Class IX - Nazism and the Rise of Hitler

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.