OLOGY TECH SCHOOL, MUGALIVAKKAM

HISTORY- NAZISM AND THE RISE OF HITLER

1. What was genocidal war?

Answer:
It was a war started by Germany during the Second World War, which resulted in the mass
murder of selected groups of innocent civilians of Europe.
2. What was the Enabling Act which was passed by Hitler after he took control over Germany?
Answer:
The Enabling Act was passed in 1933. It gave Hitler all powers to sideline the Parliament and the
rule by decree. All political parties and trade unions were banned except the Nazi Party.
3. Mention two provisions of Article 48 with reference to Germany.
Answer:

 It was the President to impose emergency.

 It provided powers to President to suspend Civil Rights.

4. The Treaty of Versailles was harsh and humiliating’. Justify by giving four terms of the treaty.
Answer:
 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.
 The Allied Powers demilitarised Germany to weaken its power.
 The War Guilt Clause held Germany responsible for the war and damages the Allied
countries suffered. Germany was forced to pay compensation amounting to around £ 6
billion.
 The Allied armies also occupied the resource-rich Rhineland for much of the 1920s. Many
Germans held the new Weimar Republic responsible for not only the defeat in the war,
but the disgrace at Versailles.
5. Explain any three components of the ideology of Hitler.
Answer:
 According to Nazi theory, 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 the
Jews were at the bottom.
 Hitler borrowed his ideas from the theory of Charles Darwin and Herbert Spencer. Both
these scientists explained the concept of evolution and natural selection. They gave the
concept of ‘survival of the fittest.’ This idea was used by the Nazis to justify their imperial
rule and war.
 Hitler also used the idea of Lebensraum or living space. He believed that new territories
had to be acquired for settlement.
6. Explain Hitler’s ideology related to the geo-political concept of Lebensraum.
Answer:
Hitler’s Geo-political Concept of Lebensraum :
 Hitler’s ideology was related to the geo-political concept of Lebensraum or living space.
He believed new territories had to be acquired for settlement.
 This would enhance the area of the mother country, while enabling the settles 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.
[Link] did the Great Economic Depression of 1929 affect the life of the people of Germany?
  Drastic Fall in Industrial Production: By 1932, industrial production was reduced to 40
per cent of the 1929 level.
 Unemployment: Workers lost their jobs or were paid reduced wages. The number of
unemployed touched an unprecedented 6 million. As jobs disappeared, the youth
took to criminal activities and total despair became commonplace. The economic
crisis created deep anxieties and fears in people.
 Loss of Saving: The middle classes, especially salaried employees and pensioners, saw
their savings diminish when the currency lost its value.
 Impact on Small Entrepreneur: Small businessmen, the self-employed and retailers
suffered as their businesses got ruined. Big business was in crisis.
 Impact on Peasants: The large mass of peasantry was affected by a sharp fall in
agricultural prices and women, unable to fill their children’s stomachs, were filled
with a sense of deep despair.

8. Explain briefly the main causes of the Rise of Nazi dictatorship in Germany.
Answer:
The main causes of rise of Nazi dictatorship in Germany are as follows:
(i) The First World War defeat

(ii) Weakness of Weimar Republic: The Weimar constitution had some inherent defects which made
it unstable and vulnerable to dictatorship. Due to proportional representation, one party rule
became an impossible task, leading to a rule by coalitions. Another defect was Article 48, which
gave the President the power to impose emergency, suspend civil rights and by decree.

(iii) Treaty of Versailles: Germany was forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles with allied powers.
This made Germany to lose its overseas colonies, a tenth of its population, 13% of territories and
many more. The allied powers demilitarized Germany. The Allied armies also occupied the resource
rich Rhineland.
The war guilt clause forced Germany to pay £ 6 billion as war damages to the Allied Powers.

(iv) The Economic Crisis: German economy was worst hit. Industrial production was reduced to
40%. Due to great economic depression the National Income of the USA fell by half leading to shut
down the factories. The exports fell down and farmers suffered the most during the depression.

(v) Mass Unemployment: Workers of Germany lost their jobs or were paid reduced wages.
Unemployed youth played cards or lined up at local employment exchange. Jobs disappeared and
youth took to criminal activities.

(vi) German people thought that Hider would be a good dictator as he promised to undo the
injustice of Treaty of Versailles. He also promised to give employment to those looking for work.
Later, the Nazi Party became the largest Party with 37% votes in Reichstag.

9. Highlight Nazi cult of motherhood.

Answer:
Many social programs were implemented by Hitler to encourage the growth of a strong German
Nazi Volk. One such programme was to advocate the virtues of motherhood. This programme
included the following features:
(i) Girls were told that they had to become good mothers, distance themselves from the Jews and
look after their homes. They should teach their children Nazi values and rear pure blooded Aryan
children.
(ii) Women who bore racially desirable children were awarded with concessions in shops, theatre
and railway tickets. They were also given favoured treatment in hospitals.

(iii) Cash incentives were paid for each child born.

(iv) Such was the desire to increase the German population that in 1943, a law was discussed
among Nazi leaders that all women married or single should have four children. The father of these
children should be racially pure. Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS was particularly keen on this
idea.

(v) On the 16th December, 1938, Hitler instituted a new award to honour German Nazi
motherhood, especially the large family. The cross of Honour of the German Mother (Ehrenkreuz
der deutschen Mutter) was created in three classes from 16th December 1938, when the
decoration was first instituted, to mid 1939, Nazi mother’s crosses bore the inscription ‘Das Kind
adelt die Mutter’ (The child ennobles the mother). This award was normally presented in a blue
envelope bearing the title of the award on the front. The gold cross was presented to the woman
who have produced 8 children, silver was for 6 children and bronze was for 4 children. The award
was also accompanied by a large certificate bearing a facsimile of Hitler’s signature.

(vi) All Aryan women were publicly condemned and punished if they failed to follow the Nazi
conditions.

10. Explain Hitler or Nazis policy towards the youth.

Answer:

(i) Total Control over Schools: Hitler was fanatically interested in the youth of the country. He felt
that a strong Nazi society could be established only by teaching children the Nazi ideology. This
required a control over the child, both inside and outside the school.

(ii) Purification of Schools: All schools were cleansed and purified. This meant that teachers who
were Jews or seen as ‘politically unreliable’ were dismissed. Children were first segregated,
Germans and Jews could not sit together or play together. Subsequently, ‘undesirable children’ —
Jews, the Physically handicapped, Gypsies — were thrown out of schools. And finally, in the 1940s,
they were taken to the gas chambers.

(iii) New Education Policy: To popularise his ideology, Hitler announced a New Education Policy,
Under this, school textbooks were rewritten. Racial science was introduced to justify Nazi ideas of
race. Stereotypes about Jews were popularised even through maths classes. Children were taught
to be loyal and submissive, hate Jews, and worship Hider.

(iv) Division of the Life: Life of the youth was divided into different stages. At each stage he had to
pass through various training and teaching programmes.

(v) Formation of Hitler Youth: The Youth League of the Nazis was founded in 1922. Four years later,
it was renamed the ‘Hitler Youth’. To unify the youth movement under Nazi control, all other youth
organisations were systematically dissolved and finally banned.