Rise of Nazism: NBSE Class 9 Social Science Chapter 3 Answers

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Get notes, questions, solutions, textual answers, pdf, and extras for chapter 15: Rise of Nazism, which is a part of the social science class 9 syllabus for students studying under the Nagaland Board of School Education. However, these notes should be used only for references and additions/modifications should be made as per the requirements.

Introduction

The chapter Rise of Nazism gives us a glimpse of the world after the First World War which started in 1914 and ended in 1919. After the defeat in the First World War, the German people were not happy about the Weimer Republic. The Weimer Republic was a government set up in Germany after the First World War. Among the many was a young man named Adolf Hitler who wanted to bring a change in Germany and avenge the humiliation that Germany faced in the First World War. Therefore he joined a political party known as National Socialist German Workers’ Party or the Nazi party and became its leader. Through this political party, he gained control over Germany, changed the system of government and became a dictator. He started invading other countries and blamed the Jews for the defeat in World War I. He claimed that the Germans belonged to the master Aryan race and were destined to rule the world.

As he started invading other countries, more and more countries got involved in a crisis, and the whole world was plunged into war. This is known as the Second World War, which started in 1939 after Germany invaded Poland. Meanwhile, he and his party started to put the Jews in concentration camps and kill millions of them.

The Nazis were eventually defeated by the allies, which included the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and the USA. Hitler committed suicide and Germany was divided into two parts, known as East Germany and West Germany.

Textual questions and answers

Choose the correct answer

1. What was the ‘historic blunder’ committed by Hitler?

A. Invasion of Poland
B. Invasion of France
C. Invasion of Soviet Union
D. None of these

Answer: C. Invasion of Soviet Union

2. Choose the wrong pair.

A. SA – Storm Troopers
B. Gestapo – Secret State Police
C. SS – Protection Squads
D. SD – Secret Dictator

Answer: D. SD – Secret Dictator

3. Germany was finally defeated by the Allies in the Second World War in:

A. 1942
B. 1941
C. 1943
D. 1945

Answer: D. 1945

4. Which country dropped the atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

A. USSR
B. USA
C. Germany
D. UK

Answer: B. USA

5. Which world crisis is depicted by the picture given below?

A. Bank dacoity
B. Great Depression
C. World War II
D. Gold baskets

Answer: B. Great Depression

6. Consider the statements given below and choose the correct answer.

Statement I: Just before the election, the Reichstag building was set on fire.
Statement II: Nazis themselves set the building on fire to create terror and fear among the people.

A. Statement (I) is correct and (II) is incorrect
B. Statement (I) is incorrect and (II) is correct
C. Both (I) and (II) are incorrect
D. Both (I) and (II) are correct

Answer: D. Both (I) and (II) are correct

7. Arrange the following statements in sequential order based on the events that shaped Hitler’s rise to power.

(I) The Weimar Republic carried the burden of war guilt and national humiliation and was financially crippled.
(II) The Economic Depression (1929-32) quickened the crisis in Germany.
(III) People lost faith in the Democratic Parliamentary system.
(IV) The Nazis led by Hitler held out the promise of a bright future to the German people.

A. (IV), (III), (II), (I)
B. (I), (II), (III), (IV)
C. (IV), (II), (III), (I)
D. (II), (I), (III), (IV)

Answer: C. (IV), (II), (III), (I)

Very short answer type questions

1. Who was called the fuhrer?

Answer: Adolf Hitler was called the fuhrer.

2. What act gave Hitler complete power in Germany and when was this act passed?

Answer: Enabling Act of March 23, 1933, gave Hitler complete power in Germany.

3. What was the Gestapo?

Answer: Gestapo was the secret state police under the Nazi regime.

Short answer type questions

1. Why is Nazism considered a calamity not only for Germany but also for entire Europe?

Answer: Nazism is considered a calamity not only for Germany but also for the entire Europe. Entire Europe and many other countries of the world suffered huge losses by way of men and materials, just because of one man and his distorted ambitions. It was indeed one of the most horrible episodes in human history and must never be repeated.

2. What are the peculiar features of Nazi thinking?

Answer: The peculiar features of Nazi thinking were:

I. They believed that the strong should rule the world and the rest should accept their leadership.
II. Hitler preached that the Germans belonged to the master race, the Aryans while the Jews were at the lowest rung.

3. Describe the special surveillance and security forces created to control society in Nazi Germany?

Answer: Special surveillance and security forces were created to control society in Nazi Germany and order society in ways that the Nazis wanted. Apart from the already existing regular police in a green uniform and the SA or the St5rm Troopers, these included the Gestapo (secret state police), the SS (the protection squads), criminal police, and the Security Service (SD). People could now be detained in Gestapo torture chambers, rounded up and sent to concentration camps, deported at will, or arrested without any legal procedures. The police forces acquired powers to rule with impunity.

Long answer type questions

1. Discuss the crisis in Germany after the first world war?

Answer: For Germany, the peace treaty at Versailles with the Allies was harsh and humiliating. 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, Poland, Denmark, and Lithuania. It was forced to pay compensation amounting to £6 billion. The Weimer Republic carried the burden of war guilt and national humiliation and was financially crippled by being forced to pay compensation. In 1923, Germany suffered the worst inflation and it led to the loss of the value of the German currency. The German economy was worst hit by the economic crisis. By 1932, industrial production was reduced to 40 per cent of its 1929 level. The number of unemployed people swelled to 6 million. As jobs disappeared, the youth turned to criminal activities, and total despair became commonplace. The large mass of the peasantry was affected by a sharp fall in food grain prices, and big businesses were hit hard.

2. Explain Nazism, its features and its main ideas.

Answer: National Socialism or Nazism was a set of political ideologies that were associated with the Nazi party of Germany that gained control over the country in 1933 and lasted till 1945. The Nazis held out the promise of a bright future to the German people.

The main features and ideas of Nazism were:
I. Nazis did not believe in equal rights for everyone. They believed that the strong should rule the world and the rest should accept their leadership.
II. Hitler believed in racism also. Hitler Hitler preached that the Germans belonged to the master race, the Aryans. The blond, blue-eyed Nordic German Aryans were at the top, while the Jews were at the lowest rung.
III. Hitler’s racial ideology was borrowed from thinkers like Charles Darwin and Herbert Spence.
IV. Like Mussolini in Italy, Hitler justified his conquests by claiming the need for lebensraum or living space.
V. Hitler believed that the greatest enemies of the Germans were the Jews. He blamed them for all evils that had befallen Germany.

