CHAPTER- 3

NAZISM: THE RISE OF HITLER

1. Mention the communities termed as ‘desirables’ and ‘undesirables’ by the Nazis.
Answer:
The ‘desirables’ included blond, blue-eyed, Nordic German Aryans. He wanted a society of
pure and healthy Nordic Aryans.
The ‘undesirables’ included many gypsies, blacks, Jews remained the worst sufferers. Even
those ‘Germans who were seen as impure or abnormal had no right to live. Under the
Euthanasia Programme they were condemned to death. Even Germans who were mentally
and physically unfit were put to death.

2. Define genocidal war. Mention any two methods adopted for extermination of Jews.
Answer: Genocidal war means killing on large scale leading to the destruction of large
sections of people.
The following two methods were adopted for the extermination of Jews.
(a) Passing them through gas chambers in various killing centres like Auschwitz, Treblinka,
Sobibor.
(b) They were kept in ghettos. Ghettos were sites of extreme poverty and misery. Jews had to
surrender all their wealth before they entered the ghetto. Soon after, some were brimming
with hunger, starvation and disease due to poor hygiene.

3. How was Nazi ideology taught to the youth in Germany? Explain.

OR
Explain Nazi schooling.
Answer: (a) Nazi ideology was taught to the youth in school. School textbooks were
rewritten. These books
justified Nazi ideas of racism. Hitler believed that boxing could make children iron-hearted,
strong and masculine.
(b) Youth organisations like Jangvolk, Hitler Youth, Youth league and Labour Services were
made responsible for educating German youth in the spirit National socialism or Nazism.
(c) The German mothers had to teach Nazi values to their children.

4.Who wrote the book ‘Third Reich of Dreams’? What did the author describe in the
book?
Answer: Charlotte Beradt secretly recorded people’s dreams in her diary and later published
them in a book called the Third Reich of Dreams. She wrote how Jews themselves began to
believe in Nazi stereotypes about them. They dreamt of hooked noses, black hair and eyes.
These images troubled them in their dreams. Finally, they died in the gas chambers

5.What were the steps taken against the Jews between 1933-1939?
Answer: The steps taken against the Jews between 1933-39 are as follows. The Nuremberg
Laws of Citizenship of September 1935 was passed which had following clauses.
(a) Only people of Germans or related blood would be called Germans, enjoying the
protection of the state.
(b) Marriages between Jews and Germans were prohibited.
(c) It was a crime to have extramarital relations between Jews and Germans.
(d) Jews could not fly the national flag.
Other legal measures included:
(a) Boycott of Jewish business
(b) Jews were expelled from government services.
(c) Their property was forcibly confiscated.
6. What do you know about Enabling Act?
Answer: On 3 March 1933, the famous Enabling Act was passed.
This Act established dictatorship in Germany. It gave Hitler all powers to side line parliament
and rule by decree.
All political parties and trade unions were banned except for the Nazi party and its affiliates.
The state established complete control over the economy, media, army and judiciary.

7. Highlight the five events of 1933 that led to the destruction of democracy in Germany.
Or
Explain any five features of political policy adopted by Hitler after coming to power in
1933.
Answer: The events of 1933 that led to the destruction of democracy in Germany are as
follows.
(a) On 30 January 1933 President Hindenburg gave the Chancellorship, the highest position
in cabinet to Hitler. Hitler now tried to dismantle the structure of democratic rule.
(b) A mysterious fire broke out in German Parliament which facilitated his move.
(c) The Fire Decree of 27 February 1933 indefinitely suspended civic rights like freedom of
speech, press and assembly that had been granted by the Weimar republic.
(d) Communists, who were the enemies of Hitler were sent to the concentration camps.
(e) On 3 March, Enabling Act was passed. It established dictatorship in Germany. Hitler
could rule without the consent of the parliament. All political parties and trade unions were
banned except the Nazi Party. The state had full control over media, army and judiciary.

8. What were the promises made by Hitler to people of Germany?

Or
Explain three factors which led to the rise of Hitler in Germany?
Answer: During the Great Depression (1929-1932) Nazism became a mass movement and
the Nazi propaganda created hopes of a better future for the German people. Hitler gave some
promises
(i) He promised to build Germany into a strong nation.
(ii) He promised to undo the injustice and humiliation caused by the Treaty of Versailles and
restore the dignity of the German people.
(iii) He promised employment for those looking for work.
(iv) He promised to secure future of the youth.
(v) He promised to weed out all foreign influence and resist all foreign conspiracies against
Germany.

