Class 9 Social Science-History Chapter 3: Nazism and the Rise of Hitler

1. Short Notes for Revision

• Introduction to Nazism: Nazism was a system of ideas and politics under Adolf Hitler. Story of Helmuth illustrates fear among Nazis at war’s end. Hitler committed suicide April 1945; Germany surrendered May 1945. Nuremberg Tribunal prosecuted Nazis for crimes against peace, war crimes, crimes against humanity.
• Nazi Crimes: Genocidal war killed 6 million Jews, 200,000 Gypsies, 1 million Polish civilians, 70,000 disabled Germans. Methods included gas chambers in camps like Auschwitz. Only 11 top Nazis executed; many imprisoned.
• Birth of Weimar Republic: Germany defeated in WWI (1914-1918); Kaiser abdicated. Weimar Republic (1919) established democratic constitution, federal structure, Reichstag elected by universal adult suffrage. Treaty of Versailles (1919): Lost territories, colonies, demilitarized Rhineland, war guilt clause, reparations.
• Effects of WWI and Versailles: Humiliating peace led to resentment. Hyperinflation 1923 due to printing money for reparations; US Dawes Plan helped recovery 1924-1928, but fragile.
• Years of Depression (1929-1932): Wall Street Crash withdrew US loans; unemployment 6 million, factories shut, middle class ruined. Weimar seen as weak; proportional representation led to unstable coalitions; Article 48 allowed emergency rule.
• Hitler’s Rise to Power: Born 1889 Austria; joined army WWI, earned medals. Joined German Workers’ Party 1919, renamed Nazi Party. Beer Hall Putsch 1923 failed; imprisoned, wrote Mein Kampf. Nazis gained support during depression; largest party 1932 with 37% votes. Chancellor Jan 1933; Fire Decree Feb 1933 suspended rights; Enabling Act March 1933 gave dictatorial powers.
• Destruction of Democracy: Banned parties/unions; created Gestapo, SS, SD for control. Concentration camps for opponents.
• Reconstruction: Hjalmar Schacht economic recovery: Full production, employment via state-funded projects like autobahns, Volkswagen. Hitler left League of Nations 1933, reoccupied Rhineland 1936, Anschluss with Austria 1938, Sudetenland 1938, invaded Poland Sept 1939 starting WWII. Tripartite Pact 1940 with Italy, Japan.
• Nazi Worldview: Racial hierarchy: Nordic Aryans superior; Jews ‘undesirables’, anti-race. Borrowed from Darwin (evolution), Spencer (survival of fittest), but twisted. Lebensraum: Expand territory for living space, resources.
• Racial State: ‘Desirables’ (pure Aryans) to procreate; ‘undesirables’ (Jews, Gypsies, disabled) eliminated. Euthanasia Programme killed disabled. Nuremberg Laws 1935 excluded Jews from citizenship, banned marriages. Kristallnacht 1938 pogrom.
• Racial Utopia: WWII phase: Ghettos, forced labor, mass killings. Holocaust: Gas chambers in Auschwitz, Treblinka etc. Steps: Exclusion (1933-39), Ghettoisation (1940-44), Annihilation (1941-45).
• Youth in Nazi Germany: Schools ‘cleansed’ of Jews, teachers; racial science taught. Boys: Aggressive, boxing; girls: Mothers of Aryans. Jungvolk (10+), Hitler Youth (14+), Labour Service, army.
• Nazi Cult of Motherhood: Women bearers of Aryan race; Honour Crosses for children. Deviants punished, paraded.
• Art of Propaganda: Media controlled; Jews stereotyped as vermin in films like Eternal Jew. Euphemisms: ‘Final solution’ for genocide, ‘special treatment’ for gassing.
• Ordinary People: Many supported or passive due to terror/prosperity. Some resisted. Jews internalized stereotypes in dreams.
• Knowledge of Holocaust: Emerged post-war via diaries, archives. Memorials preserve memory.

2. Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

1. What was the main fear of Helmuth’s father? A) Economic collapse B) Allied revenge for Nazi crimes C) Family separation D) Loss of job
2. How many Jews were killed in the Holocaust? A) 1 million B) 6 million C) 70,000 D) 200,000
3. The Nuremberg Tribunal was set up for: A) Economic recovery B) Prosecuting Nazi war criminals C) Signing peace treaties D) Forming Weimar Republic
4. Germany lost what percentage of its territory after Versailles? A) 13% B) 75% C) 26% D) 10%
5. What caused hyperinflation in 1923 Germany? A) Stock market crash B) Printing money to pay reparations C) Industrial boom D) US loans
6. The Wall Street Crash occurred in: A) 1918 B) 1923 C) 1929 D) 1933
7. Hitler became Chancellor in: A) 1919 B) 1923 C) 1933 D) 1945
8. The Enabling Act was passed in: A) February 1933 B) March 1933 C) September 1939 D) April 1945
9. Lebensraum refers to: A) Racial hierarchy B) Living space expansion C) Youth organization D) Propaganda ministry
10. Nuremberg Laws of 1935 targeted: A) Disabled B) Jews C) Gypsies D) Poles
11. Euthanasia Programme targeted: A) Jews B) Disabled Germans C) Political opponents D) Gypsies
12. Hitler Youth was for boys aged: A) 10-14 B) 14-18 C) 6-10 D) 18+
13. Honour Crosses were awarded to women for: A) Political activity B) Producing children C) Education D) Sports
14. ‘Final Solution’ was Nazi code for: A) Economic recovery B) Jewish genocide C) Youth training D) Territorial expansion
15. Auschwitz was a: A) Youth camp B) Killing center C) Political party D) Treaty
16. Who was Hjalmar Schacht? A) Propaganda minister B) Economist for recovery C) Youth leader D) Military general
17. Germany invaded Poland in: A) 1933 B) 1936 C) 1938 D) 1939
18. US entered WWII after: A) Rhineland occupation B) Pearl Harbor bombing C) Stalingrad battle D) Versailles Treaty
19. Soviet Army defeated Germany at: A) Pearl Harbor B) Stalingrad C) Nuremberg D) Munich
20. Gandhi’s letter to Hitler was in: A) 1933 B) 1939 C) 1945 D) 1919
21. Article 48 allowed: A) Universal suffrage B) Emergency powers C) Party bans D) Reparations
22. Beer Hall Putsch was in: A) 1919 B) 1923 C) 1933 D) 1940
23. Mein Kampf was written in: A) Prison B) Berlin bunker C) Reichstag D) Nuremberg
24. Tripartite Pact with: A) England, France B) Italy, Japan C) USSR, USA D) Poland, Austria
25. Jungvolk for ages: A) 6-10 B) 10-14 C) 14-18 D) 18+

Answer Key: 1-B, 2-B, 3-B, 4-A, 5-B, 6-C, 7-C, 8-B, 9-B, 10-B, 11-B, 12-B, 13-B, 14-B, 15-B, 16-B, 17-D, 18-B, 19-B, 20-B, 21-B, 22-B, 23-A, 24-B, 25-B

3. Very Short Answer Type Questions (VSAQs)

1. What was the Holocaust? Answer: Mass murder of Jews and others by Nazis using gas chambers.
2. When did Germany surrender in WWII? Answer: May 1945.
3. What was the Treaty of Versailles? Answer: 1919 peace treaty imposing harsh terms on Germany after WWI.
4. What caused hyperinflation in 1923? Answer: Printing excess currency to pay reparations.
5. When did the Wall Street Crash occur? Answer: 1929.
6. Who was appointed Chancellor in 1933? Answer: Adolf Hitler.
7. What was the Enabling Act? Answer: 1933 law giving Hitler dictatorial powers.
8. Define Lebensraum. Answer: Nazi policy of territorial expansion for living space.
9. What were Nuremberg Laws? Answer: 1935 laws excluding Jews from citizenship, banning intermarriages.
10. What was Euthanasia Programme? Answer: Nazi killing of mentally/physically disabled Germans.
11. Name a death camp. Answer: Auschwitz.
12. What was Hitler Youth? Answer: Nazi youth organization for boys 14-18.
13. What were Honour Crosses? Answer: Awards for Aryan women producing children.
14. What was ‘Final Solution’? Answer: Nazi code for Jewish genocide.
15. When was Pearl Harbor bombed? Answer: December 1941.