3. Describe in detail Hitler’s rise to power and its effect on Europe.

Answer: Hitler played on the bitterness of the German people for the defeat in World War I. He claimed that the German army was never defeated, it was betrayed by politicians. He promised to restore Germany’s military power and told the Germans that they were the greatest people in the world. Nazi propaganda stirred hopes of a better future. By 1932, it had become the largest party with 37 per cent votes. As soon as Hitler came to power, he set about consolidating his rule. He persuaded Hindenburg to dissolve the Reichstag and to hold another election on 5 March 1933. As a result, the Nazi Party won by an overwhelming majority in the elections. At once Hitler demanded complete power which he got by the Enabling Act of March 23, 1933. He used it to set up a Single-Party Dictatorship. With the death of Hindenburg in 1934, Hitler became the sole ruler of Germany.

Nazism is considered a calamity not only for Germany but also for the entire Europe. The entire Europe and many other countries of the world suffered huge losses by way of men and materials, just because of one man and his distorted ambitions.

4. Discuss the problems faced by the Weimar Republic. Who were called the ‘November criminals’?

Answer: The republic carried the burden of war guilt and national humiliation and was financially crippled by being forced to pay compensation. The Weimar Republic was fragile. The Weimar Constitution had some inherent defects, which made it unstable and vulnerable to dictatorship. One was proportional representation. This made achieving a majority by any one party a near-impossible task, leading to a rule by coalitions. Another defect was Article 48, which gave the President the powers to impose an emergency, suspend civil rights and rule by decree. People lost confidence in the democratic parliamentary system, which seemed to offer no solutions.

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.

Extra MCQs

1: What was the name of the democratic government established in Germany after the First World War?

A. The Berlin Republic
B. The German Federation
C. The Weimar Republic
D. The Third Reich

Answer: C. The Weimar Republic

2: The ideology that advocated for gradual societal change through democratic reforms in Europe was known as:

A. Democratic Socialism
B. Russian Communism
C. National Socialism
D. Marxism

Answer: A. Democratic Socialism

3: What was the title Adolf Hitler took as the leader of the Nazi Party?

A. Chancellor
B. President
C. Fuhrer
D. Reichstag

Answer: C. Fuhrer

4: The Enabling Act of March 1933 gave Hitler the power to:

A. Establish a constitutional monarchy
B. Sideline the parliament and rule by decree
C. Form a coalition government with the communists
D. Negotiate a new peace treaty with the Allies

Answer: B. Sideline the parliament and rule by decree

5: Which event is considered Hitler’s ‘historic blunder’ that exposed Germany to a two-front war?

A. The invasion of Poland
B. The reoccupation of the Rhineland
C. The invasion of the Soviet Union
D. The annexation of Austria

Answer: C. The invasion of the Soviet Union

6: The Nazi concept of ‘Lebensraum’ refers to:

A. The master race
B. Living space
C. Survival of the fittest
D. National purity

Answer: B. Living space

7: Which of the following was the secret state police in Nazi Germany?

A. The SA
B. The SS
C. The Gestapo
D. The SD

Answer: C. The Gestapo

8: According to the Treaty of Versailles, which resource-rich region of Germany was occupied by the Allied armies?

A. Bavaria
B. Rhineland
C. Sudetenland
D. Prussia

Answer: B. Rhineland

9: What was the name of the autobiography written by Adolf Hitler?

A. The Third Reich
B. Mein Kampf
C. The Communist Manifesto
D. The Aryan Struggle

Answer: B. Mein Kampf

10: In what year did the Great Depression begin, severely impacting the German economy?

A. 1923
B. 1933
C. 1929
D. 1919

Answer: C. 1929

11: The armed volunteers organized by the Nazi party were known as:

A. The Black Shirts
B. The Red Army
C. The Brown Shirts
D. The Protection Squads

Answer: C. The Brown Shirts

12: Who appointed Adolf Hitler as the Chancellor of Germany in January 1933?

A. Charles Darwin
B. Joseph Goebbels
C. The German Parliament
D. President von Hindenburg

Answer: D. President von Hindenburg

13: Which country’s entry into World War I in 1917 strengthened the Allies against Germany?

A. Italy
B. Japan
C. The US
D. The Soviet Union

Answer: C. The US

14: The Nazi ideology preached that which group belonged to the ‘master race’?

A. The Jews
B. The Nordic German Aryans
C. The Socialists
D. The Slavic peoples

Answer: B. The Nordic German Aryans

15: Which of the following pairs is incorrectly matched?

A. SA : Storm Troopers
B. SS : Protection Squads
C. Reichstag : German Parliament
D. SD : Secret Dictator

Answer: D. SD : Secret Dictator

16: (I) The Weimar Republic signed the harsh and humiliating Treaty of Versailles.
(II) Many Germans held the new republic responsible for the disgrace and defeat in the war.

A. I is a contradiction of II.
B. II is the cause of I.
C. I is the cause for II.
D. I is independent of II.

Answer: C. I is the cause for II.

17: Statement 1: Democratic Socialism aimed to change society gradually through democratic reforms.
Statement 2: Marxism called for immediate change and supported revolution.

A. Statement 1 is true, and Statement 2 is false.
B. Both the statements are true.
C. Statement 1 is false, and Statement 2 is true.
D. Both the statements are false.

Answer: B. Both the statements are true.

18: (I) The Nazi regime used red banners with the Swastika, the Nazi salute, and mass rallies.
(II) Hitler understood the significance of rituals and spectacle in mass mobilisation.

A. I is a contradiction of II.
B. I is an example of II.
C. I is independent of II.
D. II is the result of I.

Answer: B. I is an example of II.

19: (I) In 1923, Germany suffered from hyperinflation, leading to a loss of value in its currency.
(II) The Weimar Republic was financially crippled by being forced to pay war compensation.

A. I is independent of II.
B. II is a cause for I.
C. I is a contradiction of II.
D. I is the cause for II.

Answer: B. II is a cause for I.

20: Statement 1: The Weimar Constitution included Article 48, which gave the President emergency powers.
Statement 2: The political system of the Weimar Republic was considered stable and invulnerable to dictatorship.

A. Statement 1 is true, but statement 2 is false.
B. Statement 1 is false, but statement 2 is true.
C. Both the statements are true.
D. Both the statements are false.

Answer: A. Statement 1 is true, but statement 2 is false.

