers' free time through cheap holidays and activities.

And the Beauty of Labour, or the SdA, was a part of the German Labour Front that promoted better workplace conditions, such as cleanliness and facilities.

Today's lesson is called Work and Life in Nazi Germany, and we'll break this into three parts.

First, we'll look at how the Nazis controlled the workers by dismantling trade unions and replacing them with organisations loyal to the regime.

Then we'll move on to how the Nazis tried rewarding the workers with holidays, leisure activities, and workplace improvements.

Finally, we'll examine who actually benefited during this time, who were the winners and losers in what the Nazis called the people's community.

Right, let's begin the lesson with controlling the workers.

Nazi labour policies aimed to turn workers into loyal members of a people's community, all supporting a shared mission of sacrifice and effort to rebuild the nation.

So what did the Nazis mean by a people's community? Well, when Adolf Hitler became chancellor in 1933, he promised not just a stronger Germany, but a future of unity, hard work, and national pride.

Central to this vision was the idea of a people's community where all Germans, rich or poor, employer or employee, would come together to work for the good of the country.

As part of this, Nazi labour policies aim to turn workers into loyal members of a people's community, all supporting a shared mission of sacrifice and effort to rebuild the nation.

Take a look at this photograph.

This image shows young German men digging as part of a Nazi public work scheme.

Scenes like this were common in the early days of Nazi rule.

Many of these workers were part of large-scale projects like building roads, clearing land, or constructing public buildings.

But this wasn't just about labour, it was about identity and belonging.

After years of mass unemployment during the Great Depression, schemes like these gave people something they had lost, a job, a uniform, a purpose.

For many, it felt like being part of something bigger, a national effort to rebuild Germany from the ground up.

These projects also reflected the Nazi idea of the people's community.

That all Germans, no matter their background, should contribute to the good of the nation through hard work and sacrifice.

So while this looks like a simple work crew, it also tells us something deeper, how ordinary people were drawn into the Nazi system, not just by force, but by promises of stability, pride, and unity.

For millions, this dream came with promises of full employment, better working conditions, and even holidays.

By 1939, the economy had recovered and official unemployment had dropped to around 300,000.

Many workers felt life had improved compared to the misery of the Great Depression.

However, the people's community only included those who conformed to Nazi beliefs and racial ideas, and living standards still varied depending on your background.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

What vision did Adolf Hitler promote for German society after becoming chancellor in 1933? A, a classless republic with equal rights for all citizens based on communist teachings.

B, a people's community where all Germans would contribute to national rebuilding.

C, A united worker-led state based on socialist principles and colonial expansion.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew the correct answer was B, a people's community where all Germans would contribute to national rebuilding.

Okay, let's continue.

In 1933, Germany's industrial working class was the backbone of the economy, making up nearly half of the country's workforce.

Take a look at this photograph.

You can see a busy industrial area, factory's smokestacks and workers spread across the site.

Places like this were the beating heart of Germany's economy in the 1930s.

Industrial zones like the rural valley were vital for producing coal, steel, and machinery, everything a modern country needs to grow and everything a military power needs to rearm.

The men working in these factories were skilled, organised, and politically active, and many industrial workers had typically supported socialist or communist parties and belonged to trade unions.

Trade unions were powerful organisations that defended workers' rights.

So any government aiming for total control had to either win them over or destroy them.

In 1933, when Hitler turned Germany into a dictatorship, he banned both the socialist and communist parties, along with the trade unions.

This removed the organisations that had given workers strength, solidarity, and political influence.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

What was one reason Hitler banned trade unions and left-wing parties in 1933? A, to improve the wages and living standards of industrial workers.

B, to prepare Germany for war with the Communist Soviet Union.

C, to remove organisations that gave workers power and opposed Nazi beliefs.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew the correct answer was C, to remove organisations that gave workers power and opposed Nazi beliefs.

The Nazi government replaced the trade unions with the German Labour Front, or in German, Deutsche Arbeitsfront, DAF.

The DAF was led by devoted Nazi, Dr.

Robert Ley.

The German Labour Front promised to put the idea of a people's community into action.

It would care for workers, reward loyalty, and improve lives, all to help build a united Germany.

This was essential if the Nazis were to win over industrial workers, many of whom had anti-Nazi views.

For some, especially those who had been unemployed during the chaos of the Weimar years, the Labour Front brought structure and security.

Many people saw the old trade unions as weak during the Great Depression and were open to the Labour Front's promises of stability.

Massive public works projects, including the building of autobahns, the motorways, offered jobs to thousands.

