A triumvirate of women in the Third Reich : Leni Riefenstahl, Gertrud Scholtz-Klink, and Winifred Wagner / by Jennifer S. Teichman.

Living in an anti-feminist regime, women in Nazi Germany exercised no direct political influence; however, three exceptional women enjoyed immense popularity as a result of the controversial favor that Hitler showed them. Although the Third Reich preached that women should stay home and support das Vaterland through domestic activities, these German women held interesting positions. Despite the fact that Leni Riefenstahl, Gertrud Scholtz-Klink, and Winifred Wagner were common household names throughout Nazi Germany, their names have all but disappeared after the Nuremberg Trials following World War II. This study resurrects the lives of Riefenstahl, Scholtz-Klink, and Wagner and unveils the contributions each made to the Third Reich. It stresses the importance of each in the historical context of Nazi Germany through the use of primary sources as well as recent studies. Letters, memoirs, and speeches will also be carefully examined. Perhaps most insightful are the interviews with each of these femme fatales.