21: (I) During the Great Depression, millions of Germans were thrown out of jobs and businesses closed down.
(II) Nazism became a mass movement, stirring hopes of a better future.

A. I is the result of II.
B. I is independent of II.
C. I is a contradiction of II.
D. I is a cause for II.

Answer: D. I is a cause for II.

22: Arrange the following events in the correct chronological order:

(i) The Great Depression begins.
(ii) The Weimar Republic is established.
(iii) Hitler is appointed Chancellor of Germany.
(iv) The Nazi Party wins its first significant number of seats (107) in an election.

A. (ii) → (i) → (iv) → (iii)
B. (i) → (ii) → (iii) → (iv)
C. (ii) → (iv) → (i) → (iii)
D. (iv) → (ii) → (i) → (iii)

Answer: A. (ii) → (i) → (iv) → (iii)

23: Select the option that lists the events of the Second World War in the correct order.

(i) Germany invades Poland.
(ii) The USA enters the war after the attack on Pearl Harbour.
(iii) Germany invades the Soviet Union.
(iv) A Tripartite Pact is signed between Germany, Italy, and Japan.

A. (i) → (iv) → (iii) → (ii)
B. (i) → (ii) → (iii) → (iv)
C. (iv) → (i) → (iii) → (ii)
D. (ii) → (i) → (iv) → (iii)

Answer: A. (i) → (iv) → (iii) → (ii)

24: Arrange these steps of Hitler’s consolidation of power in the correct sequence:

(i) The Reichstag building is set on fire.
(ii) The Enabling Act is passed, giving Hitler dictatorial power.
(iii) Hitler is appointed Chancellor by President Hindenburg.
(iv) President Hindenburg dies, and Hitler becomes the sole ruler.

A. (iii) → (ii) → (i) → (iv)
B. (i) → (iii) → (iv) → (ii)
C. (iii) → (i) → (ii) → (iv)
D. (i) → (iv) → (iii) → (ii)

Answer: C. (iii) → (i) → (ii) → (iv)

25: Consider the following events in Hitler’s foreign policy. Choose the correct chronological order.

(i) Reoccupation of the Rhineland.
(ii) Integration of Austria and Germany.
(iii) Withdrawal from the League of Nations.
(iv) Invasion of Poland.

A. (iii) → (i) → (ii) → (iv)
B. (i) → (iii) → (ii) → (iv)
C. (iii) → (ii) → (i) → (iv)
D. (ii) → (i) → (iv) → (iii)

Answer: A. (iii) → (i) → (ii) → (iv)

26: Arrange the following statements in sequential order based on the events that shaped Hitler’s rise to power.

(I) The Weimar Republic carried the burden of war guilt and national humiliation.
(II) The Economic Depression (1929–32) quickened the crisis in Germany.
(III) People lost faith in the Democratic Parliamentary system.
(IV) The Nazis led by Hitler held out the promise of a bright future to the German people.

A. (IV), (III), (II), (I)
B. (I), (II), (III), (IV)
C. (IV), (II), (III), (I)
D. (II), (I), (III), (IV)

Answer: B. (I), (II), (III), (IV)

Extra questions and answers

1. What was the direct result of the Communist Manifesto of 1848?

Answer: The direct result of the Communist Manifesto of 1848 was that a new ideology was adopted by European countries, and it led to many western and central European countries reforming their system.

2. What reforms did European countries introduce after the Russian Revolution?

Answer: European countries introduced labour unions, a free press, liberal reform legislation and the right to vote, which improved the conditions of the working people.

3. What was known as Democratic Socialism?

Answer: The western and central European countries shunned revolution and tried to change society gradually by making democratic reforms. This was known as Democratic Socialism.

4. How did Marxists want to bring about change in society?

Answer: Marxists supported revolution and called for immediate change. They wanted a complete establishment of socialism and were prepared to use all means of violent revolution, such as strikes and industrial sabotage, to obtain their goal of removing the existing society and replacing it with a new order.

5. Who fought against the Allies in the First World War?

Answer: Germany, alongside the Austrian empire, fought against the Allies in the First World War.

6. When did the US enter the First World War?

Answer: The US entered the First World War in 1917.

7. Where did the National Assembly meet to establish a democratic constitution?

Answer: A National Assembly met at Weimar to establish a democratic constitution with a federal structure.

8. What was the basis for electing deputies to the German Parliament?

Answer: Deputies were elected to the German Parliament, or Reichstag, on the basis of equal and universal votes cast by all adults, including women.

9. What was the War Guilt Clause in the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer: The War Guilt Clause held Germany responsible for the war and the damages the Allied countries suffered.

10. How much compensation was Germany forced to pay after WWI?

Answer: Germany was forced to pay compensation amounting to £6 billion.

11. Which resource-rich area of Germany did the Allied armies occupy?

Answer: The Allied armies occupied the resource-rich Rhineland for much of the 1920s.

12. What happened to the German currency in 1923?

Answer: In 1923, Germany suffered the worst inflation, which led to the loss of value of the German currency.

13. What major event caused a setback to Germany’s economic recovery?

Answer: Germany’s economic recovery received a setback due to the Great Depression of 1929.

14. By 1932, to what level was German industrial production reduced?

Answer: By 1932, German industrial production was reduced to 40 per cent of the 1929 level.

15. What was one inherent defect of the Weimar Constitution?

Answer: One inherent defect of the Weimar Constitution was proportional representation, which made achieving a majority by any one party a near-impossible task, leading to rule by coalitions.

16. What power did Article 48 give to the President?

Answer: Article 48 gave the President the powers to impose an emergency, suspend civil rights, and rule by decree.

17. What party was led by Adolf Hitler from 1921-1945?

Answer: The party led by Adolf Hitler from 1921-1945 was the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, also known as the Nazi Party.

18. What was the full name of the Nazi Party?

Answer: The full name of the Nazi Party was the National Socialist German Workers’ Party.

19. When did Hitler join an uprising in Munich?

Answer: Hitler joined an uprising in Munich in 1923.

20. What is the title of Hitler’s autobiography?

Answer: The title of Hitler’s autobiography is Mein Kampf, which means ‘My Struggle’.

21. What did Hitler reveal in his book Mein Kampf?

Answer: In his book Mein Kampf, Hitler poured out his hatred for democracy, Marxism, and the Jews. He also revealed his bitterness over the German surrender in World War I.

22. When did the Nazi party first win a significant number of seats?

Answer: The turning point in Hitler’s career came in 1930, when the Nazis won 107 seats.