9.‘By the end of 1940, Hitler was at the pinnacle of his power.’ Explain the statement
with examples. OR
Explain any five points of Hitler’s foreign policy.
Answer: In foreign policy Adolf Hitler took quick and successful steps.
(i) He pulled Germany out of the League of Nations in 1993.
(ii) He integrated Austria and Germany in 1938 under the slogan ‘one people, one empire and
one leader’.
(iii) He then captured German-speaking Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia and later the
entire country.
(iv) Hitler got unspoken support of England, which had considered the Versailles Treaty as
too harsh.
(v) These quick success at home and abroad helped to reverse the destiny of the country.
10. Describe any five effects of the First World War on Germany.
Answer: (i) The First World War left a deep imprint on European society. The war had a
devastating impact on the entire continent both psychologically and financially.
(ii) Financially there was a great economic loss. The Weimar Republic was being made to
pay compensation.
(iii) Formation of League of Nations took place to prevent the Second World War.
(iv) Germany lost its overseas colonies.
(v) The Allied powers demilitarised Germany to weaken its powers.
(vi) Many of Germany’s territories were annexed and distributed amongst Allied Powers.

11. How did the common people react to Nazism?

Answer: (i) Many people saw the world through Nazi eyes.
They spoke their mind in Nazi language. They felt hatred and anger when they saw someone
looked like a Jew. They marked the houses of Jews and reported about their suspicious
neighbours. Common men really believed that Nazism would bring happiness and prosperity
for them.
(ii) The large majority of Germans were passive onlookers, they were scared to act on protest
against Nazism.
(iii) But many Germans organised active resistance to Nazism, braving police repression and
death.

12. ‘The Weimar constitution had some inherent defects.’ Explain.

Answer: The Weimar constitution had some inherent defects, which made the government
weak and unstable and vulnerable to dictatorship. The defects were:
(a) Proportional representation: It became impossible for any one political party to achieve a
majority, leading to coalition government.
(b) Article 48: It gave the President the powers to impose emergency, suspend civil rights and
rule by decree.

13. “The Treaty of Versailles was humiliating on the Germans.” Give three examples in
support of your statement. OR
Describe the effects of the Treaty of Versailles on Germany.
Answer: This treaty had a far-reaching impact and paved the way for the rise of Nazism in
Germany and the Second World War.
(i) After signing this treaty, Germany lost its overseas colonies, a tenth of its population, 13
per cent of its territories, 75 per cent of its iron and 26 per cent of its coal to France, Poland,
Denmark and Lithuania.
(ii) The war guilt clause held Germany responsible for the war and Germany was forced to
pay compensation amounting to 6 billion.
(iii) The treaty made provisions for demilitarization of Germany to further weaken it. Thus,
the Treaty of Versailles was harsh, humiliating and devastating for the economy and national
honour of the Germans. Its clauses became the causes for the rise of Nazism.

14. What is Nazism? Why did Nazism become popular in Germany by 1930?
OR
What were the reasons for the rise of Nazism in Germany?
Answer: Nazism was a political system introduced by Hitler in Germany to establish
dictatorship which propagated extreme hatred against the Jews is called Nazism. Some of the
main causes of the rise and popularity of Nazism in Germany are
(i) The humiliating Versailles Treaty created a need to avenge of the defeat the First World
War and restore the old prestige of Germany.
(ii) Germany witnessed a grave economic crisis and Hitler promised the people prosperity
and peace.
(iii) Due to the Weimar Republic being weakened. Hitler took the opportunity and inspired
the people.
(iv) Hitler had a strong personality and mass appeal which contributed a lot to the popularity
of Nazism in Germany.

15. What are the peculiar features of Nazi thinking?

Answer: The peculiar features of Nazi thinking were
(i) They believed that the strong should rule the world and the rest should accept their
leadership.
(ii) They believed in racial hierarchy, where the Nordic German Aryans were at the top and
the Jews at the lowest rung.
(iii) The Nazis believed that the Jews were their greatest enemies. So the Jews were tortured
and killed.
(iv) From a very young age, children were indoctrinated both inside and outside school with
the Nazi ideology of nationalism and war.
(v) The Nazis believed in the geopolitical concept of Lebensraum or living space, i.e., new
territories had to be acquired for the German nation.
(vi) Women were seen as mere bearers of the Aryan culture and race.

