During the Nazi regime in Germany, Hitler and other high-up officers decided that they needed to set the standards for an ideal Aryan family. Families that fit this standard were called Kinderreich families. These families were hereditarily fit, according to the standards set by the Nazi party, and had at least four children. It was believed that the women in these families were built for motherhood. As Kinderreich families were seen as the ideal, leaders encouraged the SS (Schutzstaffeln) and SA (Sturmabteilungen) officers to fit this mold.
To help fiancées and wives of these officers better represent the ideal Kinderreich mother, bride schools were established. These schools provided women with model homes, complete with children, to teach them the essential skills of motherhood. Over six weeks, the women learned about cooking, washing, ironing, sewing, hygiene, health, and child care.
I was curious if things like this still existed today, so like any good college student I took my question to Google. I typed “classes on how to be a good housewife” into my search bar, expecting to get results about home economics classes in high schools. That wasn’t the case. The first article (http://www.yourtango.com/20083705/wifery-101) explained that apparently there are online classes that a woman can take to learn how to be a better wife. The class cost $35 and included homework assignments such as “eliminate one unfeminine item from your wardrobe.” (Sorry, but I’m not surrendering my sweatpants. You can love me for who I am, thanks.) Along with this class, my search also turned up several lists explaining to me the 24, 10, or 18 different steps to being a good housewife (example: http://www.wikihow.com/Be-a-Good-Housewife).
Well Nazi Germany is the first time I heard about these kind of training schools for wives, the concept of training wives or telling them how they should act has clearly not faded away.
Family: Link to Our Past, Bridge to Our Future 