23. What did Hitler claim about the German army’s defeat in WWI?

Answer: Hitler claimed that the German army was never defeated; it was betrayed by politicians.

24. What was the emblem of the Nazi Party?

Answer: The emblem of the Nazi Party was the Swastika.

25. What were the armed volunteers of the Nazi party called?

Answer: The armed volunteers of the Nazi party were called the Brown Shirts.

26. When did Hindenburg appoint Hitler as Chancellor of Germany?

Answer: Hindenburg appointed Hitler as Chancellor of Germany on 30 January 1933.

27. What was the Fire Decree of 28 February 1933?

Answer: The Fire Decree of 28 February 1933 indefinitely suspended civil rights like freedom of speech, press, and assembly.

28. When did Hitler become the sole ruler of Germany?

Answer: With the death of Hindenburg in 1934, Hitler became the sole ruler of Germany.

29. Name the security forces created by the Nazis.

Answer: The special surveillance and security forces created by the Nazis included the Gestapo (secret state police), the SS (the protection squads), criminal police, and the Security Service (SD).

30. What was the Nazi slogan for their monolithic state?

Answer: The Nazi slogan for their monolithic state was “One People, One Reich, One Fuhrer!”.

31. When did Hitler pull Germany out of the League of Nations?

Answer: Hitler pulled Germany out of the League of Nations in 1933.

32. Which countries signed the Tripartite Pact in September 1940?

Answer: The Tripartite Pact was signed between Germany, Italy, and Japan in September 1940.

33. When did Hitler attack the Soviet Union?

Answer: Hitler attacked the Soviet Union in June 1941.

34. What was the result of the Battle of Stalingrad for Germany?

Answer: The Soviet Red Army inflicted a crushing and humiliating defeat on Germany at Stalingrad.

35. What event led to the US entering the Second World War?

Answer: When Japan extended its support to Hitler and bombed the US base at Pearl Harbour, the US entered the Second World War.

36. Name two of Hitler’s concentration camps mentioned.

Answer: Two of Hitler’s concentration camps mentioned are Auschwitz and Dachau.

37. What is the Reichstag?

Answer: The Reichstag is the German Parliament.

38. What were extermination camps?

Answer: Extermination camps were camps where millions of Jews were killed in a horrible manner.

39. What was the new ideology adopted by European countries after the Russian Revolution?

Answer: A new ideology known as Democratic Socialism was adopted by European countries after the Russian Revolution. This was the direct result of the Communist Manifesto of 1848.

40. How did Democratic Socialism differ from Marxism regarding revolution and change?

Answer: The differences between Democratic Socialism and Marxism regarding revolution and change are as follows:

41. What liberal ideas did Democratic Socialists accept?

Answer: Democratic Socialists accepted liberal ideas and were committed to a constitutional government.

42. What methods were Russian Communists prepared to use to achieve their goals?

Answer: Russian Communists were prepared to use all means of violent revolution — strikes, Industrial sabotage — to obtain their goal of removing the existing society and replacing it with a new order.

43. Why was the Weimar Republic not well received by its own people?

Answer: The Weimar Republic was not received well by its own people largely because of the terms it was forced to accept after Germany’s defeat at the end of the First World War. The peace treaty at Versailles with the Allies was a harsh and humiliating peace.

44. What territorial and resource losses did Germany suffer under the Versailles Treaty?

Answer: Under the Versailles Treaty, 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.

45. Why was the infant Weimar Republic financially crippled?

Answer: The infant Weimar Republic was financially crippled because it was being made to pay for the sins of the old empire. The republic carried the burden of war guilt and national humiliation and was forced to pay compensation amounting to £6 billion.

46. What was the impact of the Great Depression on Germany?

Answer: The Great Depression (1929) was a setback for Germany’s economic recovery. Millions of Germans were thrown out of jobs, and foreign investors and German businessmen closed their companies. The German economy was worst hit by the economic crisis. By 1932, industrial production was reduced to 40 per cent of the 1929 level, and the number of unemployed swelled to 6 million people. As jobs disappeared, the youth took to criminal activities, and total despair became commonplace. The large mass of peasantry was affected by a sharp fall in foodgrains prices, and big business was hit hard.

47. How did proportional representation make the Weimar Republic politically fragile?

Answer: Proportional representation was a defect in the Weimar Constitution that made the republic politically fragile. This system made achieving a majority by any one party a near impossible task, leading to a rule by coalitions, which made the republic unstable and vulnerable to dictatorship.

48. What promises did the Nazis hold out to the German people?

Answer: The Nazis held out the promise of a bright future to the German people.

49. What was Hitler’s early life like before he became the Fuhrer?

Answer: Hitler was an Austrian by birth, and his early life was full of struggle. In 1914, he drifted to Munich and enlisted in the Bavarian regiment. At the end of the war, Hitler joined a struggling group called the National Socialist German Workers’ Party and soon became its leader, or Fuhrer.

50. How did Hitler use his imprisonment to his advantage?

Answer: After joining an uprising in Munich in 1923, Hitler was imprisoned for nine months. There, at the age of 35, he wrote Mein Kampf — My Struggle — a long autobiographical book into which he poured out his hatred for democracy, Marxism and the Jews. He also revealed his bitterness over German surrender in World War I.

51. How did Hitler play on the bitterness of the German people?

Answer: Hitler played on the bitterness of the German people for the defeat in World War I. He claimed that the German army was never defeated but was betrayed by politicians. Thus, he appealed to German nationalism and won the support of the German army.

52. What promises did Hitler make to restore Germany’s power and pride?

Answer: Hitler promised to restore Germany’s military power and told the Germans that they were the greatest people in the world. He promised to build a strong nation, undo the injustice of the Versailles Treaty, and restore the dignity of the German people. He also promised employment to the unemployed millions, a secure future for all, and to weed out all foreign influences and resist foreign conspiracies against Germany.

53. How did Hitler and his party glorify war and violence?

Answer: Hitler and his party glorified war. According to them, only violence could destroy enemies abroad and political rivals at home. The Nazis organised themselves as gangs of armed volunteers called the Brown Shirts and resorted to beating and murdering anti-Fascists and Jews.

54. How did the Great Depression help Nazism become a mass movement?

Answer: It was during the Great Depression that Nazism became a mass movement. After 1929, banks collapsed, businesses shut down, workers lost their jobs, and the middle classes were threatened with destitution. In such a situation, Nazi propaganda stirred hopes of a better future. By 1932, the Nazi party had become the largest party with 37 per cent of the votes.

