stillbirths and miscarriages (a claim supported by modern research, for nicotine-using mothers, fathers, and their offspring). this view was also promoted in a 1936 book by well-known female racial hygienist agnes bluhm. women who smoked were viewed as unsuitable to be wives and mothers in a german family. werner huttig of the nazi party's rassenpolitisches amt (office of racial politics) said that a smoking mother's breast milk contained nicotine, a claim that modern research has proven correct. smoking women were also considered to be vulnerable to premature aging and loss of physical attractiveness (smoking's effects on the skin were studied at the time; smoking does make the skin age faster and was known by 1940 to be linked to earlier death). there was also concern that mutations caused by cigarette smoking would have irreversible long-term effects on the genetics of the population. tobacco was described as a "genetic poison" (see epigenetic effects of smoking for modern research). in nazi rhetoric, these concerns were connected to racist theories about the "german germ plasm". measures protecting non-smokers (especially children and mothers) from passive smoking were tied to the nazi's desire for healthy young soldiers and workers. they were tied to the concepts of volksgesundheit (people's health) and gesundheitspflicht (duty to be healthy). physical fitness was promoted, and tobacco use was discouraged as incompatible with physical fitness. antismoking campaigns were accompanied by other health campaigns, such as discouraging the consumption of alcohol (especially during pregnancy) and encouraging the eating of fruit, vegetables, and whole-wheat bread. measures reine luft, the main journal of the anti-tobacco movement, used puns and cartoons in its propaganda, such as stating that smoking was a thing of the devil (a "teufelszeug"). there was never a coherent nazi policy to impede smoking. mostly, measures were based on pre-existing policies. although in some places some stern measures were taken, tobacco control policy was incoherent and ineffective, and obvious measures were not taken. tobacco controls were often not enforced. smoking bans were widely ignored. measures reached their peak in 1939–1941, after which some were rolled back or actively prevented. there was great regional variation in tobacco policies, making it possible to find wildly contradictory individual examples. almost no anti-smoking efforts were made in nazi austria, for instance. in jena, thuringia, very strong anti-smoking measures were enacted, due to the power of karl astel there and his support from fritz sauckel (the gauleiter of thuringia) and leonardo conti (the reich health leader). these measures included the first 20th-century university campus smoking ban. there were many small, local anti-tobacco measures, which were often unapproved and viewed negatively by the nazi party. the nazi anti-tobacco policies were not free of contradictions. for example, the volksgesundheit (people's health) and gesundheitspflicht (duty to be healthy) policies were enforced in parallel with the active distribution of cigarettes to people who the nazis saw as "deserving" groups (e.g. frontline soldiers, members of the hitler youth). on the other hand, "undeserving" and stigmatized groups (jews, war prisoners) were denied access to tobacco. propaganda the nazis used several public relations tactics to convince the general population of germany not to smoke, and gave variable support to non-officially-approved propaganda. national and local government organizations, party-controlled organizations, voluntary organizations, and medical organizations were all involved. the messages differed; propaganda by nazi party organizations generally described tobacco as harmful to women or young people, while publications by medical professionals tended to describe the health hazards of smoking. in 1941, the propaganda ministry issued orders to "completely cease any anti-tobacco propaganda in the public", with minor exceptions, which had to be submitted for censorship. the public health office repeatedly made precise public statements about the health harms of smoking (under both gerhard wagner and his successor, leonardo conti). the reich health office also issued warnings, and the reich bureau against the dangers of alcohol and tobacco was founded. in 1939, a bureau against the dangers of alcohol and tobacco was formed. the anti-smoking campaign undertaken by the nazis also included health education. the deutsche arbeitsfront (the government monopoly union) also ran anti-smoking campaigns. an anti-smoking speech by its head met with official disapproval. anti-smoking messages were sent to the people in their workplaces, often with the help of the hitler-jugend (hj) and the bund deutscher mädel (bdm). well-known health magazines like the gesundes volk (healthy people), volksgesundheit (people's health) and gesundes leben (healthy life) also published warnings about the health consequences of smoking and posters showing the harmful effects of tobacco were displayed. some anti-smoking posters were unapproved and censured by the government. editorials discussing the issue of smoking and its effects were published in newspapers. articles advocating nonsmoking were also published in the magazines die genussgifte (the recreational stimulants), auf der wacht (on the guard) and reine luft (clean air). out of these magazines, reine luft was the main journal of the anti-tobacco movement. karl astel's institute for tobacco hazards research at jena university purchased and distributed hundreds of reprints from reine luft. the magazine was published by tobacco control activists; it was later, in 1941, ordered by the propaganda ministry to moderate its tone and submit all material for pre-approval. restrictions were imposed on the advertisement of tobacco products, enacted on 7 december 1941 and signed by heinrich hunke, the president of the advertising council. advertisements trying to depict smoking as harmless or as an expression of masculinity were banned. ridiculing anti-tobacco activists was also outlawed, as was the use of advertising posters along rail tracks, in rural regions, stadiums and racing tracks. advertising by loudspeakers and mail was also prohibited. a ban on tobacco advertising was decided against by max amann (hitler's secretary, reich leader for the press, and leader of the party publishing company, eher verlag). however, advertising restrictions remained in place, even after 1941, and there was a plan to tighten them, although proposals to restrict tobacco ads to statements of manufacturer, brand, and price were explicitly rejected by the party. nichtraucherschutz (the protection of non-smokers) nichtraucherschutz (the protection of non-smokers ) was the principle behind some bans. in 1941, tobacco smoking in trams was outlawed in sixty german