Let's look closely at the image on the left.

It's a page from an American magazine that was actually funded by the Nazi government, and this page is promoting the German Labour Front.

The title at the top, The Organisation of 20 Million People, gives a sense of how large and important the Labour Front was meant to appear.

If you look at the image closely, you'll see workers shown as part of a huge interconnected machine, symbolising how every German had a role to play in building a united nation under Nazi control.

In other words, every German represented a small cog, which is part of a much larger machine.

At the centre of it all is the Nazi swastika, showing that all work and all people were ultimately under state leadership.

Now, if we move on to the text on the right, this was actually written by Dr.

Robert Ley, the head of the German Labour Front, and in it, he argues that German workers shouldn't be seen as separate from the state, but as an essential part of the national mission.

He says that by removing class divisions and trade unions, the Labour Front could unite all workers and employers into one people's community.

It promises holidays, leisure activities, and pride.

And although Ley says membership is voluntary, he also makes it clear that those who don't fit in, what he calls a social element, aren't welcome.

This magazine makes the German Labour Front sound like a modern and appealing trade union to belong to.

However, the Labour Front was not a union in any traditional sense.

Workers were not allowed to strike, bargain for better wages, or even leave their jobs without permission.

Wages were tightly controlled, and while employment rose, income from many workers stayed below pre-Depression levels because the increased cost of living wiped out any financial gains.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

Working with your partner, discuss how you could complete the following sentence starters: The DAF was.

Some workers welcome the DAF because.

In reality, many workers found that the DAF.

Pause the video, complete the sentences, and come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

Let's check those answers.

So you may have answered for the first sentence starter: The DAF was a Nazi run organisation that replaced trade unions and aimed to create a people's community by caring for workers or rewarding loyalty and uniting Germans behind Nazi goals.

And for the second sentence starter: Some workers welcomed the DAF because it gave structure and security after the hardships of the Weimar years and promised stability through job-creating projects like the building of the autobahns.

And the final sentence starter: In reality, many workers found that the DAF gave them no real power; it banned strikes, controlled wages, and rising living costs often cancelled out any financial benefit from having a job.

Okay, great.

Let's move on to Task A.

What I want you to do here is describe two features of Nazi labour policy towards workers between 1933 and 1939.

So use all the knowledge you've gained in the lesson so far to describe two features of Nazi labour policy.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done for having a go at that task.

So there's many ways you could have written your features, but check your answers with the ones I have here.

So for the first one, you may have answered: One feature of Nazi labour policy was the promotion of a people's community.

Hitler aimed to unite all Germans, rich or poor, worker or employer, into a shared national mission.

Workers were encouraged to feel they were contributing to rebuilding Germany, fostering loyalty and pride.

And you can see how effective that answer is because the first sentence clearly identifies the feature, the promotion of a people's community being a Nazi labour policy and then the next two sentences go on to fully describe what that feature means.

You could have also said something like: Another feature was the banning of trade unions and left-wing political parties.

In 1933, Hitler outlawed trade unions as well as socialist and communist parties.

This removed organisations that had previously defended workers' rights and challenged government authority.

And alternatively, you might have said something like: Another feature was the creation of the German Labour Front, DAF.

Led by Dr.

Robert Ley, the DAF replaced trade unions that was used to control workers.

It banned strikes and restricted the right to leave jobs while improving working life and offering employment through large public works projects like autobahn construction.

Great.

Now that we've explored how the Nazis took control of the working population by banning trade unions and replacing them with the German Labour Front, we can move on to the second part of our lesson, rewarding the workers and see how the Nazis try to keep workers loyal and motivated, not just through control, but through rewards and benefits.

To keep workers happy and loyal, the Nazis set up Strength through Joy or in German, Kraft durch Freude, KdF.

It was a department within the German Labour Front that focused on workers' free time.

It offered discounted theatre tickets, evening classes, hiking trips, and even holidays that were partly government-funded.

This gave the average German worker access to middle-class pleasures.

A brick layer who had never seen the sea might now find himself on a Strength through Joy Cruise ship bound for the Mediterranean.

A factory worker might spend his Sunday hiking in the Alps with fellow members of his company's Strength through Joy group.

One young metal worker recalled the thrill of his first flight in a Strength through Joy air tour.

"I saw the world from above and I felt proud to be part of Germany's new age." Now take a look at the image on the left.

It's from The American Illustrated News, a German state-sponsored magazine circulated abroad promoting Strength through Joy.

What you're seeing here is a carefully constructed story.

