National Socialist Family Law

The Influence of National Socialism on Marriage and Divorce Law in Germany and the Netherlands
Erscheinungsjahr 2014
ISBN: 978-90-04-27930-8
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 16/8, 336 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 671 g

Reihe: Legal History Library / Studies in the History of Private Law

In National Socialist Family Law, Mariken Lenaerts analyses the possible influence of National Socialism on marriage and divorce law in Germany and the Netherlands. As the family was regarded the germ-cell of the nation, the Nazis made many changes in German and Dutch marriage and divorce law to suit their purpose of a thousand-year Aryan Reich. By making extensive use of archival resources, Mariken Lenaerts gives an overview of the most important changes adopted in marriage and divorce law by the Nazis and proves that although daily marital life in both countries was highly influenced by National Socialism, marriage and divorce law did not become National Socialist.

Listen to Lenaerts explaining about her project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TINKR6xKyUQ.

In 2013 the book was awarded the Prix Fondation Auschwitz – Jacques Rozenberg.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Lenaerts, Mariken

Fachgebiete

• Rechtswissenschaften Recht, Rechtswissenschaft Allgemein Rechtsgeschichte, Recht der Antike

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface. xi

1 Introduction. 1
1.1 Family Law during the Nazi Era. 2
1.2 Research Questions and Scope of this Research. 2
1.3 Sources. 4
1.4 Structure of the Research. 5
1.5 Translation of Terminology. 6

2 Family Policy According to National Socialism. 7
2.1 Introduction. 7
2.2 The Origins of National Socialism. 8
2.3 The Position of Jews in Germany. 16
2.4 The Development of Family Policy in the First Half of the Twentieth Century. 20
2.5 The Nazi Era. 35
2.6 Conclusion. 50

3 National Socialist Racial and Family Law in Germany. 54
3.1 Introduction. 54
3.2 Family Law in the Weimar Republic. 55
3.3 From Weimar to Third Reich. 64
3.4 March 1933–August 1935: Re-interpreting the Law. 65
3.5 The Nuremberg Laws. 72
3.6 Keeping the Aryan Race Healthy – the Marriage Health Law. 95
3.7 The New Matrimonial Law for the New Germany. 106
3.8 Conclusion. 152

4 Racial and Family Law in the Netherlands during the German Occupation. 158
4.1 Introduction. 158
4.2 Dutch Family Law before the German Occupation. 159
4.3 Years of Occupation. 214
4.4 Conclusion. 294

5 Conclusion. 300
5.1 National Socialism – the Family as Germ Cell of the Nation. 300
5.2 National Socialism in Practice. 301
5.3 National Socialist Family Law?. 305

Bibliography. 309
Literature. 309
Periodicals. 321
Internet Sources. 322
Archival Source List. 322
Table of Legislation. 323
Table of Cases. 333

Über Autor(innen)

Mariken Lenaerts, PhD (2012, Maastricht University), is a legal historian. She has taught a variety of courses at Maastricht University and has published previously about attempts to nazify Dutch family law during the German occupation ("De voorstellen tot herziening van het Nederlandse echtscheidingsrecht tijdens de Duitse bezetting" in Familie en Recht, December 2013).