Class IX - Nazism and the Rise of Hitler
NCERT EXERCISE
Q.1. Describe the problems faced by the Weimer Republic .
OR
How was the Weimar Republic born in Germany ? Explain.
Ans. A National Assembly met at Weimer and established a
democratic constitution with a federal structure. The republic was, however, not received well by
its own people largely because of the terms it was forced to accept after Germany ’s
defeat at the end of the First World War. Many Germans held the new Weimer Republic
responsible for not only the defeat in the war but the disgrace at Versailles .
This republic was finally crippled by being forced to pay compensation.
There was another problem which the Weimer Republic
faced just at its inception. Its birth coincided with the revolutionary uprising of the Spartacist
League. The political atmosphere in Berlin
was charged with demands for Soviet-style governance. Though the uprising was crushed by the Republic, the Spartacists founded the
Communist Party of Germany. Both parties now became enemies and could not combine together
with Hitler. This was followed by the economic crisis of 1923. The value
of the German mark fell
considerably. The Weimer
Republic had to face
hyperinflation. Then came the Wall Street Exchange crash in 1929. America
had bailed Germany
out of the hyperinflation but with this crash it was evident that the stability was just temporary.
The USA
withdrew its support with the crash. The situation in Germany became worse. The currency
lost its value, business was ruined and deep anxiety and fears haunted the people.
Unemployment created an atmosphere of crime and total despair.
The Weimer
Republic within its span
of power saw 20 different cabinets, lasting for an average 239 days and a liberal use of Article 48.
Q.2. Discuss why Nazism became popular in Germany by
1930.
Ans. The Nazis could not effectively mobilise popular
support till the early 1930s. Nazism became a mass movement only during the Great Depression. After
1929, banks collapsed and businesses shut down, workers lost their jobs and the middle
classes were threatened with destitution. The Nazi propaganda stirred hopes of a better
future at this time. In 1928, the Nazi Party got no more than 2.6 per cent votes in the Reichstag –
the German Parliament. By 1932, it had become the largest party with 37 per cent votes. Hitler was a powerful speaker. 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 the unemployed, and a secure future for the youth. He
promised to weed out all foreign influences and resist all foreign conspiracies against Germany . Hitler understood the importance of rituals and spectacle in
mobilising people. Nazis held massive rallies and public meetings to demonstrate the
support for Hitler and instil a sense of unity among the people. The red banners with the Swastika,
the Nazi salute, and the ritualised rounds of applause after the speeches were all part of this
spectacle of power. The people whose sense of dignity and pride had been
shattered, and who were living in a time of acute economic had political crises, saw in Hitler a
messiah and a saviour who would deliver them from their difficulties. This was projected by
the Nazi propaganda.
Q.3. What are the peculiar features of Nazi thinking?
Ans. Nazi ideology was synonymous with Hitler worldwide.
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, while Jews were located at the
lowest rung. They came to be regarded as an anti-race, as arch enemies of the Aryans. All other
coloured people were placed in between, depending upon their external features. Hitler’s
racism was borrowed from thinkers like Charles Darwin and Herbert Spencer. 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. The other aspect of Hitler’s ideology related to the
geopolitical concept of Lebensraum, or living space. He believed that new territories had to be
acquired for settlement. This would enhance the area of the mother country, while enabling the
settlers on new lands to retain an intimate link with the place of their origin. It would also
enhance the material resources and power of the German nation.
Their dream was to create an exclusive racial community of
pure Germans by physically eliminating all those who were seen as ‘undesirable’ in the
extended empire. Nazis wanted only a society of ‘pure and healthy Nordic Aryans’. They alone
was considered ‘desirable’. Only they were seen as worthy of prospering and multiplying,
others had no such right.
Q.4. Explain why Nazi propaganda was effective in creating a
hatred for Jews.
Ans. The Nazi regime used language and media with care, and
often to great effect. Media was used to gain support for the regime and to make it popular all
over the world. They spread their ideas through visual images, radio, posters, slogans,
speeches, films, etc. All enemies of Germans, especially the Jews were mocked, abused and called
as evil. They were termed as bad-meaning foreign agents. The most infamous film “Eternal Jew” was shown all over to
the people. All orthodox Jews were stereotyped and shown as supporting long beards and
wearing loose clothes. But in reality, it was not so. These Jews were called names such as
rats, pests and vermins. Nazi propaganda completely brainwashed the people who began to
believe that Jews are to be hated and dispised. The Nazi propaganda worked on all sections of
the society and sought to win their support by glorifying Nazism and suggesting that Nazis
alone could solve their problem. Most people began to see Jews through the Nazi vision, they
even spoke in the Nazi language.
Whenever they sighted a Jew, hatred and anger welled up
inside them. Jews were looked upon with suspicion and even their living areas marked.
Q.5. 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.
Ans. It was made obvious that women were radically different
from men. Boys were taught to be aggressive, masculine and steel-hearted, girls were told
that they had to become good mothers and rear pure-blooded Aryan children. They had to be the
bearers of the Aryan culture and race. They had to look after the homes and teach children
Nazi values. They were encouraged to bear many children. But the children had to be ‘desirable
children’. Honour crosses were awarded to them. If the Aryan women deviated from the
prescribed code of conduct they were publicly condemned and severely punished.
In other parts of Europe ,
women were actively participating in democratic struggles. In countries like France women formed clubs for protest and were ever involved in violent uprisings.
They were politically more aware of their rights and were brave
enough to demand them.
Q.6. In what ways did the Nazi state seek to establish total
control over its people?
Ans. The Nazis established control over its people by various
means. Propaganda popularising and glorifying Nazism was one. Media was carefully used to win
support for the regime and popularise it. Nazism worked on the minds of the people,
tapped their emotions and turned their hatred and anger against those marked as
‘undesirable’. Special surveillance and security forces to control and
order society in ways that the Nazis
wanted, was created. It was the extra-constitutional powers
of these newly organised forces that gave the Nazi state its reputation as the most dreaded
criminal state. The police forces had powers to rule with impunity. Genocide also created an atmosphere of fear and repression
which helped them to establish
total control over its people. Hitler played on the bitterness of the German people for the
defeat in World War I. He promised to restore Germany ’s military power and told
Germans that they were the greatest people in the world. Secondly, he and his party promised to
carry out radical changes in Germany
and get rid of the leaders who had failed to provide jobs to the German people.
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