55. Why did right-wing politicians and industrialists support Hitler?

Answer: The politicians of the right-wing parties, the industrialists, and the big landowners of Germany supported Hitler because they believed only he could save them from the communists. His party was also the only party that had mass support.

56. How did Hitler use rituals and spectacle in mass mobilisation?

Answer: Hitler devised a new style of politics and understood the significance of rituals and spectacle in mass mobilisation. Nazis held massive rallies and public meetings to demonstrate support for Hitler and instil mass hysteria among the people. The Red banners with the Swastika, the Nazi salute, and the ritualised rounds of applause after the speeches were all part of this spectacle of power.

57. What was the Nazi belief about equal rights and leadership?

Answer: Nazis did not believe in equal rights for everyone. They believed that the strong should rule the world and the rest should accept their leadership.

58. Explain the Nazi ideology of racism and the master race.

Answer: Nazis believed in racism. Hitler preached that the Germans belonged to the master race, the Aryans. The blond, blue-eyed Nordic German Aryans were at the top, while the Jews were at the lowest rung. The other races were positioned between the Aryan Germans and the Jews. As the strongest race, the Aryans must dominate the weak and preserve their purity.

59. From which thinkers did Hitler borrow his racial ideology?

Answer: Hitler’s racial ideology was borrowed from thinkers like Charles Darwin (evolution and natural selection) and Herbert Spencer (survival of the fittest). Their ideas were used by Hitler to justify his treatment of various races.

60. What was the Nazi concept of Lebensraum or living space?

Answer: The Nazi concept of Lebensraum, or living space, was an aspect of Nazi ideology. Hitler, like Mussolini in Italy, justified his conquests by claiming a need for lebensraum or living space.

61. How did Hitler use the Reichstag fire to consolidate his power?

Answer: On 27 February 1933, the Reichstag building was set on fire. This event gave Hitler an excuse to blame the communists. The Fire Decree of 28 February 1933 indefinitely suspended civil rights like freedom of speech, press, and assembly. His arch-enemies, the communists, were packed off to newly established concentration camps. As a result, the Nazi Party won by an overwhelming majority in the elections, which helped Hitler consolidate his power.

62. What powers did the Enabling Act of March 23, 1933 give Hitler?

Answer: The Enabling Act of March 23, 1933, gave Hitler complete power to do anything necessary to secure the safety of the country. It gave him all powers to sideline the parliament and rule by decree, which he used to set up a Single-Party Dictatorship.

63. How did the Nazi state establish complete control over the country?

Answer: The Nazi state established complete control by banning all political parties and trade unions except the Nazi Party and its affiliates. The state established complete control over the economy, media, army, and judiciary. Special surveillance and security forces were created to control and order society, including the Gestapo (secret state police), the SS (the protection squads), criminal police, and the Security Service (SD).

64. What was life like in the ‘Third Reich’?

Answer: In the ‘Third Reich’, censorship, spying, concentration and extermination camps became the order of the day. The state tolerated no independent criticism in newspapers or public speeches and there was no freedom of press, radio, universities, or schools. The Nazi state did not recognise personal rights or the safety of the individual. The regime was not a government by consent, but by coercion, and National Socialism became a by-word for cruelty.

65. What were Hitler’s initial foreign policy successes?

Answer: In foreign policy, Hitler acquired quick successes. 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. He then went on to wrest German-speaking Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia and gobbled up the entire country.

66. How did the invasion of the Soviet Union become a historic blunder?

Answer: The invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 was a historic blunder because Hitler exposed the German western front to British aerial bombing and the eastern front to the powerful Soviet armies. The Soviet Red Army inflicted a crushing and humiliating defeat on Germany at Stalingrad and then hounded out the retreating German soldiers until they reached Berlin.

67. What led to the partition of Germany after the Second World War?

Answer: After the war, Germany was partitioned into East and West Germany. The eastern part became a Russian satellite and followed the Russian model of a state-controlled economy.

68. How was Nazism a negation of democratic and socialist values?

Answer: Nazism under Hitler was a complete negation of the democratic liberal values taught by the French Revolution. It also negated socialism, the welfare of the workers, and the poor brought about by the Russian Revolution.

69. What were concentration camps?

Answer: Concentration camps were prisons where thousands of Jews were kept without trial and under terrible conditions.

70. Explain the key differences between Democratic Socialism and Marxism.

Answer: The key differences between Democratic Socialism and Marxism are as follows:

71. Describe the harsh and humiliating terms of the Treaty of Versailles.

Answer: 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. The War Guilt Clause held Germany responsible for the war and damages the Allied countries suffered. Germany was forced to pay compensation amounting to £6 billion. The Allied armies also occupied the resource-rich Rhineland for much of the 1920s.

72. Why were the supporters of the Weimar Republic called ‘November criminals’?

Answer: Many Germans held the new Weimar Republic responsible for not only the defeat in the war but the disgrace at Versailles. 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’.

73. Describe the economic crises that Germany faced between 1923 and 1932.

Answer: In 1923, Germany suffered the worst inflation, which led to the loss of value of the German currency. After a period of rapid economic recovery, Germany received a setback due to the Great Depression of 1929. Millions of Germans were thrown out of jobs, and foreign investors and German businessmen closed their companies.

The German economy was worst hit by the economic crisis. By 1932, industrial production was reduced to 40 per cent of the 1929 level. The number of unemployed swelled to 6 million people. As jobs disappeared, the youth took to criminal activities and total despair became commonplace. The large mass of peasantry was affected by a sharp fall in foodgrains prices and big business was hit hard.

74. What were the inherent defects in the Weimar Constitution? How did they contribute to its instability?

Answer: The Weimar Constitution had some inherent defects which made it unstable and vulnerable to dictatorship. One defect was proportional representation, which made achieving a majority by any one party a near impossible task, leading to a rule by coalitions. Another defect was Article 48, which gave the President the powers to impose emergency, suspend civil rights and rule by decree.

These defects contributed to its instability. Within its short life, the Weimar Republic saw twenty different cabinets lasting on an average 239 days, and a liberal use of Article 48. Yet the crisis could not be managed, and people lost confidence in the democratic parliamentary system, which seemed to offer no solutions.

