National socialist family law : the influence of national socialism on marriage and divorce law in Germany and the Netherlands Citation for published version (APA): Lenaerts, M. F. (2012). National socialist family law : the influence of national socialism on marriage and divorce law in Germany and the Netherlands. Maastricht University. https://doi.org/10.26481/dis.20121108ml Document status and date: Published: 01/01/2012 DOI: 10.26481/dis.20121108ml Document Version: Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Please check the document version of this publication: • A submitted manuscript is the version of the article upon submission and before peer-review. There can be important differences between the submitted version and the official published version of record. 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If the publication is distributed under the terms of Article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act, indicated by the “Taverne” license above, please follow below link for the End User Agreement: www.umlib.nl/taverne-license Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us at: [email protected] providing details and we will investigate your claim. Download date: 01 Oct. 2021 16,70 mm and divorce law in Germany the Netherlands The influence of National Socialism on marriage This book answers the question whether family law, in particular marriage and divorce law, in Germany and the Netherlands has been influenced by National Socialism in the period 1933-1945. In order to answer this question the author provides an in-depth analysis of National Socialism and the ideological role of marriage, family and children according to National Socialism. The book furthermore National Socialist gives an elaborate overview of the rules concerning marriage and divorce that existed in Germany and the Netherlands before the National Socialist take-over. Finally the book provides an in- depth analysis of the measures adopted by the National Socialists National concerning marriage and divorce law. Special attention is given to the attempts to revise Dutch divorce law. For this the author has made extensive use of the archives of the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, that are only partially public. Family Law Family Socialist Family The influence of National Socialism on marriage and divorce law in Germany and the Netherlands Mariken Lenaerts Law Mariken Lenaerts National Socialist Family Law Mariken Lenaerts National Socialist Family Law Mariken Lenaerts National Socialist Family Law National Socialist Family Law The influence of National Socialism on marriage and divorce law in Germany and the Netherlands Dissertation to obtain the degree of Doctor at Maastricht University, on the authority of the Rector Magnificus, Prof. Dr. L.L.G. Soete in accordance with the decision of the Board of Deans, to be defended in public on Thursday 08 November 2012, at 12.00 hours by Maria Francisca Lenaerts Supervisors Prof. Dr. G.R. de Groot Prof. Dr. C.H. van Rhee Assessment Committee Prof. Dr. A.M.J.A. Berkvens (chair) Prof. Dr. C.J.H. Jansen (Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen) Prof. Dr. G.E. van Maanen Dr. S.W.E. Rutten Prof. Dr. R. Schulze (Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster) ‘We can no longer afford to take that which was good in the past and simply call it our heritage, to discard the bad and simply think of it as a dead load which by itself time will bury in oblivion.’ Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Publishers, 1973), ix Voor papa ‘Lettertjes worden woorden, woorden worden zinnen, zinnen een verhaal…’ ‘A goal is a dream with a deadline.’ ‘I love deadlines. I love the whooshing sound they make as they go by.’ Douglas Adams Preface Being able to write a PhD thesis was my dream when I was still a law student, who had just switched from European Law School to the – in the eyes of many – somewhat obscure track of Metajuridica. It became a clear- set goal when I was appointed as junior researcher in July 2006. But as with many PhD theses it has been a constant struggle with deadlines; some dreams are hard to fulfil. At times I used a free interpretation of Douglas Adams’ quote: ‘I hate deadlines. I hate the nagging sound they make as they come close’. However, when I will place the final full stop at the end of my preface, my dream has been fulfilled, within the set deadline. New dreams can be and will be pursued. However, before I can start with that, I first have to express my gratitude to many persons who have helped me and at times even proved to be instrumental in achieving this goal. 9 First and foremost I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisors, Professor René de Groot and Professor Remco van Rhee, who have truly introduced me in the world of academic research by allowing me to work independently whilst in the mean time reflecting on my research and my tasks as a junior researcher. Others however, contributed to the realisation of this book as well. Therefore I would like to thank Yuri Michielsen-Tallman for introducing me to the initial topic of this research and helping me to secure a position as junior researcher at Maastricht University, Remme Verkerk, Richard Verkijk and Stefan Weishaar for providing me with interesting and very often helpful literature, Professor Trix van Erp-Jacobs for introducing me to the world of archival research, Professor Hildegard Schneider for her mental support during the past six, sometimes difficult, years, the NIOD Institute on War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies for allowing me to study their archives and in particular Sergio Leatomu who made an endless number of photocopies of all documents I needed, Bibiche Wymenga and Sead Kadic for kindly translating the summary into German, Henry Smaal for designing the cover and the lay-out of this book, Ine Corstjens and Suzanne de Jongste for the vital secretarial support and Emanuel van Dongen for endlessly enduring Genesis on repeat. Thanks also to all my (ex-)colleagues and friends at the faculty for turning my job from a mere job into a dream job (still!), in particular Emanuel van Dongen, Remme Verkerk, Serban Vacarelu and Tanja van der Meer. Tanja van der Meer deserves to be singled out here. I can not thank her enough for all her help and support in the past six years, which is still ongoing until this very day. Titles like ‘unofficial co-supervisor’ or ‘PhD godmother’ are definitely in order. Furthermore I would like to thank my father, for introducing me into the world of knowledge, my mother and Aafke for their continuous support and interest and my friends for keeping up with me so long and allowing me to neglect them horribly. Finally, when we are talking about ‘keeping up’; thank you Jacco. It’s done my love, it’s done. Let’s go! 10 Table of Contents Preface ............................................................................................................................................................................ 9 Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................................................ 13 I. Introduction 16 1.1. Family Law during the Nazi Era ............................................................................................................................ 19 1.2. Research Questions and Scope of this Research ..................................................................................................... 19 1.3. Sources .............................................................................................................................................................. 20 1.4. Structure of the Research ..................................................................................................................................... 21 1.5. Translation of Terminology .................................................................................................................................... 22 II. Family Policy according to National Socialism 24 2.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................ 25 2.2. The Origins of National Socialism ......................................................................................................................... 27 2.2.1. A Volk rooted in nature ................................................................................................................................