4. Short Answer Type Questions (SAQs)

1. Describe the Nuremberg Tribunal. Answer: Set up post-WWII to prosecute Nazis for crimes against peace, war crimes, humanity. Sentenced 11 to death; others imprisoned. Punishment seen as mild compared to crimes.
2. Explain effects of Versailles on Germany. Answer: Lost territories, colonies, demilitarized Rhineland, war guilt, reparations led to resentment. Weimar Republic blamed, leading to instability and Nazi rise.
3. What was hyperinflation? Answer: 1923 crisis where German mark collapsed due to excess printing for reparations. Prices soared; people carried cartloads of money for bread.
4. How did Depression aid Hitler’s rise? Answer: Unemployment hit 6 million; middle class ruined. Nazis promised jobs, strong nation, undoing Versailles, gaining votes to become largest party 1932.
5. What was Fire Decree? Answer: February 1933 suspended civic rights after Reichstag fire. Allowed arrest of Communists, leading to concentration camps.
6. Outline Nazi racial hierarchy. Answer: Nordic Aryans superior; Jews lowest as ‘anti-race’. Gypsies, blacks, Poles inferior. Only ‘desirables’ to procreate; others eliminated.
7. Describe steps to Holocaust. Answer: Exclusion 1933-39 (boycotts, Nuremberg Laws); Ghettoisation 1940-44 (segregation); Annihilation 1941-45 (gas chambers).
8. How were youth indoctrinated? Answer: Schools taught racial science, stereotypes. Boys in Hitler Youth learned aggression; girls prepared for motherhood.
9. Explain Nazi motherhood cult. Answer: Women to rear pure Aryans; awarded crosses for children. Deviants punished publicly for contacts with ‘undesirables’.
10. What was Nazi propaganda? Answer: Used media, films like Eternal Jew to stereotype Jews as vermin. Euphemisms hid crimes like ‘final solution’ for genocide.
11. How did ordinary Germans react? Answer: Many supported or passive due to prosperity/terror. Some resisted; Jews internalized stereotypes in dreams.
12. What is Holocaust knowledge source? Answer: Post-war diaries, archives from ghettos/camps. Nazis destroyed evidence, but survivors preserved records.
13. Analyze Gandhi’s letter to Hitler. Answer: Urged non-violence, stop war. Highlighted India’s non-violent independence as alternative to Nazi force.
14. Describe Schacht’s role. Answer: Led economic recovery 1924-29 with US loans, state projects. Advised against heavy rearmament; replaced when Hitler chose war.
15. What was Tripartite Pact? Answer: 1940 alliance with Italy, Japan strengthening Axis powers for world domination.

