The emergence of second-wave feminism was a key component of feminism in Germany. Historically, social systems throughout the world were organized paternally. The first changes to this system appeared as a self-conscious, feminist movement. The emergence of women's movements and the discussion of women's rights was contingent on the French Revolution 's goals to achieve universal equality.
According to Otto-Peters, female participation in politics was a duty rather than a right. During the midth century, women's movements formed in France, England, the United States, and Australia. Auclert had protested the French government's decision to deny women the right to vote, stood as an illegal candidate for the French government and refused to pay taxes: "I have no rights, therefore, I have no taxes; I do not vote, I do not pay.
Nazism made drastic changes to German society, restructuring it around Nazi values. Before , youth organizations such as the Boy Scouts [13] existed as part of German Christian or political associations. Von Schirach formed a uniformed youth movement out of those groups, the Hitler Youth , with membership becoming mandatory in The Hitler Youth was structured by gender.
In , the Nazis banned female professors from teaching at universities. Near the end of World War II , women were required to work in factories to compensate for the lack of male labor.
After the collapse of the Third Reich, women were gradually relieved of their new duties by returning prisoners of war. Feminism was virtually non-existent from to An important exception is a phrase in the human-rights section of the new German constitution , which states: "Men and women have equal rights".
