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Year 11
Edexcel

Work and life in Nazi Germany

I can evaluate the changes that took place to German workers' lives under the Nazis.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils
New
New
Year 11
Edexcel

Work and life in Nazi Germany

I can evaluate the changes that took place to German workers' lives under the Nazis.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.

These resources were created for remote use during the pandemic and are not designed for classroom teaching.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Nazi policies on work and life aimed to forge a loyal ‘people’s community’ by controlling and rewarding workers.
  2. The Nazis replaced unions with the Labour Front to control workers once loyal to the KPD or SPD.
  3. Three worker organisations controlled labour and offered benefits, though some gains were limited or uneven.
  4. Living standards varied, some groups gained, while real wages dropped and hours worked increased.
  5. Nazi economic policies affected big businesses, small businesses and farmers in different ways.

Keywords

  • Labour - work, especially physical or manual work done in return for wages

  • Trade unions - organisations that represent workers, protect their rights, and negotiate pay and working conditions with employers

  • German Labour Front (DAF) - the Nazi replacement for trade unions; it controlled workers with rewards and limited rights

  • Strength Through Joy (KdF) - a part of the Labour Front that aimed to improve workers’ free time through cheap holidays, events, and activities

  • Beauty of Labour (SdA) - a part of the Labour Front that promoted better workplace conditions, such as cleanliness and facilities

Common misconception

Everyone benefited from Nazi economic policies.

Reinforce that benefits were selective, often dependent on loyalty, and many gains were cancelled out by longer hours and lost freedoms.


To help you plan your year 11 history lesson on: Work and life in Nazi Germany, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Prop starter: Pass around a toy car or image of the Volkswagen Beetle. Ask: ‘What does this symbolise in Nazi Germany?’ Use it to introduce the 'people’s car' scheme and link it to promises vs. reality.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
The Great had left over six million Germans unemployed when Hitler came to power in 1933.

Correct Answer: Depression

Q2.
What was the main purpose of the Reich Labour Service (RAD)?

Correct answer: to offer young men manual labour jobs and instil discipline
to prepare young women for domestic service
to provide political education to German youth
to train pilots for the Luftwaffe and future war

Q3.
Why did the Nazis build autobahns even though most Germans did not own cars?

to encourage holiday tourism
to host racing events
to reduce traffic congestion
Correct answer: to showcase progress
Correct answer: to prepare for military use

Q4.
What major military-related policy did Hitler reintroduce in 1935 to reduce unemployment and prepare for war?

Correct answer: conscription
free trade
labour unions
national insurance

Q5.
The Nazis created ' unemployment' by excluding groups like women and Jewish people from official statistics.

Correct Answer: invisible

Q6.
How did the Nazis create manipulated unemployment statistics?

by counting women as fully employed
by including Jewish people in the workforce
Correct answer: by forcing people into low-paid work schemes

Assessment exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Why did Hitler ban trade unions and left-wing parties in 1933?

Correct answer: to remove organisations that gave workers influence and opposed Nazi control
to reduce unemployment caused by union strikes and political groups
to promote better working conditions for industrial labourers

Q2.
The building of the gave thousands of Germans employment during the Nazi public works schemes.

Correct Answer: autobahns, autobahnen

Q3.
What was one way the German Labour Front (DAF) restricted workers’ rights in Nazi Germany?

It allowed workers to change jobs freely but limited their wages.
Correct answer: It banned striking, wage bargaining and job changes without permission.
It introduced equal pay for all industrial workers regardless of skill.
It raised wages for all workers above pre-Depression levels.

Q4.
Which of the following were features of Strength Through Joy (KdF)?

Correct answer: It aimed to build loyalty through leisure activities.
Correct answer: It offered hiking trips, cruises and air tours.
It provided luxury cars to all factory workers.
It was entirely free for all German workers.

Q5.
Why did no worker ever receive a Volkswagen car from the KdF scheme?

The car design was never completed.
The money was lost during the Great Depression.
Workers refused to participate in the savings scheme.
Correct answer: War preparations took priority and halted production.

Q6.
Physical or manual work done in return for wages is referred to as .

Correct Answer: labour

Additional material

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