5. Long Answer Type Questions (LAQs)

1. Discuss Weimar Republic’s problems leading to Nazi rise. Answer: Established post-WWI, faced resentment over Versailles’ harsh terms: Territory loss, reparations, demilitarization. Hyperinflation 1923 ruined economy; Depression 1929 caused mass unemployment. Proportional representation led to unstable coalitions; Article 48 enabled authoritarian rule. Spartacist uprising, political violence weakened democracy. Hitler exploited this, promising stability, jobs, national pride. Nazis became largest party 1932; Hitler Chancellor 1933, dismantled democracy via Fire Decree, Enabling Act.
2. Explain Hitler’s rise and power consolidation. Answer: Joined Nazi Party 1919, led after Beer Hall Putsch 1923. Wrote Mein Kampf in prison outlining racist ideology. Depression boosted support; rallies, propaganda portrayed him as savior. Appointed Chancellor Jan 1933 by Hindenburg. Reichstag fire enabled Fire Decree suspending rights, arresting opponents. Enabling Act gave dictatorial powers, banned parties. Created Gestapo, SS for control. As Fuhrer after 1934, pursued rearmament, expansion reversing Versailles.
3. Analyze Nazi worldview and racial policies. Answer: Believed in racial hierarchy with Aryans superior, Jews inferior enemies. Twisted Darwin/Spencer for ‘survival of fittest’. Lebensraum sought eastern expansion for space/resources. Racial state excluded ‘undesirables’ via Nuremberg Laws, Euthanasia killing disabled. Holocaust progressed from exclusion to ghettos to gas chambers killing millions. Aimed ‘pure’ society; propaganda stereotyped Jews. Contradicted equality, led to genocide.
4. Describe youth/women role in Nazi society. Answer: Youth indoctrinated via schools teaching racial superiority, stereotypes. Boys in Jungvolk/Hitler Youth learned aggression, war worship; girls prepared for motherhood bearing Aryans. Women seen as different, focused on home, children. Honour Crosses rewarded multiple births; deviants punished for ‘racial pollution’. Reinforced patriarchy, racial purity. Education/sports nurtured violence in boys, domesticity in girls supporting Nazi ideology.
5. Evaluate Holocaust and knowledge about it. Answer: Systematic genocide killing 6 million Jews, others in camps like Auschwitz via gassing. Steps: Exclusion, segregation, annihilation. Victims documented experiences in diaries/archives despite Nazi destruction efforts. Post-war, survivors’ testimonies, memoirs preserved memory. Museums/memorials tribute resistance, remind collaboration/silence dangers. Shows ideology’s horrors when unchecked.
6. How did ordinary people experience Nazism? Answer: Many saw prosperity, supported passively or believed propaganda. Terror via Gestapo silenced dissent; some resisted bravely. Jews suffered exclusion, internalized stereotypes in dreams. Niemoeller’s poem highlights silence enabling crimes. Erna Kranz recalled good times economically but ignored atrocities. Reveals complicity through apathy, fear in totalitarian regime.
7. Assess WWII impact on Nazi Germany. Answer: Hitler invaded Poland 1939 starting war; quick successes till 1941. Invading USSR was blunder; Stalingrad defeat turned tide. US entry after Pearl Harbor 1941, Allied bombing weakened. Soviet advance to Berlin, Hitler’s suicide 1945 ended regime. Exposed expansionism failure, led to division, denazification. Holocaust revealed post-war shocked world.
8. Compare French Revolution and Nazism on citizenship/rights. Answer: French Revolution defined citizenship via equality, rights declaration for all men (though limited women). Nazism restricted to ‘pure’ Aryans, excluded Jews/others via laws stripping rights. Revolution promoted liberty, fraternity; Nazism hierarchy, racism denying humanity. Both transformed societies but Revolution democratic ideals vs Nazism totalitarian oppression.

6. Source-Based / Case-Based Assessment Questions

Source Extract: (From textbook introduction) In the spring of 1945, a little eleven-year-old German boy called Helmuth was lying in bed when he overheard his parents discussing something in serious tones. His father, a prominent physician, deliberated with his wife whether the time had come to kill the entire family, or if he should commit suicide alone. His father spoke about his fear of revenge, saying, ‘Now the Allies will do to us what we did to the crippled and Jews.’

Questions:

1. Who was Helmuth’s father?
2. What fear did he express?
3. Why did he commit suicide?
4. What does this reveal about Nazi supporters?
5. Analyze the story’s significance.

Answer Key:

1. A prominent physician and Nazi supporter.
2. Allied revenge for Nazi crimes against disabled and Jews.
3. Anticipating punishment post-defeat.
4. Aware of crimes, feared retribution.
5. Illustrates Nazi fear at war’s end, hints at regime’s atrocities.

Source Extract: (From Versailles description) The peace treaty at Versailles with the Allies was a harsh and humiliating peace. 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.