cities. in 1944, smoking in buses and city trains was made illegal, on the personal initiative of hitler, who feared female ticket collectors might be the victims of passive smoking. smoking was also banned not only in health care institutions, but also in several public offices and in rest homes. midwives were restricted from smoking while on duty. smoking was also outlawed in bomb shelters; however, some shelters had separate rooms for smoking. in 1939, the nazi party outlawed smoking in all of its offices premises, and heinrich himmler, the then chief of the schutzstaffel (ss), restricted police personnel from smoking while they were on duty. in 1938, the reichspost imposed a ban on smoking. however, despite public encourage against smoking, bans on smoking were seldom enforced and ineffective. among nazi leadership, hermann goering smoked cigars, and himmler and joseph goebbels smoked cigarettes, as did magda goebbels and eva braun, hitler's romantic partner. women and children special care was taken to discourage pregnant women and youth from smoking. the president of the medical association in germany announced, "german women don't smoke". pregnant women, and women below the age of 25 and over the age of 55, were not given tobacco ration cards during world war ii. restrictions on selling tobacco products to women were imposed on the hospitality and food retailing industry, though restrictions on women smoking in restaurants were officially rejected by the nazi party. anti-tobacco films aimed at women were publicly shown. some local measures were quite strict; for instance, one district department of the national socialist factory cell organization (nsbo) announced that it would expel female members who smoked publicly. some women working in arms factories, however, were given special cigarette rations. smoking was also banned inside many schools. in july 1943, public smoking for persons under the age of 18 was outlawed, although under-18s were still allowed to purchase and privately smoke tobacco. the us and uk had less lenient regulations. military regulations a wehrmacht soldier smokes in a trench in romania, 1944. restrictions on smoking were also introduced in the wehrmacht. soldiers were not issued with more than six free cigarettes per day. extra cigarettes were often sold to the soldiers, especially when there was no military advance or retreat in the battleground; however, these were restricted to 50 for each person per month. non-smokers could receive alternative rations, such as food and chocolate. teenaged soldiers serving in the 12th ss panzer division hitlerjugend, composed of hitler youth members, were given confectionery instead of tobacco products, although other hitler youth members were given cigarettes. the wehrmacht's female auxiliary personnel were not given cigarette rations. medical lectures were arranged to persuade military personnel to quit smoking. in 1938, the luftwaffe imposed a ban on smoking. in 1939, heinrich himmler, the then chief of the schutzstaffel (ss), restricted police personnel and ss officers from smoking while they were on duty. the jama also reported that hermann göring had banned soldiers from smoking when on the streets, on marches, or only briefly off-duty. countermeasures and obstacles cigarettes are present as propaganda minister joseph goebbels meets with the heads of military propaganda units, january 1941. later the same year, the ministry issued orders to "completely cease any anti-tobacco propaganda in the public" (with minor exceptions). tobacco companies represented themselves as strong and early supporters of the nazi cause. they made unparalleled financial contributions to nazi causes; the sturmabteilung and other party organizations were repeatedly given six-figure sums, and the hitler youth were given an aircraft. one cigarette company paid over 12.3 million reichsmarks in bribes to hermann göring. the nazi sa founded its own cigarette company, and violently promoted its own brands, breaking into stores that did not stock them and assaulting shopkeepers. some senior nazi officials were opposed to anti-tobacco measures. hermann goering publicly smoked cigars, despite hitler's opposition. joseph goebbels felt that cigarettes were essential to the war effort, and (as propaganda minister) restricted anti-tobacco propaganda, arguing that anti-smoking campaigns were incompatible with free cigarettes being issued to millions serving in the military, legal tobacco advertising, and authority figures who smoked and denied the dangers of smoking. despite government regulations, many women in germany regularly smoked, including the wives of many high-ranking nazi officials. for instance, magda goebbels smoked even while she was being interviewed by a journalist. eva braun also smoked. the tobacco industry worked to counter the government campaign to prevent women from smoking and used smoking models in their advertisements. fashion illustrations displaying women with cigarettes were often published in prominent publications such as the beyers mode für alle (beyers fashion for all). the cover of the popular song lili marleen featured singer lale andersen holding a cigarette. the cigarette manufacturing companies in germany made several attempts to weaken the scientific credibility of the anti-tobacco campaign. they tried to depict the anti-tobacco movement as "fanatic" and "unscientific". they published new journals (with titles such as chronica nicotiana and der tabak: wissenschaftliche zeitschrift der internationalen tabakwissenschaftlichen gesellschaft, or "tobacco: the scientific journal of the international tobacco scientific society"). one industry-funded tobacco counter-research institute, the tabacologia medicinalis, was shut down by reich health leader leonardo conti. another such "academy" was called academia nicotiana internationalis. while some cigarette ads had been banned from nazi party publications due to jewish ownership, the publications lost money, and the early party needed money for election campaigning. in june 1932, hitler personally made a deal for half a million marks worth of cigarette advertising. economic pressures the nazi sturmabteilung was funded by royalties from its own cigarette company, with which it is strongly associated in this ad. the nazi paramilitary sa was funded by cigarette royalties. after the night of the long knives, the reemtsma cigarette company paid a fixed fee (a quarter-million marks for the first year) to produce the sa's permitted cigarettes. a plan to establish a state tobacco monopoly was not carried out. efforts were made to keep cigarettes freely available. in the inter-war period, cigarettes were made with tobacco from greece, bulgaria, and turkey. pipe tobacco and cigar tobacco often came from overseas, so the war disrupted their availability. the tobacco industry worked closely with occupying