Nazism and the Rise of Hitler - Class X

• The Nazis were nationalists and believed that Germany was a great country that had been humiliated by the Treaty of Versailles.
• They aimed to make Germany great again by expanding beyond the borders drawn by Versailles.

Hitler assigned the responsibility of economic recovery to the economist Hjalmar Schacht who aimed at full production and full employment through a state-funded work-creation programme. This project produced the famous German superhighways and the people’s car, the Volkswagen. 

• Conscription is the process of making all men join the army for a set time.
• In 1935, Hitler planned to reintroduce conscription in Germany though it was forbidden according to the Treaty of Versailles.

 In 1919, he joined a small group called the German Workers Party. He subsequently took over the organisation and renamed it the National Socialist German Workers’ Party. This party came to be known as the Nazi Party. 

• Many governments across the world refused to accept German refugees, but the British government responded to a campaign and decided to allow children upto the age of 17, who had a bond of 50 pounds, to enter the country on a temporary visa.

Mass killings were termed special treatment, final solution (for the Jews), euthanasia (for the disabled), selection and disinfections. ‘Evacuation’ meant deporting people to gas chambers. They were labelled ‘disinfection-areas’, and looked like bathrooms equipped with fake showerheads. 

 In 1919, he joined a small group called the German Workers Party. He subsequently took over the organisation and renamed it the National Socialist German Workers’ Party. This party came to be known as the Nazi Party. 

• In March 1938, the leader of Austria, a Nazi invited the Germans to occupy Austria to stop a communist plot.
• The opposition was crushed and 99 out of 100 Austrians voted to become part of Greater Germany.

President Hindenburg offered Chancellorship to Hitler who formed his first Nazi government on January 30, 1933.

In 1923, Hitler planned to seize control of Bavaria, march to Berlin and capture power. He failed, was arrested, tried for treason, and later released. 

 Nazis never used the words ‘kill’ or ‘murder’ in their official communications. Mass killings were termed special treatment, final solution (for the Jews), euthanasia (for the disabled), selection and disinfections. ‘Evacuation’ meant deporting people to gas chambers. 

Germany signed a Non-Aggression Pact with Russia in August 1939, Poland was accused of committing atrocities against Germans living there.

On 30 January 1933, President Hindenburg offered the Chancellorship, the highest position in the cabinet of ministers, to Hitler. 

Swastika.

On January 30, 1933, President Hindenburg offered the Chancellorship, the highest position in the cabinet of minister, to Hitler. By now the Nazis had managed to rally the conservatives to their cause.

Only Nordic Ayrans' were considered as desirable. Germans who were seen as abnormal or impure were considered undesirables. Jews, Gypsies, and blacks living in Nazi Germany were considered as racial inferiors. Russians and Poles were also considered as subhuman.

The Weimar Republic faced significant public backlash because it was associated with the humiliating Treaty of Versailles and the defeat in World War I.

Socialists, Catholics, and Democrats were the supporters of newly formed Weimar Republic. These supporters were also called 'November Criminals'. They all became easy targets of attack in the conservative nationalist circles.

Reichstag and Bundestag both referred to German parliament. As like Rajya sabha also called as "house of elders" or "house of state". Only difference in case of Germany's case is time difference. Now Germans used word - "Bundestag". In NCERT , word "Reichstag" used as it was in use at that time frame(till mid of 20th century).

The Nazis used pseudo-scientific theories to justify their racial ideologies, specifically promoting 'Racial Science' in schools to indoctrinate youth.

Holocaust was a genocide during World War 2 in Nazi Germany. The Nazis murdered six million Jews between 1941 to 1945. 

On May 7, 1945, Germany officially surrendered to the Allies, bringing an end to the European conflict in World War II. General Alfred Jodl, representing the German High Command, signed the unconditional surrender of both east and west forces in Reims, France, which took effect the following day. As a result, May 8 was declared Victory in Europe (VE) Day, a holiday still celebrated by many European countries.

Those who supported the Weimar Republic, mainly Socialists, Catholics and Democrats, became easy targets of attack in the conservative nationalist circles. They were mockingly called the ‘November criminals’. 