75. Trace the key events in Hitler’s rise from a struggling individual to the Fuhrer.

Answer: Hitler was an Austrian by birth and his early life was full of struggle. In 1914, he drifted to Munich and enlisted in the Bavarian regiment. At the end of the war, Hitler joined a struggling group called the National Socialist German Workers’ Party and soon became its leader, or Fuhrer. In 1923, he joined an uprising in Munich and was imprisoned for nine months, during which he wrote Mein Kampf.

Upon his release, Hitler continued his agitation, but his Nazi Party won only 14 seats in the December 1924 elections. The turning point came in 1930 when the Nazis won 107 seats, becoming the second largest party. During the Great Depression, Nazism became a mass movement, and by 1932, it had become the largest party with 37 per cent of the votes. President Hindenburg appointed Hitler as Chancellor on 30 January 1933. When Hindenburg died in August 1934, Hitler became President and made himself the supreme ruler of Germany.

76. How did Hitler use propaganda and appeal to German nationalism to gain support?

Answer: Hitler played on the bitterness of the German people for the defeat in World War I. He claimed that the German army was never defeated but was betrayed by politicians. Thus, he appealed to German nationalism and won the support of the German army. He promised to restore Germany’s military power and told the Germans that they were the greatest people in the world. He also promised to build a strong nation, undo the injustice of the Versailles Treaty and restore the dignity of the German people.

Nazi propaganda stirred hopes of a better future. Hitler devised a new style of politics, utilising the significance of rituals and spectacle in mass mobilisation. Nazis held massive rallies and public meetings to demonstrate support for Hitler and instil mass hysteria among the people. The Red banners with the Swastika, the Nazi salute and the ritualised rounds of applause after the speeches were all part of this spectacle of power.

77. Describe the methods and organisation of the Nazi Party, including the Brown Shirts.

Answer: Hitler and his party glorified war, believing that only violence could destroy enemies abroad and political rivals at home. The emblem of the Nazi Party was the Swastika, and members greeted each other with “Heil Hitler!”. The Nazis organised themselves as gangs of armed volunteers called the Brown Shirts. They resorted to beating and murdering anti-Fascists and Jews. By 1930, there were 100,000 Brown Shirts.

78. How did Hitler’s powerful speaking and promises win him mass support by 1932?

Answer: Hitler was a powerful speaker whose passion and speech stirred people. He made several promises that appealed to the masses. He promised to build a strong nation, undo the injustice of the Versailles Treaty and restore the dignity of the German people. He also promised employment to the unemployed millions and a secure future for all. Furthermore, he promised to weed out all foreign influences and resist foreign conspiracies against Germany. As a result of his powerful speaking and these promises, by 1932, his party had become the largest party with 37 per cent of the votes, polling over 13.7 million votes.

79. Explain the key tenets of Nazi ideology, including racism and Social Darwinism.

Answer: The key tenets of Nazi ideology are:

• Nazis, like the Fascists in Italy, did not believe in equal rights for everyone. They believed that the strong should rule the world and the rest should accept their leadership.
• Nazis believed in racism. Hitler preached that the Germans belonged to the master race, the Aryans. The blond, blue-eyed Nordic German Aryans were at the top, while the Jews were at the lowest rung. As the strongest race, the Aryans must dominate the weak and preserve their purity.
• Hitler’s racial ideology was borrowed from thinkers like Charles Darwin (evolution and natural selection) and Herbert Spencer (survival of the fittest). The Nazi argument was simple: the strongest race would survive and the weak ones would perish. The Aryan race was the finest and had to retain its purity, become stronger and dominate the world.
• Another aspect of Nazi ideology was related to the concept of Lebensraum or living space. Hitler justified his conquests by claiming need for lebensraum or living space.

80. Why did Hitler consider the Jews to be the greatest enemies of the Germans?

Answer: Hitler believed that the greatest enemies of the Germans were the Jews. He blamed them for all evils that had befallen Germany. He accused the Jews of siding with the communists and socialist parties in getting German people against each other. Jews had great financial power, which, according to Hitler, was accumulated by cheating the common people.

81. Describe the steps Hitler took to become a dictator after being appointed Chancellor.

Answer: As soon as Hitler came to power, he set about consolidating his rule. On 27 February 1933, the Reichstag building was set on fire, which the Nazis used to create terror. The Fire Decree of 28 February 1933 indefinitely suspended civil rights like freedom of speech, press and assembly. His arch-enemies, the communists, were packed off to concentration camps. After the Nazi Party won an overwhelming majority in the elections, Hitler demanded complete power, which he got through the Enabling Act of March 23, 1933. He used this act to set up a Single-Party Dictatorship, giving him all powers to sideline the parliament and rule by decree. All political parties and trade unions were banned except the Nazi Party. With the death of Hindenburg in 1934, Hitler became the sole ruler of Germany.

82. How did the Nazi state use surveillance and security forces to control society?

Answer: Special surveillance and security forces were created to control and order society in ways that the Nazis wanted. Apart from the regular police and the SA or Storm Troopers, these included the Gestapo (secret state police), the SS (the protection squads), criminal police and the Security Service (SD). The extra-constitutional powers of these newly organised forces gave the Nazi state its reputation as the most dreaded criminal state. People could be detained in Gestapo torture chambers, rounded up and sent to concentration camps, deported at will or arrested without any legal procedures. These police forces acquired powers to rule with impunity.

83. What was the impact of Nazism on political parties and civil rights in Germany?

Answer: As dictator, Hitler suppressed all other political parties and trade unions; they were banned except for the Nazi Party and its affiliates. He made his party members hold all key positions in the government, including the police.

Civil rights were indefinitely suspended. There was no freedom of press, radio, universities, or schools. The Nazi state did not recognise the personal rights or safety of the individual. Censorship, spying, concentration and extermination camps became the order of the day.

84. Describe Hitler’s foreign policy actions from 1933 to the invasion of Poland.

Answer: In foreign policy, Hitler acquired quick successes. 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. He then went on to wrest German-speaking Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia and gobbled up the entire country. In all of this, he had the unspoken support of England, which had considered the Versailles verdict too harsh.

85. Explain the consequences of Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union.

Answer: Hitler attacked the Soviet Union 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. The Soviet Red Army inflicted a crushing and humiliating defeat on Germany at Stalingrad. After this, the Soviet Red Army hounded out the retreating German soldiers until they reached the heart of Berlin, establishing Soviet hegemony over the entire Eastern Europe for half a century thereafter.

86. How did the Second World War end? What was its immediate aftermath for Germany?

Answer: When Japan extended its support to Hitler and bombed the US base at Pearl Harbour, the US entered the Second World War. The war ended in May 1945 with Hitler’s defeat and the US dropping of the atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan.