These photographs celebrate a cruise to Madeira for 3,000 German workers organised by the Nazis as part of Strength through Joy.

Towards the top of the image, we can see workers enjoying the scenery, palm trees, cruise ships, sightseeing, all very glamorous and appealing, but look closer at the bottom row.

These are the same workers now shown at their jobs in factories and workshops.

The message is clear: work hard, follow the rules, and you too can be rewarded with holidays and leisure.

These experiences were more than just entertainment.

They were part of a national propaganda strategy to bind the workers to the government and each other in the people's community.

But not everyone benefited equally.

The best Strength through Joy holidays were usually reserved for the most loyal or ideologically approved citizens.

German Jews and political opponents were, of course, entirely excluded.

And for many ordinary labourers, the long work weeks and rising costs meant they could rarely take full advantage of the leisure offerings.

Furthermore, these experiences were carefully monitored.

Surveillance and political lectures were embedded into Strength through Joy activities, subtly reinforcing Nazi values alongside the fun.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

Complete this sentence with the correct missing word.

To keep workers loyal and entertained, the Nazis created a leisure programme called blank, which offered holidays, theatre tickets, and hiking trips.

Pause the video, fill in the blank, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

Let's see how that sentence should have read.

To keep workers loyal and entertained, the Nazis created a leisure programme called Strength through Joy, KdF, which offered holidays, theatre tickets, and hiking trips.

Which of the following statements best described the KdF programme? Select three correct answers.

A, it gave every German citizen the chance to travel abroad.

B, it provided leisure activities like holidays, hikes, and theatre shows.

C, it mostly benefited loyal, ideologically approved citizens.

D, It was a propaganda tool to bind the workers to the people's community.

Pause the video, select your three correct answers, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew the correct answers were B, it provided leisure activities like holidays, hikes, and theatre tickets, C, it mostly benefited loyal, ideologically approved citizens and D, it was a propaganda tool to bind the workers to the people's community.

Okay, let's continue.

While Strength through Joy focused on rewards and relaxation, another subdivision of the German Labour Front was the Beauty of Labour or SdA, which aimed to improve workplaces.

Beauty of Labour, or in German, Schonheit der Arbeit, promoted improvements like better lighting, cleaner canteens, warm water for washing, and even factory music.

Employees were encouraged to participate in these initiatives and were often asked to volunteer their time to carry out improvements.

While some companies genuinely invested in better facilities, others relied heavily on unpaid labour from workers to clean and decorate.

Take a moment to study the image on the left.

It's another piece of Nazi propaganda taken from The American Illustrated News.

At the bottom, we can see the title, Improvement of Working Conditions, and that was exactly the goal of the Beauty of Labour programme.

The left side is labelled Then, showing dark, dirty, cluttered, or poorly maintained workplaces, and then the right side is labelled Now with brighter, cleaner, more modern-looking facilities.

This kind of visual storytelling is powerful.

It's suggesting that under the Nazis, the lives of workers were being transformed for the better.

But we have to ask, who made these improvements happen? Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

Which of the following statements best describe the SdA campaign? Select two correct answers.

A, it aimed to make workplaces more pleasant with improvements like lighting and canteens.

B, it guaranteed equal improvements for all employers and employees across Germany.

C, it often relied on unpaid worker involvement to carry out improvements.

D, it replaced Strength through Joy as the main source of worker entertainment.

Pause the video, select your two correct answers, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew the correct answers were A, it aimed to make workplaces more pleasant with improvements like lighting and canteens and C, it often relied on unpaid worker involvement to carry out improvements.

Okay, great.

Let's move on to Task B.

And you can see I've given you a source, which is the image we looked at earlier.

Promotion of SdA in The American Illustrated News, a German state-sponsored magazine circulated abroad.

And what I want you to do is answer this question: what do you think the source suggests about Nazi policies towards German workers? And to help you to structure your answer, you should make sure it includes identifying an aspect of the source and then explaining the historical context it is referring to.

So, in other words, what you need to do here is identify an aspect or a feature from the image, and then use your knowledge from today's lesson to explain the historical context, the background story that the aspect is referring to.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done for having a go at that task.

So there's many ways that you may have answered that question, but check your answers with the one I have here.

So you could have put: The source shows improved working conditions, such as upgraded canteens, washing facilities, and factory settings with a swastika at the bottom linking these positive changes directly to the Nazi government.

So you can see then that that first sentence clearly identifies aspect of the source, and we can now go on to fully explain the background story, the historical context that those aspects are referring to.

