Nazism and the Rise of Hitler PDF

**NAZISM AND THE RISE OF HITLER** **I. Define Terms:** **Allies , Genocidal, Wall Street Exchange ,** **Proletarianisation,** **Propaganda,** **Concentration camp,** **Pauperised ,Usurers,** **Jungvolk.** **Q1.Describe the problems faced by the Weimar Republic.\ Answer:\ **The problems faced by t...

**NAZISM AND THE RISE OF HITLER** **I. Define Terms:** **Allies , Genocidal, Wall Street Exchange ,** **Proletarianisation,** **Propaganda,** **Concentration camp,** **Pauperised ,Usurers,** **Jungvolk.** **Q1.Describe the problems faced by the Weimar Republic.\ Answer:\ **The problems faced by the Weimar Republic were as follows: 1. **[Inherent defect in the Weimar constitution]**: Weimar constitution had Inherent drawbacks making the Weimar Republic fragile. - One was proportional representation which made it difficult for any party to get a majority leading to coalition governments. - Article 48, which gave the President the power to rule by decree, suspend civil rights and to impose an emergency.\ People lost confidence in a democratic parliamentary system. 2. **[Harsh and humiliating peace treaty]** :The Weimar Republic was not received well by the people because of the terms it was forced to accept at Versailles at the end of the First World War. It was a harsh and humiliating treaty that Germany had to accept with the Allies. Many people held the Weimar Republic responsible for the defeat in the war and for accepting the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, 3. **[Hyperinflation :]** In 1923 Germany refused to pay reparation payments and the French occupied its leading industrial area, the Ruhr, to claim their coal. Germany offered passive resistance and printed paper currency. With too much paper currency in circulation, the value of the German mark fell. The situation is called hyperinflation. 4. **[Years of Great Economic Depression:]** The Weimar Republic had to face another economic crisis. The USA Withdrew her support when Wall Street Exchange crashed in 1929. German economy was the worst hit by the economic crisis. Workers lost their jobs or were paid reduced wages. The number of unemployed reached 6 million. The economic crisis created a feeling of fear among the people. ii**) Powerful speeches of Hitler:** Hitler was a powerful speaker. His passion and his words moved people. He promised to build a strong nation, undo the injustice of the Versailles Treaty and restore the dignity of the German people. He promised employment for those looking for work, and a secure future for the youth. He promised to weed out all foreign influences and resist all foreign 'conspiracies' against Germany. Numerous public meetings were held by the Nazi Party to instil unity among the people. iii\) **Nazi Propaganda**: The red banners, the Nazi salute, and the rounds of applause attracted the people and Nazism became very popular. The Meetings projected Hitler as a saviour of Germany. The German people who were shattered after the First World War believed him. **Q3.What are the peculiar features of Nazi thinking?\ Answer:**\ The peculiar features of Nazi thinking are as follows. 1. Nazi ideology was the same as Hitler's worldview. According to this there was no equality between people but only a racial hierarchy. In this view blond, blue-eyed Nordic German Aryans were at the top called 'desirables' while Jews (undesirables) were placed at the lowest rung. Hitler's racism was influenced by thinkers like Charles Darwin and Herbert Spencer. The Nazi argument was simple: 'The strongest race would survive, the weak ones would perish'. 2. Hitler believed in Lebensraum or living space. New territories had to be conquered to increase the living space. 3. Nazis wanted a society of pure and healthy Nordic Aryans. It meant that even those Germans who were seen as impure or abnormal had no right to live. Under the Euthanasia Programme, the Nazi condemned to death many Germans, who were mentally or physically unfit. 4. As soon as Hitler came to power he tried to eliminate the undesirables and the gypsy. The Nazis proceeded to realise their murderous racial ideals. 5. Jews remained the worst sufferers in Nazi Germany. They were called 'undesirables'. Hitler's hatred for Jews was based on pseudoscientific theories of race, which held conversion was no solution. They should be completely eliminated. **Q4.Explain why Nazi propaganda was effective in creating a hatred for Jews.\ Answer:**\ Films were made to create hatred for the Jews. i\) The film, 'The Eternal Jew', showed the Jews with flowing beards and dressed in kaftans. The Jews were referred to as vermin, rats, and pests. Nazi propaganda compared the Jews to rodents. ii)Orthodox Jews were stereotyped as killers of Christ and money lenders. Stereotypes about Jews were even popularised through maths classes. iii\) Children were taught to hate the Jews. The Nazi propaganda against the Jews was so effective that people felt anger and hatred surge inside them when they saw someone who looked like a Jew. **Q5.The Peace Treaty at Versailles with the Allies was a harsh and humiliating peace. Explain the statement with any three examples.