CBSE 9th History CH 3 -nazism and the rise of hitler

Class 9 Social Science History Notes

Chapter 3: Nazism and the Rise of Hitler

The First World War (1914-1918)

1. The first World War was fought between:
1. The Central Powers: Germany, Austria, and Turkey
2. Allied Powers: France, Britain, and Russia

The Second World War (1939-1945)

1. The Second World War was fought between:
1. The Axis powers: Germany, Italy, Japan
2. Allied Powers: France, Britain, Russia, USA

Birth of the Weimer Republic

1. Germany fought the First World War (1914-1918) along with the Austrian empire and against the Allies (France, Britain, and Russia).
2. Germany initially made gains by occupying France and Belgium. However, the Allies won, defeating Germany and the Central Powers in 1918.
3. After the defeat of Germany in World War I and abdication of the emperor, a National Assembly meeting was held in Weimar. A democratic constitution with a federal structure was set up in Germany.
4. In June 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was signed in which the Allied Powers imposed many humiliating conditions on Germany such as:
   1. Germany was held responsible for the war and damages.
   2. Germany was demilitarized.
   3. It was forced to pay compensation amounting to £6 billion.
   4. Resource-rich Rhineland was occupied by the Allied powers.
   5. Germany lost its overseas colonies, a tenth of its population, 13 percent of its territories, 75 percent of its iron and 26 percent of its coal to France.
5. The Weimar Republic was established in Germany by the Treaty of Versailles.

Treaty of Versailles

1. After the end of the First World War, Germany had to sign a harsh and humiliating treaty at Versailles with the Allied powers. Germany was demilitarized and it had to pay a huge amount in compensation.

Problems Faced by Weimer Republic

1. The Weimer Republic had to face many problems:
   1. It had signed the treaty at Versailles and hence it was held responsible for accepting the humiliating provisions.
   2. Owing to some inherent defects viz. proportional representation, the Weimer Republic was fragile. People lost confidence in the democratic parliamentary system due to constant political instability.
   3. The Great Economic Depression (1929-32) further hit the German economy. Industrial production fell and unemployment levels were very high.
   4. The Weimer Republic had to face the revolutionary uprising of the Spartacist League.
   5. With changing situations in 1923, it printed paper currency recklessly. With too much-printed money in circulation, the value of German currency fell and prices of goods soared. Thus, they faced hyperinflation.

The Effects of the War

1. The war had a devastating impact on the entire continent both psychologically and financially.
2. From being a creditor, Europe became a debtor.
3. The supporters of the Weimer Republic were criticized and became easy targets of attack in the conservative nationalist circles.
4. Soldiers came to be placed above civilians.
5. Aggressive war propaganda and national honour became important.

Political Radicalism and Economic Crisis

1. The birth of the Weimer Republic coincided with the uprising of the Spartacist League on the pattern of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. The Spartacists founded the Communist Party of Germany.
2. Political radicalization was heightened by the economic crisis of 1923. As Germany refused to pay the war reparations, France occupied its leading industrial area, Ruhr. Germany retaliated by printing paper currency recklessly. The value of the German mark collapsed. Prices of goods soared. There was hyperinflation.

The Years of Depression

1. 1924-1928 saw some stability, yet it was built on sand. In 1924, with the introduction of the Dawes Plan by the Americans, Germany came out from financial instability. Germany was totally dependent on short-term loans, largely from the USA. This support was withdrawn with the crash in 1929 of the Wall Street Exchange. The German economy was hit badly. The middle class and working population were filled with the fear of proletarianization.
2. The Weimer Republic had some inherent defects:
   1. Proportional Representation
   2. Article 48 which gave the President the powers to impose emergency, suspend civil rights and rule by decree.

Rise of Hitler

1. Born in Austria in 1889 and earned medals for his bravery in the German Army during the First World War.
2. He headed the National Socialist German Workers’ Party which later came to be known as the Nazi Party.

The Destruction of Democracy

1. On 30 January 1933, Hitler became the Chancellor.
2. On 28 February 1933, Hitler indefinitely suspended civic rights like freedom of speech, press and assembly through The Fire Decree.
3. On 3 March 1933, the famous Enabling Act was passed. It gave Hitler all powers to sideline parliament and rule by decree. Thus, dictatorship was established in Germany.
4. Germany pulled out of the League of Nations in 1933.
5. Reoccupied the Rhineland in 1936.
6. Integrated Austria and Germany in 1938 under the slogan, "One people, One empire, and One leader".
7. Invaded Poland in September 1939. This started the Second World War.
8. In September 1940, a Tripartite Pact was signed between Germany, Italy, and Japan. They were known as the Axis powers. Allied powers included France, Britain, USA, Soviet Union, etc.
9. He attacked the Soviet Union in June 1941.
10. The Second World War ended in May 1945. Allied powers won the war.

The Nazi Worldview

1. Racial Supremacy: Hitler considered Nordic German Aryans at the top while Jews were located at the bottom.
2. Concept of Lebensraum: It means living space. Hitler believed that new territories had to be acquired for the settlement of the German people.
3. The Nazis believed in strong leadership. Hitler adopted the title Der Führer meaning ‘the leader’. Slogans like ‘Adolf Hitler is Germany, Germany is Adolf Hitler’ were common.
4. National Socialism: The Nazis criticized both capitalism and socialism but they espoused a philosophy called National Socialism.

Youth in Nazi Germany

1. Hitler felt that a strong Nazi society could be established only by teaching children Nazi ideology. He took the following steps to achieve this:
   1. Jews were dismissed from the schools.
   2. Children were segregated. Germans and Jews could not sit together. Subsequently, ‘undesirable children’- Jews, the physically handicapped, Gypsies- were thrown out of schools.
   3. School textbooks were rewritten. Racial science was introduced to justify Nazi ideas of race.
   4. Children were taught to be loyal and submissive, hate Jews, and worship Hitler.
   5. Youth organizations were made responsible for educating German youth in the ‘spirit of National Socialism’.
   6. After a period of rigorous ideological and physical training, they joined the Labour Service. Then they have to serve in the armed forces and enter one of the Nazi organizations.

Women in Nazi Germany

1. Girls were taught to become good mothers and rear pure-blooded Aryan children.
2. Girls had to maintain the purity of the race, distance themselves from Jews, look after the home, and teach their children Nazi ideology.
3. Hitler said: ‘In my state, the mother is the most important citizen’. But, in Nazi Germany, all mothers were not treated equally.
4. Women who bore racially undesirable children were punished and those who produced racially desirable children were awarded.
5. Women were encouraged to produce many children.
6. ‘Aryan’ women who deviated from the prescribed code of conduct were publicly condemned and severely punished.

The Nazi Propaganda

1. Mass killing was termed special treatment, final solution (for the Jews), euthanasia (for the disabled), selections, and disinfections.
2. “Evacuation” meant deporting people to gas chambers.
3. Media was carefully used to win support for the regime and popularize its worldview.
4. Nazi ideas were spread through visual images, films, radio, posters, catchy slogans, and leaflets.
5. Propaganda films were made to create hatred for Jews. The most infamous film was The Eternal Jew.
6. Orthodox Jews were stereotyped and marked.

Holocaust

1. The mass killing of millions of Jews by the Nazi regime is known as the Holocaust. Jews were taken to the gas chambers and were killed.