Gender and Power in the Third Reich : Female Denouncers and the Gestapo (1933-45)

This book examines the everyday operations of the Gestapo, the Nazi secret police. The Gestapo were able to detect the smallest signs of non-compliance with Nazi doctrines, especially "crimes" pertaining to the private spheres of social, family, and sexual life. One of the key factors in the enforcement of Nazi policies was the willingness of German citizens to provide the authorities with information about suspected "criminality". This book examines women denouncers in Nazi Germany through close examination of the Gestapo files. The author seeks to answer questions about how women in particular used denunciation and why so many ordinary women denounced 'deviants and dissenters' to the Gestapo. Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 8 List of Tables......Page 11 Preface......Page 12 Women as victims of patriarchy......Page 22 Women as accomplices......Page 24 Women as perpetrators......Page 26 Denunciation: definitions, historiographical trends and the specific context of National Socialism......Page 29 The collapse of communist regimes......Page 31 The context of Nazi Germany......Page 34 Works on women denouncers......Page 37 Who denounced?......Page 40 Denunciation as an event-based participation in the power structure......Page 41 Setting the agenda......Page 42 Defining the approach......Page 47 The primary sources......Page 48 Why a study of Düsseldorf City......Page 51 Selection criteria and various stages of sample collection......Page 53 Critical assessment of the earlier evaluation of the source material......Page 58 What counts as an act of denunciation in my evaluation......Page 61 2 The 'Private' Became 'Public': Wives as Denouncers in the Realm of the Family......Page 64 Wives as denouncers......Page 66 Nature of denunciation reports on conjugal dramas......Page 69 Battered wives......Page 72 Divorced wives......Page 82 Deserted wives......Page 86 Deserter wives......Page 88 An 'Aryan' wife of a Jew......Page 95 Women relations as denouncers......Page 98 The attitude of the Gestapo......Page 99 Social milieu, the private and the public......Page 102 Historiographical setting......Page 108 The socio-economic, cultural and legal landscape of Jewish life......Page 109 Düsseldorf case files and the denouncers......Page 111 Quantitative participation of the Volksgenossen in denouncing the Jews: gender differences and behaviour......Page 115 Social milieux and modus operandi of denouncers......Page 118 Social jealousies......Page 129 Anti-Semitism......Page 132 Separate spheres, slanderous gossip and its function in Nazi Germany......Page 138 Male denouncers' preserve......Page 142 The attitude of the Gestapo towards the Jews......Page 149 Patterns of subversion and non-compliance in women......Page 151 Accounting for the silence......Page 158 4 Faces of Gender Oppression: the 'Aryan' Interface with 'Racially Foreign' Workers......Page 160 Reported cases of sexual and physical violence against female foreign workers by camp directors......Page 161 Eindeutschungsfähige girls......Page 166 Kriegerfrauen......Page 169 Civilian 'Aryan' men and their relations with female foreign workers......Page 182 The hierarchy of suffering......Page 183 A statistical account of denouncers and denounced......Page 185 Conclusion......Page 189 Women as a category of analysis......Page 190 Denunciation: moral duty of the citizens' or the 'Aryans'' right and privilege?......Page 192 Gender similarities and differences in denunciatory behaviour......Page 194 Statistical account of the accused......Page 197 Statistical account of the punished Volksgenossen......Page 202 Social milieux and class background of the accused and denouncers......Page 204 Uniformed male bodies usurping the power of the brown dictatorship......Page 208 Sexual and physical violence by 'Aryan' men......Page 210 Ruling race as a collectivity of denouncers......Page 211 Private and public in the broader context......Page 212 Female consent and dissent in Nazi Germany......Page 216 Notes......Page 219 Bibliography......Page 236 C......Page 245 F......Page 246 H......Page 247 M......Page 248 S......Page 249 W......Page 250 Cover 1 Contents 8 List of Tables 11 Preface 12 Introduction 22 Trajectory of women's history writing on National Socialism 22 Women as victims of patriarchy 22 Women as accomplices 24 Women as perpetrators 26 Denunciation: definitions, historiographical trends and the specific context of National Socialism 29 The collapse of communist regimes 31 The context of Nazi Germany 34 Works on women denouncers 37 Further considerations for a study of denouncers 40 Who denounced? 