This links to the Beauty of Labour campaign, part of the German Labour Front, which aimed to improve workplace conditions with better lighting, hygiene, and facilities.

It also connects to the wider Nazi strategy of Strength through Joy, which focused on workers' leisure time and offered things like cheap holidays and theatre trips.

Both programmes were designed to make workers feel proud and valued, even though in reality, the benefits were often unequal and came political messaging and surveillance.

Excellent.

We've now seen how the Nazis controlled workers through the German Labour Front and how they rewarded loyalty with programmes like Strength through Joy and Beauty of Labour.

But it's important to ask, did everyone benefit equally? Were all workers really part of this so-called people's community, or were some left out or even deliberately excluded? Let's now move on to the final part of the lesson, winners and losers in the people's community.

Even though the Nazis were very strict and controlling, many German workers still saw real benefits.

Many workers accepted strict Nazi control because they felt life was improving.

German Labour Front initiatives, especially Strength through Joy, were genuinely appreciated by many.

For some, they symbolised a sense of belonging to the people's community.

And one Berlin factory worker remarked, "If you get a cheap holiday, then it's worth performing a Hitler salute now and then." Take a look at the photograph on the left.

It was taken in 1938 aboard a Strength through Joy cruise ship.

These women appear to be smiling, relaxed, and enjoying themselves, and they're all giving the Nazi salute.

This image was designed to capture the feeling of success and happiness under Nazi rule.

This helps us understand why many ordinary Germans accepted strict Nazi control.

They weren't just threatened or forced into obedience; many genuinely felt that their lives were getting better.

The government had succeeded in transforming workers from a politically active force into compliant participants in the Nazi state, not through ideology alone, but through entertainment benefits and enforced conformity.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

Why did many German workers accept the rules and control of the Nazi government? A, they appreciated the benefits like holidays and the sense of community, even if it was carefully controlled.

B, they believed the Nazis would bring back trade unions in the future and that this was just temporary.

C, the German Labour Front provided them with true political freedom, which was a new concept.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew the correct answer was A, they appreciated the benefits like holidays and a sense of community, even if it was carefully controlled.

So it's clear then that many people felt that life was improving in Nazi Germany.

However, the promises of the Nazi government did not match the reality for everyone, and not all economic gains were evenly shared.

While German workers' wages generally improved under Nazi rule, especially for skilled workers in industries like armaments, these gains were not shared by everyone.

Rising costs of living, such as higher food prices, often cancelled out wage increases, particularly for low-paid or unskilled workers.

At the same time, working hours rose, and many had to work longer or take on overtime just to see any financial benefits.

Some promises to workers were never fulfilled at all.

In one of the government's most symbolic projects, Hitler collaborated with Engineer Ferdinand Porsche to design a cheap, family-friendly car.

Have a look at the advertisement on the left.

It's promoting the KdF-Wagen or the Strength through Joy Wagen, what we now know as the Volkswagen Beetle.

And in English, this would translate to the people's car, clearly linking it to the people's community.

The aim was to make car ownership a reality for the average German.

Workers were encouraged to contribute to a savings scheme through Strength through Joy.

In return, they were promised the people's car once production ramped up.

You can see the Sparkarte, which is a savings stamp booklet, behind the car.

Workers brought the stamps and stuck them into the booklets.

The stamps acted as instalments towards the car.

Once the booklet was filled, this meant the car was fully paid for, and the worker was promised they would eventually receive the car.

But by 1939, war preparations took priority over consumer promises, and civilian car production was halted.

In other words, the factories meant for producing these cars were turned toward military use, and the savings workers had paid into were never refunded.

No one ever received their car.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

What I want you to do here is describe three hardships faced by some German workers under Nazi rule.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you could list that rising food prices often cancelled out wage increases for unskilled workers, that many workers had to take on overtime or work longer hours just to see financial benefit, and that the KdF savings scheme for the Volkswagen Beetle never delivered any KdF-Wagens.

This uneven impact is especially clear when examining how Nazi policies affected farmers, the middle class, and large businesses.

Up to now, we have mainly focused on industrial workers, but farmers, the middle class, and big businesses all experience different outcomes.

Many farms were saved from closure by new Nazi laws, but falling prices and state-imposed controls made it increasingly difficult to earn a decent living in rural areas.

The middle classes initially supported the Nazis, appreciating the national revival, stability, and protection from communism.

However, their experiences quickly turned to disillusionment as rearmament shifted the economic focus away from small businesses that the middle classes may have been more involved with and increasing state control undermined their freedom and independence.