The immediate aftermath for Germany was that the country was partitioned after the war into East and West Germany, and the eastern part became a Russian satellite. Families were divided through the Berlin Wall. Eastern Germany followed the Russian model of a state-controlled economy and lagged far behind West Germany.

87. Discuss the political and economic crises in Germany that paved the way for the rise of Nazism.

Answer: The political and economic crises in Germany after the First World War created an environment where Nazism could rise.

Politically, the Weimar Republic was not well received by its own people, largely because it was forced to accept the harsh and humiliating peace treaty at Versailles. Many Germans held the new republic responsible for not only the defeat in the war but also the disgrace at Versailles. Supporters of the Weimar Republic, mainly Socialists, Catholics and Democrats, were mockingly called the ‘November criminals’. The republic was fragile, and its constitution had inherent defects. One was proportional representation, which made achieving a majority by any one party nearly impossible, leading to unstable coalition governments. Another defect was Article 48, which gave the President the power to impose an emergency, suspend civil rights, and rule by decree. Within its short life, the Weimar Republic saw twenty different cabinets, and people lost confidence in the democratic parliamentary system which seemed to offer no solutions.

Economically, the infant Weimar Republic was made to pay for the sins of the old empire. It carried the burden of war guilt and national humiliation and was financially crippled by being forced to pay compensation amounting to £6 billion. The Allied armies also occupied the resource-rich Rhineland. In 1923, Germany suffered the worst inflation, which led to the loss of value of the German currency. Although Germany made a rapid economic recovery, it received a setback due to the Great Depression of 1929. The German economy was the worst hit by this crisis. Millions of Germans were thrown out of jobs, and by 1932, industrial production was reduced to 40 per cent of the 1929 level. The number of unemployed swelled to 6 million people. As jobs disappeared, the youth took to criminal activities, and total despair became commonplace. The peasantry was affected by a sharp fall in foodgrains prices, and big business was hit hard. In this situation of untold miseries, the Nazis held out the promise of a bright future, and their propaganda stirred hopes, paving the way for their rise to power.

88. “The Weimar Republic was being made to pay for the sins of the old empire.” Elaborate on this statement.

Answer: The statement that “the Weimar Republic was being made to pay for the sins of the old empire” means that the newly formed democratic government had to bear the consequences of the actions taken by the previous imperial regime of Germany.

The defeat of Imperial Germany in the First World War and the abdication of the emperor led to the establishment of the Weimar Republic. However, this new republic was immediately burdened with the legacy of the war fought by the old empire. The peace treaty at Versailles with the Allies was harsh and humiliating. The War Guilt Clause held Germany responsible for the war and the damages suffered by the Allied countries. Consequently, the republic was forced to pay compensation amounting to £6 billion. It also 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. The Allied Powers also demilitarised Germany to weaken its power.

Thus, the infant Weimar Republic carried the burden of war guilt and national humiliation and was financially crippled by having to pay compensation for a war it did not start. These “sins” of the old empire made the republic unpopular with its own people and created severe economic and political instability from its very beginning.

89. Trace the journey of the Nazi party from a small group to the largest party in Germany. What factors contributed to this growth?

Answer: The journey of the Nazi party from a small group to the largest in Germany was marked by key events and fueled by the country’s crises. At the end of the First World War, Hitler joined a struggling group called the National Socialist German Workers’ Party and soon became its leader, or Fuhrer. In 1923, he joined an uprising in Munich and was imprisoned. After his release, the Nazi Party’s success was limited; it won only 14 seats in the December 1924 elections. The turning point came in 1930, when the Nazis won 107 seats, becoming the second largest party in Germany. By 1932, it had become the largest party with 37 per cent of the votes. In the elections of 1932, Hitler’s party emerged as the single largest party, polling over 13.7 million votes.

Several factors contributed to this rapid growth. The Great Depression was a major catalyst, as it was during this time that Nazism became a mass movement. After 1929, banks collapsed, businesses shut down, workers lost their jobs, and the middle classes were threatened with destitution. In such a situation, Nazi propaganda stirred hopes of a better future. Hitler was a powerful speaker whose passion stirred people. He played on the bitterness of the German people over the defeat in World War I, claiming the army was betrayed by politicians. He appealed to German nationalism and promised to restore Germany’s military power. He promised to build a strong nation, undo the injustice of the Versailles Treaty, restore the dignity of the German people, provide employment for the unemployed, and weed out all foreign influences. The party found support from the middle class, right-wing parties, industrialists, and big landowners who saw Hitler as a saviour from the communists. His party was the only one that had mass support.

90. Describe in detail Hitler’s ‘new style of politics’. How did he use spectacle and propaganda to mobilize the masses?

Answer: Hitler devised a new style of politics where he understood and utilised the significance of rituals and spectacle in mass mobilisation. This style was designed to create an emotional connection with the people and bypass rational thought.

He used spectacle to demonstrate support and create a sense of overwhelming power. The Nazis held massive rallies and public meetings to demonstrate the support for Hitler and instil mass hysteria among the people. These events were carefully choreographed for maximum impact. The Red banners with the Swastika, the Nazi salute, and the ritualised rounds of applause after the speeches were all part of this spectacle of power. Hitler’s public speeches were delivered with dramatic gestures and rising intensity, which induced in his audiences a sort of hysteria that overwhelmed the critical faculties of most of his listeners.

Propaganda was central to his method. Nazi propaganda stirred hopes of a better future in a time of economic despair. Hitler, a powerful speaker, made promises that resonated deeply with the German people. He promised to build a strong nation, undo the injustice of the Versailles Treaty, restore the dignity of the German people, provide employment to the unemployed millions, and create a secure future for all. He promised to weed out all foreign influences and resist foreign conspiracies against Germany. This combination of grand spectacles, emotional speeches, and appealing promises was highly effective in mobilizing the masses and building a large following.

91. Explain the core principles of Nazi ideology. How did these ideas justify Nazi actions and policies?

Answer: The core principles of Nazi ideology were based on ideas of racial hierarchy, authoritarianism, and expansionism. These beliefs formed the foundation for their actions and policies.