The defeat of Imperial Germany and the abdication of the emperor gave an opportunity to the Parliamentary parties to recast the German polity. National Assembly met at Weimar and established a democratic constitution with a federal structure.

Nazis wanted only a society of ‘pure and healthy Nordic Aryans’. They alone were considered ‘desirable’. Only they were seen as worthy of prospering and multiplying against all others who were classed as ‘undesirable’. This meant that even those Germans who were seen as impure or abnormal had no right to exist. 

Hitler attacked Russia in June 1941. In this historic blunder, Hitler exposed the German western front to British aerial bombing and the eastern front to the powerful Soviet armies. 

Nazi ideology was built on a racial hierarchy that placed Aryans at the top and deemed Jews as the 'anti-race' or arch-enemies, while also discriminating against other groups.

Many Nazi officials and their families feared severe retribution and revenge from the Allied Powers following the collapse of the Nazi regime in 1945.

 He pulled out of the League of Nations in 1933, reoccupied the Rhineland in 1936, and integrated Austria and Germany in 1938 under the slogan, One people, One empire, and One leader. 

The Great Economic Depression of 1929 had a devastating impact on the German economy, which was already struggling with war reparations and inflation, leading to political instability.

Under the shadow of the Second World War, Germany had waged a genocidal war, which resulted in the mass murder of selected groups of innocent civilians of Europe. The number of people killed included 6 million Jews, 200,000 Gypsies, 1 million Polish civilians, 70,000 Germans who were considered mentally and physically disabled, besides innumerable political opponents. 

The Nazi Party viewed the Communist Party (KPD) as their primary political rival in the Weimar Republic. The intense ideological conflict between the far-right Nazis and the far-left Communists was a defining feature of the era.

 Germany had fought the war largely on loans and had to pay war reparations in gold. In April the US dollar was equal to 24,000 marks, in July 353,000 marks, in August 4,621,000 marks  and at 98,860,000 marks by December, the figure had run into trillions. As the value of the mark collapsed, prices of goods soared. 

Hitler's expansionist ideology was summarized by the slogan 'Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer' (One people, one empire, and one leader). This slogan emphasized national unity and absolute obedience to his leadership.

The other aspect of Hitler’s ideology was 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. 

Adolf Hitler served as a dispatch runner during World War I and was awarded the Iron Cross for his bravery. This medal was a significant military decoration in the German army.

Nazi ideology was synonymous with Hitler's worldview. According to this ideology, 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 level. Jews were regarded as anti-race, the arch-enemies of the Aryans. All other coloured people were placed in between depending upon their external features.

Hitler acquired quick success in his foreign policy. 

Before the rise of Hitler, regular police in green uniform and SA or Storm Troopers existed already. After coming into power Hitler created Secret state police known as the Gestapo, the protection squads known as the SS, criminal police, and the security service known as SD. 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 Treaty of Versailles imposed severe territorial losses, heavy economic reparations, and strict military limitations on Germany. All the listed options describe aspects of the treaty that were perceived as humiliating by the German public.

Nazis felt that Jews were the traitors. They blamed Jews for conspiring with allies during the First World War. Nazis explained that the cause of the hardship of the Germans were the Jews who exploited the German economy. To turn out the Jews from Germany was the main feature of their ideology.

Adolf Hitler was born in 1889 in Austria.  His father was a Custom Officer. He spent his youth in poverty. During the First World War, he enrolled for the army, act as a messenger in the front, became corporal, and earned medals for bravery. The German defeat horrified him and the Versailles Treaty made him furious. In 1919, he joined a small group called the German Workers' Party. Later he took over this organisation and renamed it National Socialist German Workers' Party. This party came to be known as the Nazi Party.

Hitler brought out an agreement with Italy and Japan in September 1940. This agreement was known as "Tripartite Pact" which strengthened Hitler's claims to international power.

Children in Nazi Germany were repeatedly told that women were radically different from men. It was told by Nazi's that the fight for equal rights for men and women was wrong and it would destroy society.

During the time of the Nazi region in Germany the society was divided into desirables and undesirables.The undesirables in Germany were mainly the Jews but other undesirables were Communist, Gypsies and Polish Christians. And desirables were Nordic Aryans.  

