Nazism and the Rise of Hitler (G9), CBSE

RISE OF HITLER AND HIS IDEADEOLOGIES

1. NAZISM AND THE RISE OF HITLER Nazi War Crimes and Genocide Under Nazi rule, Germany waged a genocidal war aiming to exterminate “undesirable” groups. Victims: 6 million Jews 1 million Polish civilians 200 000 Gypsies 70 000 Germans with disabilities innumerable political opponents. Gas chambers (Auschwitz, Treblinka) became industrial-scale killing centres. Term “Crimes Against Humanity” was coined to describe these atrocities. Why did this happen? → Its roots lay in Germany’s humiliation after World War I.

2. Birth of the Weimar Republic End of Imperial Germany: Germany (ruled by Kaiser William II) fought WWI (1914-18) with Austria-Hungary against the Allies (UK, France, Russia). Early success → then defeat when USA joined Allies (1917). November 1918: Germany defeated; Kaiser abdicated. Weimar Republic (1919): democratic constitution, federal structure, universal adult franchise (including women). But the Republic was born amid humiliation and resentment. The Treaty of Versailles (1919) Harsh peace terms imposed by Allies: Lost 13 % territory and 10 % population. Lost 75 % iron and 26 % coal reserves. Rhineland demilitarised . Overseas colonies taken away. Paid £6 billion as reparations. War Guilt Clause : Germany alone blamed for war. People called the leaders who signed it “November Criminals.” Wounded national pride → fertile ground for Hitler’s nationalism.

3. Effects of the First World War Europe changed from creditor to debtor continent . Germany burdened by war debts and reparations. Social impact: Glorification of soldiers; masculine, militarist values rose. Political impact: People lost faith in fragile democracy → preferred strong dictators. Soldiers lived in miserable trenches amid rats, disease, gas and death. Political Radicalism and Economic Crisis (1923) Spartacist Revolt: Communist uprising inspired by Russian Revolution. Crushed by Free Corps (veterans). Communists vs Socialists → divided left wing helped Hitler later. Economic Crisis: Germany printed money to pay debts → Hyperinflation . 1 US dollar = 24 000 marks (April) → 353 000 (July) → 4.6 million (Aug) → 98,860,000 (Dec 1923). People carried cartloads of notes for a loaf of bread. France- occupied Germany’s leading industrial area- Ruhr (for coal) Dawes Plan (1924): US loans temporarily stabilised Germany.

4. The Great Depression (1929-32) Wall Street Crash (1929) in USA caused global economic collapse. Germany worst affected because its recovery depended on US loans. National income fell by half; unemployment = 6 million. Workers jobless; middle class lost savings; farmers and small traders ruined. Fear of proletarianisation (grinding into poverty) spread. People lost faith in democratic parliamentary system. Weakness of Weimar Constitution Proportional representation → no stable majority, frequent coalitions (20 cabinets in 14 years). Article 48: President could rule by decree – used liberally. Result: Political instability + loss of faith in democracy → desire for a dictator.

5. Hitler’s Rise to Power Early Life and Formation of the Nazi Party: Adolf Hitler (1889–1945): born in Austria, failed artist, served in WWI. Earned Iron Cross for bravery. Furious at Germany’s defeat and Versailles Treaty. Joined German Workers’ Party (1919) → renamed National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nazi Party) . Beer Hall Putsch (1923): attempt to seize power in Munich → failed, jailed. In prison wrote Mein Kampf (“My Struggle”): ideology of racial purity, Lebensraum, anti-Semitism, nationalism. Hitler Becomes Chancellor: During the Great Depression , Nazi propaganda promised: Employment, national unity, end of Versailles humiliation. Election performance: 1928 – 2.6 % votes; 1932 – 37 % votes (1st largest party). 30 Jan 1933: President Hindenburg appointed Hitler Chancellor. Hitler’s charisma + mass rallies + spectacle made Nazism a mass movement.

6. Establishment of Dictatorship: 30 January 1933: President Hindenburg offered the Chancellorship to Hitler. Reichstag Fire (Feb 1933): blamed on Communists. Used as pretext for emergency. Fire Decree (28 Feb 1933): suspended civil rights (freedom of speech, press, assembly). Enabling Act (Mar 1933): Hitler could rule by decree → dictatorship established. Banned other parties & trade unions; created a one-party state. Nazi security apparatus: SA (Storm Troopers), SS (Protection Squads), Gestapo (secret police), SD (Security Service). Arbitrary arrests, torture, and concentration camps terrorised citizens. Economic Reconstruction and Foreign Policy: Economist Hjalmar Schacht led economic recovery: Public works (highways, housing), employment programmes. Volkswagen (people’s car) project. Foreign policy successes: Left League of Nations (1933). Reoccupied Rhineland (1936). Annexed Austria (1938) and Sudetenland (Czechoslovakia). Slogan: “One People, One Empire, One Leader.” 1939: Invaded Poland → WWII began. Tripartite Pact (1940): Germany, Italy, Japan = Axis Powers. Defeat: Stalingrad (1943) turned the tide → Berlin fell (1945). Hitler committed suicide.

