Mariken Lenaerts
National Socialist Family Law
The Influence of National Socialism on Marriage and Divorce Law in Germany and the Netherlands
Brill Nijhoff (Legal History Library, Studies in the History of Private Law, vol. 16/8), 2015, xii, 335 p., ISBN13:9789004279308 / E-ISBN:9789004279315, 129€ / 167$
Prix Fondation Auschwitz – Jacques Rozenberg, 2013
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.
Biographical note
- 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).
AWARDS
- National Socialist Family Law is winner of the 2012-2013 Jacques Rozenberg prize awarded by the Auschwitz Foundation. Listen to Lenaerts' acceptance speech at the prize-giving ceremony, here.
Table of contents
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