The pure Aryan Nordic Germans were considered to be 'desirable' in the Nazi society. They had some distinguishing features like blue eyes and light hair. However, it did not include handicaps as they were considered 'undesirable'.

Hitler believed in extreme nationalism. According to him, the State is above all. It should have held all political, economic and social programmes. He wanted to root out liberalism and communism.

At the end of II World War, an International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg was set up to prosecute Nazi war criminals for Crimes against Peace, for War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity.

Hitler wanted to drive out the Jewish from Germany because he believed that the Jewish had some conspiracy to control Germany and that they would stab Germans in the back whenever it would suit them. Also, the majority of financial institutions, banks, and large companies were controlled by Jewish people and he believed that Germany lost 1st world war because of Jewish capitalism.

Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was held responsible for the war and required to pay reparations, which were set at 6 billion pounds.

In Germany students between 10-14 years of Age had to join an organization called Jungvolk. These were made responsible for educating German youth in the ‘the spirit of National Socialism’. 

In October 1933, some nine months after Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany, the German government announced its withdrawal from the League of Nations. The reason was the refusal of the Western powers to accept Germany’s demands to increase its military.

Hitler wrote his autobiography Mein Kampf in the year 1925. This book outlines the Hitler's political ideologies and plans for Germany. Volume 1 of Mein Kampf was published in 1925 and Volume 2 in 1926.

Charlotte Beradt, was a Berlin-based journalist. She secretly recorded people’s dreams in her diary and later published them in a book called the Third Reich of Dreams. She describes how Jews themselves began believing in the Nazi stereotypes. They dream of their hooked noses, black hair and eyes, Jewish looks and body movements.

Hitler rejected the treaty of Versailles because terms of the Treaty were very damaging to Germany. Germany's armed forces were greatly reduced under this treaty and territory was taken from Germany which deprived it of its valuable industrial and agricultural income.

Both statements are historically accurate regarding the Weimar Republic during the Great Depression. However, the President's power to impose emergency (Article 48) was a constitutional mechanism and not the direct economic cause of the Great Depression itself.

• Anti-Semitism means prejudice against Jewish people. In the east, most Jews lived a more traditional life, speaking Yiddish and living in small villages.
• They were separated from their neighbours because of anti-Semitism.

Hitler excluded Jews in three stages. These were Exclusion, Ghettoisation, and Annihilation.

Adolf Hitler was enrolled for the army during the First World War. He acted as a messenger in the front and became a Corporal. He earned medals for his bravery. The German defeat horrified him and the Treaty of Versailles made him furious. Later in 1919, he joined a small group called the German Workers' Party. Workers of this party were called National Socialist. Then he took over this organisation and renamed it the National Socialist German Workers' Party. This party came to be known as the Nazi Party.

• The National Socialist Party or the Nazis was formed in the year 1921. By 1923, Adolf Hitler was their leader.
• The ideas of Nazism are documented in Hitler's book Mein Kampf.

• In the east, most Jews lived a more traditional life, speaking Yiddish and living in small villages.
• They were separated from their neighbours because of anti-Semitism.

Germany had fought the war largely on loans and had to pay war reparations in gold. This depleted gold reserves at a time resources were scarce. In 1923 Germany refused to pay and the French occupied its leading industrial area, Ruhr, to claim their coal. Germany retaliated with passive resistance and printed paper currency recklessly. With too much currency in circulation, the value of the German mark fell. As the value of Mark collapsed, prices of goods soared.

• Once the Nazis where in power, things began to get very difficult for the Jewish population in Germany.
• Between 1938 and outbreak of the war in 1939, Jewish parents began a movement to save their children. It was called Kindertransport or Childrens Transport.

The Treaty of Versailles, signed in 1919, imposed strict military restrictions on Germany, including the demilitarization of the Rhineland and limits on the size of its armed forces.

Nazis wanted only a society of ‘pure and healthy Nordic Aryans’. They alone were considered ‘desirable’. Only they were seen as worthy of prospering and multiplying against all others who were classed as ‘undesirable’.