\ Answer:** - In the First World War, Germany was defeated. The peace Treaty at Versailles with the Allies was a harsh and humiliating peace. - Germany lost its overseas colonies and also much of its territories in Europe. - Germany lost 75% of its iron and 26% of its coal to France and other countries. - The Allied Powers demilitarised Germany to weaken its power. Germany was forced to pay compensation amounting to £ 6 billion. - The Allied forces occupied the resources rich Rhineland till the 1920s. (Any three) **Q6.Explain the three fold plan of Hitler becoming Chancellor of Germany to consolidate the Nazi power.\ **Answer: - Hitler's three fold plan comprised of capturing the legal authority to rule, crushing the country's political opposition and eliminating rivals within the party.\ In the pursuit of first, he used the Reichstag fire incident to clamp down the communists. He armed himself with the emergency powers and murdered and jailed key communist leaders and suppressed civil liberties. - In March 1933, the German Reichstag passed the enabling laws which transferred all the powers from the Reichstag to the government headed by him. - Further, Hitler turned his attention to the rival political parties. He outlawed all existing and potential opposition institutions. By July 1933, the Nazis were the only legitimate party in Germany. **Q7.What was the ideology of the Nazis regarding the Jews ?\ Answer:**\ The ideology of the Nazis regarding the Jews were : - All schools were cleansed and purified under Nazism. Those teachers were dismissed who were found to be Jews or seen as politically unreliable. - German and Jew children were not allowed to sit or play together. - All the undesirable children---Jews, Gypsies, and the physically handicapped were dismissed from schools and.Jinally were taken to gas chambers in the 1940s. **Q8.What do you know about 'Nazi schooling' ?\ Answer:\ **i)All 'Good German' children were subjected to a prolonged period of ideological training---a process of Nazi schooling. ii\) School textbooks were rewritten. Racial science was introduced to justify Nazi ideas of race. iii\) Children were taught to be loyal and submissive, hate Jews, and worship Hitler. iv\) Even sports was used to nurture a spirit of violence and aggression among children. Hitler believed boxing made children iron-hearted, strong and masculine. **Q9.What was the Nazis ideology regarding motherhood ?\ Answer:\ **In Nazi Germany, children were repeatedly told that women were radically different from men. It was preached that the fight for equal rights for men and women was wrong and it would destroy the society. The boys were taught to be aggressive, masculine and steel-hearted. The girls were taught to become good mothers. They were supposed to rear pure-blooded Aryan children and maintain the purity of the race. They had to distance themselves from Jews, look after the home, and over and above teach their children the Nazi values. **Q10.In what ways did the Nazi state seek to establish total control over its people?**\ **Answer:**\ i)The Nazi state tried to establish total control over its people. Special forces were created to control the society, in the way Nazis wanted. ii\) Apart from SA or the Storm Troopers, and regular police, who wore a green uniform, these included the Gestapo (secret state police) and SS (the protection squads), criminal police, and the Security Service (SD). iii)They were given extra-constitutional powers, that gave the Nazi state its reputation as the most dreaded criminal state. People were tortured in Gestapo chambers and sent to concentration camps. People were arrested without any legal procedures. **Q11.Explain what role women had in Nazi society. Return to Chapter 1 on the French Revolution. Write a paragraph comparing and contrasting the role of women in the two periods.\ Answer:\ **i)In Nazi Germany, boys were told to be aggressive and steel-hearted, girls were told that they had to become good mothers and rear pure-blooded Aryan children. ii)Girls had to protect the purity of German race. They had to look after their homes and Nazi values had to be taught to the children. iii)Women who produced 'desirable children' were awarded. They got better treatment in hospitals, and got concessions in shops, on theatre tickets and railway fares. iv\) Honour crosses were awarded to women. A bronze cross was awarded to women for four children, silver cross for six children and gold for eight or more children. **Q12.When did Hitler formally announce his violation of the Treaty of Versailles ?\ What reason did he give for this ?\ Answer:** - Hitler formally announced his violation of the Treaty of Versailles in March 1935. - Hitler claimed that he was trying to make Germany equal in position to the other European powers. - Since European nations had not followed the policy of disarmament, German rearmament was a necessity.