The NSF was a consolidation of the female members of the Nazi Party established in 1931 from several, partly only regionally operating, Nazi women’s organizations. At this point, women represented just under 6% of the membership, but subsequently increased just as sharply as with the men. In 1935, the NSF officially became one of the Party organizations, its regional structure from apartment to regional administrative division (Gau) corresponded to that of the Nazi Party as a whole. The rapid growth in members (1936 approx. 2.2 million) and the organizational structure of the NSF, like other Nazi organizations after the seizure of power, created a wide range of opportunities for women to actively participate in the development of the Nazi state. From 1934 to 1945, the NSF was led by the Reich Women’s Leader, Gertrud Scholtz-Klink. In 1936 the party leadership mandated strict admission criteria in order to maintain the selection character of the organization. The leadership of the NSF had its headquarters in Berlin. In Munich, the Reich Financial Administration of the NSF was located at Karolinenplatz 2. The editorship of the NS-Frauenwarte was also based in Munich (subtitle: “The only official party women’s magazine”).
The party regarded the main task of the NSF as being to “raise for the Führer politically and ideologically reliable female leaders” (Organization Manual, p. 267), in order to direct the areas of life and work conceded to women for the purposes of National Socialism. The focus of NSF activities was thus on the one hand, in the training of their own functionaries, and on the other, outwards in the areas of housekeeping and maternal care. Working closely with the German Women’s Enterprise, which was controlled by the NSF, the intention was to align women through practical and ideological instruction to the population, racial and war aims of the Nazi state. Even if women remained excluded from the real political leadership positions and the influence of the NSF within the party structure must be regarded as rather limited, what cannot be underestimated is their important functions in propagating Nazi ideology into society, the marginalization of Jews and other people classified as ‘racially inferior’ or the preparation of the population for the war.
