Hitler's Handmaidens: Season 1, Episode 1

1 - 1: Female Fuhrers

This episode will examine the women that surrounded Hitler once he came to power, and how they were propped up as the Aryan Ideal to strive for once Hitler approved of their positions.

The Nazis re-shape Germany in their own vision. Women are portrayed as the backbone of the Reich as the 'national community' is developed. Women are not to compete with men but are to work together with men: 'Aryan Motherhood' is an ideal but the reality is far more complex, especially with the start of the war. Although constrained by reinforced patriarchy, women at the head of the women's and girls' organisations help carry out this transformation. This episode explores and interrogates the Nazi's ideal of "Kinder, Küche, Kirche" and how reality ultimately fell short of their ideals.