16. Media played any role in the propaganda of Nazi regime. Explain.
Answer: (i) Media was carefully used to win support for the regime and popularise it
worldwide.
(ii) Nazi ideas were spread through visual images, films, radio, posters, catchy slogans and
leaflets.
(iii) In posters, groups identified as the ‘enemies’ of Germans were stereotyped, mocked,
abused and described as evil.
(iv) Socialists and liberals were represented as weak and degenerate.
(v) They were attacked as malicious foreign agents.
(vi) Propaganda films were made to create hatred for Jews.
(vii) The most infamous film was ‘The Eternal Jews’. Orthodox Jews were stereotyped and
mocked.
(viii) They were shown with flowing beards wearing kaftans, whereas in reality it was
difficult to distinguish German Jews by their outward appearance because they were a highly
assimilated community.
(ix) They were referred to as vermin, rats and pests. Their movements were compared to
those of rodents.
(x) Nazism worked on the minds of the people, tapped their emotions and turned their hatred
and anger at those marked as ‘undesirable’.

17. What were the effects of great economics depression of 1929-1932 on Germany?
Answer: The German economy was the worst hit by the economic crisis caused by the Great
Economic Depression (1929-1932) in the USA. German investments and industrial was
largely dependent on loan from the USA. The Wall Street Exchange crashed in 1929, the
USA withdrew the support from Germany.
(i) By 1932, industrial production was reduced to 40 per cent of the 1929 level.
(ii) The number of unemployed was 6 million. People with ‘willing to do any work’ placard
could be seen on the street. Unemployment rate reached nearly 30 per cent in 1932.
(iii) Unemployed youths sometimes involved in criminal activities. They were seen playing
cards, sitting at street corners or desperately queuing up at local employment exchange.
(iv) The Germany currency (mark) collapsed, prices rose phenomenally high due to hyper
inflation.
(v) The economic crisis created deep anxieties and fear in people. As business got ruined,
small businessmen, self-employed and retailers were filled with the fear of proletarianisation,
an anxiety of being reduced to the ranks of workers or unemployed.
(vi) Big businessmen were also in crisis.
(vii) The large mass of peasantry was affected by a sharp fall in agricultural prices.
(viii) Women, unable to feed their children properly, were filled with a sense of despair.

18. Explain the status of women in the German society.

Answer: Children in Nazi Germany were told that women were radically different from men.
While boys were taught to be aggressive, masculine and steel hearted, girls were told to be
good mothers and rear pure-blooded Aryan children. Girls were supposed to look after, have
and teach their children Nazi values. Women bearing undesirable children were punished and
those bearing desirable were awarded. They were given favoured treatment in hospitals and
were given concessions in theatre tickets, railways fares and shops. To encourage women to
produce more children, a bronze cross was given for four children, silver for six and gold for
eight and more. Those who maintained contacts with the Jews, Poles or Russians were
paraded through the town with shaved heads, blackened faces and placards hanging from
their necks saying, “I have sullied the honour of the nation”.

19. How was the Holocaust practised in Germany?

Answer: Information of the Nazi’s atrocities on the Jews had opened up to the world after the
defeat of Germany in World War II. The Jews wanted the world to remember the atrocities
and sufferings they had endured during the Nazi killing operations called the Holocaust. A
ghetto inhabitant had wanted to tell the world about what had happened in Nazi Germany.
Many Jews had written diaries, kept notebooks and created archives that bore witness. On the
other hand, when the war was lost, the Nazi leaders tried to burn all the evidences available in
the offices. Yet, the history and the memory of the Holocaust lived on the memoirs, fiction,
documentaries, poetry and museums in many parts of the world today.

20. How were Darwin and Herbert Spencer’s ideas adopted by Hitler or Nazis?
Answer: Hitler borrowed racism from thinkers like Charles Darwin and Herbert Spencer.
Darwin was a natural scientist who tried to explain the creation of plants and animals through
the concept of evolution and natural selection. Herbert Spencer later added the idea of
survival of the fittest. According to this idea, only those species survived on earth that could
adapt themselves to changing climatic conditions. Darwin never advocated human
intervention in what he thought was a purely natural process of selection. However, his ideas
were used by racist thinkers and politicians to justify imperial rule over conquered people.
The Nazi argument was simple: the strongest race would survive and the weak ones would
perish. The Aryan race was the finest. It had to retain its purity, become stronger and
dominate the world.