7. The Nazi Worldview and Racial State Ideological Foundations of Nazism: Racial Hierarchy: Aryans (Nordic Germans) = superior. Jews = anti-race. Slavs, Poles, Gypsies = inferiors. Social Darwinism: “Survival of the fittest” (borrowed from Charles Darwin and Herbert Spencer) misused to justify racial dominance. Lebensraum (Living Space): expand eastwards to acquire land for Germans. Believed strong races must conquer and eliminate the weak. Poland became testing ground for racial experiments. Building the Racial State Nazis aimed for a community of “pure and healthy Nordic Aryans.” Euthanasia Programme: killed mentally/physically unfit Germans. Jews, Gypsies, Blacks, Poles, Russians = “undesirables.” Jews seen as racial enemy to be eliminated. Medieval anti-Jewish prejudice revived using pseudo-science (conversion would not solve the problem; only mass elimination) 1933-38: Jews terrorised, expelled, pauperised → then mass killed in camps.

8. The Racial Utopia – Steps to Death Stage 1 – Exclusion (1933-39) Nuremberg Laws (1935): Only German blood = citizenship. Banned inter-marriage with Jews. Forbade Jews from flying German flag or holding office. Boycott of Jewish shops; synagogues burnt (“Night of Broken Glass”, 1938). Stage 2 – Ghettoisation (1940-44) Jews forced into crowded ghettos (Warsaw, Lodz). Had to wear yellow Star of David; suffered starvation and disease. Stage 3 – Annihilation (1941 onwards) “Final Solution”: mass deportation to death camps (Auschwitz, Treblinka, Belzek ). Killed in gas chambers; bodies burnt. Millions perished with “scientific precision.”

9. Youth and Women in Nazi Germany Indoctrination of Youth: Schools “cleansed” of Jewish teachers and students. Curriculum rewritten to teach Nazi ideology and racial science. Boys → trained for war (Hitler Youth). Girls → for motherhood and obedience. Mathematics & biology used to justify anti-Semitism. Youth organisations : Jungvolk (10-14 yrs) → Hitler Youth (14-18 yrs). Taught to worship Hitler and hate Jews and Communists. After 18: Labour Service → Army → Nazi organisations . Youth League of the Nazis (1922)- renamed as Hitler Youth The Nazi Cult of Motherhood Nazis rejected women’s equality. Women = bearers of race; duty to produce pure Aryan children. Girls trained in household skills and racial purity. Rewards: Honour Cross (Bronze = 4 children, Silver = 6, Gold = 8+). Women with non-Aryan relations publicly shamed or jailed. Hitler (1933): “In my State, the mother is the most important citizen.” Yet only Aryan mothers were honoured ; others punished.

10. Propaganda and Language of Control: Nazis used deceptive terminology: “Final Solution” = mass murder of Jews. “Euthanasia” = killing disabled. “Disinfection areas” = gas chambers. Media and arts: Posters, films ( The Eternal Jew ), radio shows, rallies. Jews portrayed as greedy moneylenders and diseased vermin. Nazi propaganda targeted all groups – workers, farmers, youth – promising solutions to their problems. Cultivated blind loyalty to Hitler as Führer (saviour). Ordinary People and the Holocaust Public Response to Nazism: Many Germans accepted Nazi ideas, spoke in Nazi language, reported Jews to authorities. Some resisted bravely; most were silent spectators out of fear. Pastor Martin Niemöller’s poem shows this silence: “Then they came for the Jews … there was no one left to speak for me.” For many, Nazism seemed to restore pride and jobs, masking its crimes.

11. Experiences of Jews and Holocaust Memories: Jews lived in constant fear; even internalised Nazi stereotypes. Charlotte Beradt’s book “Third Reich of Dreams” records Jewish nightmares of persecution. Holocaust = systematic mass murder of Jews during WWII. After war, survivors preserved memory through: Diaries, hidden archives (Warsaw Ghetto milk cans), memorials, museums. Jews wanted the world to remember the horrors so they are never repeated. Gandhi’s Letters to Hitler Gandhi wrote to Hitler twice (1939 & 1940): Appealed to stop war and violence. Advocated Ahimsa (non-violence) as the only lasting path. Warned that conquest by force leaves no honourable legacy. His letters represent a moral and humane contrast to Nazi barbarity.

12. KEY DATES: Year Event 1914 WWI begins 1918 Germany defeated; Kaiser abdicates 1919 Weimar Republic + Treaty of Versailles 1933 Hitler becomes Chancellor 1935 Nuremberg Laws 1939 Invasion of Poland → WWII 1941 Mass killing of Jews begins 1945 Hitler’s death & end of WWII

13. Summary – Legacy of Nazism Failure of democracy and economy enabled Hitler’s rise . Nazism combined : nationalism + racism + dictatorship + propaganda. Built a totalitarian state that controlled every aspect of life. Result: WWII and Holocaust – the greatest human tragedy. Lesson: Blind nationalism, racial hatred, and silence of society can destroy humanity.