Questions:

1. When was Versailles signed?
2. What territories did Germany lose?
3. Why was Rhineland demilitarized?
4. How did this contribute to Nazi rise?
5. Link to Weimar’s unpopularity.
6. Refer to map (Fig.2) for lost areas.

Answer Key:

1. June 1919.
2. Colonies, 13% territories, resources to neighbors.
3. To weaken military.
4. Resentment exploited by Hitler.
5. Republic blamed for accepting terms.
6. Shows land to France, Poland etc.

Source Extract: (From Nazi 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, while Jews were located at the lowest rung. They came to be regarded as an anti-race, the arch-enemies of the Aryans.

Questions:

1. What was Nazi racial theory?
2. Who were at hierarchy top?
3. How were Jews viewed?
4. Influences on this ideology?
5. Consequences for ‘undesirables’.

Answer Key:

1. Hierarchy based on race, not equality.
2. Nordic German Aryans.
3. Lowest, anti-race enemies.
4. Twisted Darwin, Spencer ideas.
5. Exclusion, persecution, genocide.

Source Extract: (Gandhi’s letter to Hitler, 1939) It is quite clear that you are today the one person in the world who can prevent a war which may reduce humanity to the savage state. Must you pay that price for an object however worthy it may appear to you to be? Will you listen to the appeal of one who has deliberately shunned the method of war not without considerable success?

Questions:

1. When was this letter written?
2. What appeal did Gandhi make?
3. Gandhi’s method mentioned?
4. Relevance to Nazism?
5. Hitler’s likely response?
6. Contrast with Nazi ideology.
7. Why include in chapter?

Answer Key:

1. July 23, 1939.
2. Stop war, use non-violence.
3. Non-violent resistance.
4. Opposed Hitler’s aggression.
5. Ignored, proceeded with war.
6. Peace vs racial violence.
7. Shows global anti-Nazism views.

7. Solved Exercise-End Questions (NCERT Solutions)

In what ways did the Nazi state seek to establish total control over its people? Answer: Banned parties/unions; one-party rule. Gestapo, SS terrorized opponents. Propaganda via media/rallies indoctrinated. Youth via Hitler Youth learned loyalty. Racial policies excluded ‘undesirables’. Economy controlled for rearmament. Surveillance ensured conformity; dissent crushed in camps.

Describe the problems faced by the Weimar Republic. Answer: Humiliating Versailles terms caused resentment. Hyperinflation 1923 ruined savings. Depression 1929 led to 6 million unemployed. Unstable coalitions from proportional representation. Article 48 enabled authoritarianism. Political violence from left/right extremists. Seen as imposed, associated with defeat.

Discuss why Nazism became popular in Germany by 1930. Answer: Economic crisis: Unemployment, poverty during Depression. Hitler promised jobs, strong nation. Propaganda portrayed him as savior undoing Versailles. Rallies, symbols unified people. Appealed to nationalism, anti-Jew sentiments. Nazis largest party 1932 exploiting Weimar weaknesses.

What are the peculiar features of Nazi thinking? Answer: Racial hierarchy: Aryans superior, Jews inferior. Anti-equality, survival of fittest twisted. Lebensraum for expansion. Totalitarian state control via propaganda, terror. Youth indoctrination, women as mothers. Genocide of ‘undesirables’ for pure society.

Explain why Nazi propaganda was effective in creating a hatred for Jews. Answer: Media stereotyped Jews as evil, vermin in films/posters. Euphemisms hid crimes. Schools taught racial science hating Jews. Rallies glorified Nazis, condemned Jews. Tapped Christian anti-Semitism, economic resentments blaming Jews. Made hatred normal.

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: Nazi women focused on motherhood, rearing Aryans; awarded for children, punished for deviations. Domestic, no equality. French Revolution: Women active in marches, clubs demanding rights but passive citizens, no vote. Contrast: Revolution advanced some rights (education, divorce); Nazism regressed to racial breeding. Both patriarchal but Revolution progressive ideals vs Nazi regression.