The main principles were:

• Inequality of Rights: Nazis did not believe in equal rights for everyone. They believed that the strong should rule the world and the rest should accept their leadership.
• Racism and the Master Race: Nazis believed in racism. Hitler preached that the Germans belonged to the master race, the Aryans. He placed the blond, blue-eyed Nordic German Aryans at the top of the racial hierarchy, while the Jews were at the lowest rung. Other races were positioned in between. The Aryans, as the strongest race, were meant to dominate the weak and preserve their purity.
• Social Darwinism: Hitler’s racial ideology was borrowed from thinkers like Charles Darwin and Herbert Spencer, specifically the ideas of natural selection and ‘survival of the fittest’. The Nazi argument was simple: the strongest race would survive and the weak ones would perish. The Aryan race was considered the finest and had to retain its purity, become stronger, and dominate the world.
• Lebensraum: Another key concept was Lebensraum, or living space. Hitler, like Mussolini in Italy, justified his conquests by claiming the need for more territory for the German people.
• Anti-Semitism: Hitler believed that the greatest enemies of the Germans were the Jews. He blamed them for all the evils that had befallen Germany and accused them of siding with communists and socialists. He claimed that the Jews had accumulated great financial power by cheating the common people.

These ideas were used to justify Nazi actions and policies. The ideology of a master race and ‘survival of the fittest’ was used by Hitler to justify his treatment of various races, particularly the persecution of Jews. The concept of Lebensraum was used to justify military conquests and the expansion of German territory. Blaming the Jews for Germany’s problems provided a scapegoat and justified the systematic discrimination, robbery, and violence committed against them.

92. Detail the process through which Hitler dismantled democracy and established a dictatorship in Germany between 1933 and 1934.

Answer: Hitler systematically dismantled democracy and established a dictatorship in Germany through a series of calculated steps between 1933 and 1934.

The process began when President Hindenburg appointed Hitler as Chancellor on 30 January 1933. As soon as he came to power, he persuaded Hindenburg to dissolve the Reichstag and hold another election on 5 March 1933. Six days before the election, on 27 February 1933, the Reichstag building was set on fire. It is believed that the Nazis themselves set the fire to create terror and fear among the voters and to blame their political opponents.

This event was used as a pretext for the Fire Decree of 28 February 1933, which indefinitely suspended civil rights like freedom of speech, press, and assembly. This allowed the Nazis to round up their arch-enemies, the communists, and send them to concentration camps. As a result of these tactics, the Nazi Party won by an overwhelming majority in the elections.

Immediately after, Hitler demanded complete power to secure the safety of the country. He achieved this through the Enabling Act of March 23, 1933. This act gave Hitler all powers to sideline the parliament and rule by decree. He used it to set up a Single-Party Dictatorship. All political parties and trade unions were banned except the Nazi Party and its affiliates. The state established complete control over the economy, media, army, and judiciary.

The final step in consolidating his dictatorship came with the death of President Hindenburg in August 1934. After Hindenburg’s death, Hitler became President and made himself the supreme ruler of Germany, becoming the sole ruler and completing the transition to a total dictatorship.

93. Describe the structure of the Nazi state, focusing on its control over society, the economy, and the use of terror.

Answer: The Nazi state was a totalitarian regime that exercised complete control over all aspects of life through a combination of legal measures, propaganda, and brutal force.

The state established complete control over society by banning all political parties and trade unions except the Nazi Party and its affiliates. It followed the monolithic principle of ‘One People, One Reich, One Fuhrer’. There was no freedom of the press, radio, universities, or schools, and the Third Reich tolerated no independent criticism. The Nazi state did not recognise personal rights or the safety of the individual.

The state also established complete control over the economy, media, army, and judiciary, ensuring that all institutions served the Nazi agenda.

The use of terror was central to maintaining control. Special surveillance and security forces were created to control and order society in ways that the Nazis wanted. Apart from the regular police and the SA (Storm Troopers), these included the Gestapo (secret state police), the SS (the protection squads), the criminal police, and the Security Service (SD). These newly organised forces were given extra-constitutional powers, which gave the Nazi state its reputation as the most dreaded criminal state. People could be detained in Gestapo torture chambers, rounded up and sent to concentration camps, deported at will, or arrested without any legal procedures. The police forces acquired powers to rule with impunity. Censorship, spying, concentration camps, and extermination camps became the order of the day. The regime was not based on consent but on coercion, and National Socialism became a by-word for cruelty.

94. Analyse Hitler’s foreign policy and military aggressions that led to the outbreak of the Second World War.

Answer: Hitler’s foreign policy was initially marked by a series of quick successes that aimed to dismantle the Treaty of Versailles and restore Germany’s power, which eventually escalated into military aggressions that started the Second World War.

In foreign policy, Hitler acquired quick successes. 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’. He then went on to wrest German-speaking Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia and subsequently gobbled up the entire country. During these actions, he had the unspoken support of England, which had considered the Versailles verdict too harsh. These successes at home and abroad seemed to reverse the destiny of the country.

These actions soon turned into outright military aggression. In September 1939, Germany invaded Poland. This act started a war with France and England, marking the beginning of the Second World War. To strengthen his position, Hitler signed a Tripartite Pact with Italy and Japan in September 1940. By the end of 1940, Hitler was at the pinnacle of his power, having conquered France, Norway, and Denmark, and installing puppet regimes supportive of Nazi Germany in a large part of Europe. He then moved to achieve his long-term aim of conquering Eastern Europe for food supplies and living space by attacking the Soviet Union in June 1941. These aggressive expansionist policies directly led to the global conflict of the Second World War.

95. “Nazism was a calamity for the people of Germany and the entire world.” Justify this statement with examples.

Answer: The statement that “Nazism was a calamity for the people of Germany and the entire world” is justified by the immense suffering and destruction it caused.

For the people of Germany, Nazism brought terror and oppression. The Nazi state did not recognise personal rights or the safety of the individual. Anyone who protested was imprisoned. Jews were beaten and robbed, and thousands had to flee from Germany. National Socialism became a by-word for cruelty; in 1934, it was officially admitted that 77 members of the party had been executed. The war started by Hitler ultimately led to Germany’s defeat and partition into East and West Germany, dividing families through the Berlin Wall.

For the entire world, Nazism was a catastrophe. Hitler’s aggressive foreign policy plunged the world into the Second World War. The entire Europe and many other countries of the world suffered huge losses by way of men and material, just because of one man and his distorted ambitions. Hitler’s Concentration Camps at Auschwitz and Dachau are blots on the history of mankind, where millions were systematically murdered. Nazism was a complete negation of the democratic liberal values taught by the French Revolution and also negated the principles of socialism and welfare for workers. It was indeed one of the most horrible episodes in human history, which must never be repeated.