40 Denunciation as an event-based participation in the power structure 41 1 Methodology and Sources 42 Setting the agenda 42 Defining the approach 47 The primary sources 48 Why a study of Düsseldorf City 51 The organisation of the Gestapo files in the Düsseldorf Archives 53 Selection criteria and various stages of sample collection 53 Critical assessment of the earlier evaluation of the source material 58 What counts as an act of denunciation in my evaluation 61 2 The 'Private' Became 'Public': Wives as Denouncers in the Realm of the Family 64 Wives as denouncers 66 Nature of denunciation reports on conjugal dramas 69 Battered wives 72 Divorced wives 82 Deserted wives 86 Deserter wives 88 An 'Aryan' wife of a Jew 95 Women relations as denouncers 98 The attitude of the Gestapo 99 Social milieu, the private and the public 102 3 Fishing in Troubled Waters? Gender Perspectives on Denouncers and Their Jewish Victims 108 Historiographical setting 108 The socio-economic, cultural and legal landscape of Jewish life 109 Düsseldorf case files and the denouncers 111 Quantitative participation of the Volksgenossen in denouncing the Jews: gender differences and behaviour 115 Social milieux and modus operandi of denouncers 118 Motives 129 Social jealousies 129 Anti-Semitism 132 Separate spheres, slanderous gossip and its function in Nazi Germany 138 Male denouncers' preserve 142 The attitude of the Gestapo towards the Jews 149 Patterns of subversion and non-compliance in women 151 Accounting for the silence 158 4 Faces of Gender Oppression: the 'Aryan' Interface with 'Racially Foreign' Workers 160 Reported cases of sexual and physical violence against female foreign workers by camp directors 161 Eindeutschungsfähige girls 166 Kriegerfrauen 169 Civilian 'Aryan' men and their relations with female foreign workers 182 The hierarchy of suffering 183 A statistical account of denouncers and denounced 185 Conclusion 189 Women as a category of analysis 190 Denunciation: moral duty of the citizens' or the 'Aryans'' right and privilege? 192 Overall quantitative participation of the Volksgenossen in denunciation, under all researched categories 194 Gender similarities and differences in denunciatory behaviour 194 Statistical account of the accused 197 Statistical account of the punished Volksgenossen 202 Social milieux and class background of the accused and denouncers 204 Uniformed male bodies usurping the power of the brown dictatorship 208 Sexual and physical violence by 'Aryan' men 210 Ruling race as a collectivity of denouncers 211 Denunciation as a communication strategy 212 Private and public in the broader context 212 Female consent and dissent in Nazi Germany 216 Notes 219 Bibliography 236 Index 245 A 245 B 245 C 245 D 246 E 246 F 246 G 247 H 247 I 248 J 248 K 248 L 248 M 248 N 249 O 249 P 249 R 249 S 249 T 250 U 250 V 250 W 250 In the last decade a considerable amount of work has been done to demystify the Gestapo, which far from being omniscient, depended heavily on unsolicited denunciations of 'deviants and dissenters'. A substantial number of these denunciations were sent in by ordinary women. So far no-one has thought to ask why. This is the first book to attempt to provide such an answer. It explores those spaces within the patriarchal, sexist and racist power structures of the regime that women appropriated, by articulating and resolving their personal conflicts through denunciations. It questions the victim-vs-perpetrator paradigm within which studies on denunciation have hitherto been cast, and instead argues for a more nuanced, differentiated approach. It also places structures of male sexual aggression alongside those of female aggression towards 'community aliens'. The intensive and unique treatment of individual cases from Gestapo files in Gender and Power in the Third Reich makes visible, for the first time, how female denouncers responded to the Nazi state and their deeply politicised surroundings "In the last decade a considerable amount of work has been done to demystify the Gestapo, which, far from being omniscient, depended heavily on unsolicited denunciations of 'deviants and dissenters'. A substantial number of these denunciations were sent in by ordinary women. So far no one has thought to ask why." "This is the first book to attempt to provide an answer. It explores those spaces within the patriarchal, sexist and racist power structures of the regime that women appropriated, by articulating and resolving their varied conflicts through denunciations. It questions the victim-vs-perpetrator paradigm within which studies on denunciation have hitherto been cast, and instead argues for a more nuanced, differentiated approach. It also places structures of male sexual aggression alongside those of female aggression towards 'community aliens'."--Jacket