Kinder und Küche: Women, Marriage, and Children in Nazi Germany

About this episode

Lara Bucholski discusses the impact of Nazi civil law changes on family law and societal values in Nazi Germany.

Guest: Lara Bucholski (Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law) During the years that it was in power, the Nazi regime made far-reaching changes to German civil law, especially family law. Marriage was understood as a societal 'service', children were deemed to be the nation's 'most precious asset', and mothers were idolized as the backbone of society. In today's Lawcast episode, Lara Bucholski details how these civil law changes serve as proof that law is rarely truly neutral as seen by the fact that the value-based jurisprudence of the Nazi regime influenced and modified existing law to its advantage. Thus, although law may be drafted with great precision, significant power remains with those who apply it.

People in this episode

Guest: Lara Bucholski

Topics covered

• Nazi regime
• family law
• civil law
• women's rights
• historical jurisprudence

Keywords

• Nazi regime
• family law
• women
• marriage
• children
• civil law
• jurisprudence

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law

Places: Nazi Germany

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