In contrast, large companies, such as Krupp, Siemens, and Mercedes, profited from government rearmament contracts and the abolition of trade unions.

However, even they had to submit to state control and lost some freedom in how they ran their businesses.

While the Nazi regime claimed to build a unified people's community, the reality was far more complex.

The impact of Nazi policies varied greatly depending on a person's social or economic position.

This uneven experience highlights that not all groups benefited equally under Nazi rule, and that loyalty did not always lead to reward.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

What I want you to do here is working with your partner, discuss the uneven impact of Nazi economic policies of the following groups: farmers, the middle class, big businesses.

Pause the video, have a quick discussion, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and hopefully, you had some great discussions there.

So let's check those answers and see how those different groups were impacted by Nazi policies.

So let's first look at farmers.

So some farmers were protected from closure through new Nazi laws.

However, falling prices and state-imposed controls made it increasingly difficult to earn a decent living in rural areas.

And when we move on to the middle class, we can see that initially, the middle class supported the Nazis due to promises of stability and protection from communism.

However, many small business owners, which make up the middle class, later felt betrayed as the economy shifted towards rearmament instead of their small businesses.

And increasing state control undermined the economic freedom and independence.

So they felt like the Nazi government was really controlling and interfering with their everyday life and business.

And finally, big businesses could have talked about the fact that large firms such as Krupp, Siemens and Mercedes profited significantly from Nazi rearmament contracts.

In other words, their factories could be used to help build all the ammunitions and weapons needed.

And so they made money from this.

And the big businesses benefited from the abolition of trade unions, which reduced worker resistance.

Means the big businesses didn't have to worry about the trade unions.

And that these companies still had to follow state demands and lost some freedom in how they run their businesses.

So the big businesses also had the same complaints that the middle classes complained about.

Okay, great.

Let's move on to Task C.

And I've got a statement here for you.

The Nazis improved the lives of German workers between 1933 and 1939.

How far do you agree with this statement? And of course, anytime you see that phrase, how far, it's asking you to say how far you agree with something, but that you may also disagree with it.

So what I want you to do is write one paragraph which agrees with this statement, and one paragraph which disagrees.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and then come right back.

Okay, great.

Welcome back, and well done for having a go at that task.

So there's many ways you could have answered that question, but compare your answers with the ones I have here.

So for your agree paragraph, you might have said something like: The Nazis improved the lives of many German workers, especially compared to the hardship of the Great Depression.

Unemployment dropped rapidly and initiatives like the DAF brought stability to previously unemployed workers.

The KdF programme offered access to leisure activities, such as cruises and flights, which created a sense of belonging to the people's community.

Although workers experienced political repression, many appreciated the improved lifestyle.

The SdA campaign also upgraded working conditions.

Skilled workers, particularly in armaments, saw wage increases, and farmers benefited from new laws that saved many from closure.

For others, especially the middle classes, Nazi rule was seen as offering protection from communism and restoring national order.

And for your disagree paragraph, you might have written: Despite the promises, many German workers saw limited or uneven benefits.

Wages often remained below pre-Depression levels because the cost of living rose.

Low-paid and unskilled workers gained little, while some had to work longer hours to afford basic needs.

Though KdF offered leisure, many workers couldn't afford to participate, and those who did were often subjected to surveillance and political lectures.

Furthermore, the SdA campaign frequently relied on unpaid labour from workers themselves.

Promises such as the KdF-Wagen savings scheme were never fulfilled.

The idea of a people's community excluded Jews, political opponents, and others who didn't fit Nazi ideals.

Even farmers and small business owners faced difficulties under economic controls.

Excellent.

Let's summarise today's lesson, Work and Life in Nazi Germany.

Nazi labour policies reflected their aims of building a people's community where all Germans united and worked towards shared national goals.

Trade unions were replaced by the German Labour Front, DAF, which controlled workers by banning strikes and job changes, but also improved workplace conditions through initiatives like Beauty of Labour, SdA.

Strength through Joy, or the KdF, aims to improve workers' leisure with holidays and events, promoting Nazi ideology and surveillance.

While some workers, especially skilled ones, saw benefits, many faced rising costs, unpaid labour, and broken promises, with German Jews and political opponents excluded from these benefits.

Well done, everyone, and what this lesson really shows us is that Nazi Germany was not held together by force alone.

Yes, Nazis reshaped society with strict controls, but they also offered structure, purpose, and real material rewards, especially after the chaos of the Depression.

However, it was very clear that there were both winners and losers in Nazi Germany's people's community.

See you next time.