NCERT Exercise
1.
Describe the problems faced by the Weimar Republic.
Ans. Germany lost the First World War in
November 1918. The defeat of Imperial Germany and the abdication of emperor
gave an opportunity to parliamentary parties to recast German polity. A
National Assembly met at Weimar and established a democratic constitution with
a federal structure. Deputies were now elected to the German Parliament, on the
basis of equal and universal votes cast by all adults including women.
The
republic, however, was not received well by its own people largely because of
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. 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. The Allied Powers
demilitarized Germany to weaken its power. The Guilt Clause held Germany
responsible for the war and the damages the Allied countries suffered. Germany
was forced to pay compensation amounting to £ 6 billion. The Allied armies also
occupied the resources rich Rhineland for much of the 1920s. Many Germans held
the new Weimar Republic responsible for not only the defeat in the war, but the
disgrace at Versailles.
Ans. 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. The Nazis could not effectively mobilize
popular support till the early 1930s. It was during the Great Depression that
Nazism became a mass movement. After 1929, banks collapsed and businesses shut
down, workers lost their jobs and the middle classes were threatened with
destitution. In such a situation Nazi propaganda stirred hopes for a better
future. In 1928, the Nazi party got not more than 2.6 percent votes in the
Parliament. But by 1932, it had become the largest party with 37 percent votes.
3.
What are the peculiar features of Nazi thinking?
Ans. Nazi propaganda skillfully projected
Hitler as a messiah, a savior, as someone who had arrived to deliver people
from their distress. On 30th January 1933, President Hindenburg offer the
chancellorship, the highest position in the cabinet of ministers, to Hitler.
Having acquired power, Hitler set out to dismantle the structures of Democratic
rule. A mysterious fire broke out in the German Parliament building in February
facilitated his move. The Fire Decree of 28 February 1933 indefinitely suspended
civic rights like freedom of speech, press and assembly that had been
guaranteed by the Weimar constitution. Then he turned on his arch enemies, the
communists most of whom were hurriedly packed off to the newly established
concentration camps. The repression of communists was severe. On 3rd March
1933, the famous Enabling Act was passed. This Act established dictatorship in
Germany. It gave Hitler all the powers to sideline Parliament and rule by
decree. All political parties and trade unions were banned except for the Nazi
Party and its affiliates. Special surveillance and security forces were created
to control and order society in the ways that the Nazis wanted.
4.
Explain why Nazi propaganda was effective in creating a hatred for Jews.
Ans. Nazi ideology was synonymous with
Hitler’s worldview. Jews remained the worst sufferers in Nazi Germany. Nazi
hatred of Jews had a precursor in the traditional Christian hostility towards
the Jews. They had been stereotyped as killers of Christ and ursurers. Until
medieval times Jews were barred from owning land. Hitler’s hatred of Jews was
based on pseudoscientific theories of race, which held that conversion was no
solution to the ‘Jewish Problem’. It could be solved through their total
elimination.
The
Nazi regime used language and media with care, and often to great effect. The
terms they coined to describe their various practices are not only deceptive.
They are chilling. Nazis never used the words ‘kill’ or ‘murder’ in their
official communications. Mass killings for the Jews were termed as special
treatment, final solution. Propaganda films were made to create hatred for
Jews. Nazism worked on the minds of the people, tapped their emotions and their
hatred and anger at those marked as ‘undesirable’.
5.
Explain what role women had in Nazi society. Return to Chapter 1 on the French
Revolution. Write a paragraph comparing and contrasting the role of women in
the two periods.
Ans. Children in Nazi Germany were told that
women were radically different from men. The fight for equal rights for men and
women that had become a part of democratic struggles everywhere was wrong and
it would destroy the society. While boys were taught to be aggressive,
masculine and steel-hearted, girls were told that they had to become good
mothers and rear pure-blooded Aryan children. Girls had to maintain the purity
of the race, distance themselves from Jews, look after the home, and teach
their children Nazi values. They had to be the bearers of the Aryan culture and
race.
In
Nazi Germany all mothers were not treated equally. Women who bore racially
undesirable children were punished and those who produced racially desirable
children were awarded. They were given favored treatment in hospitals and were
also entitled to concessions in shops and on theatre tickets and railway fares.
To encourage women to produce many children, Honor crosses were awarded. A
bronze cross was given for four children, silver for six and gold for eight or
more.
All
‘Aryan’ women who deviated from the prescribed code of conduct were publicly
condemned and severely punished.
6.
In what ways did the Nazi state seek to establish total control over its
people?
Ans. Following are the ways Nazism state seek
to establish total control over its people:
●
On March 3, 1933, the famous Enabling Act was passed. It gave Hitler all powers
to sideline Parliament and rule by decree. All political parties and trade
unions were banned except for the Nazi party and its affiliates.
●
Super surveillance and security forces were created to control and order
society in the ways that the Nazis wanted.
●
Apart from already existing regular police in green uniform and the SA or the
Storm Troopers, these included the Gestapo, the SS, criminal police and the
Security Service. It was the extra-constitutional powers of these newly
organized forces that gave the Nazi state its reputation as the most dreaded
criminal state. The police forces acquired powers to rule with impunity.
●
The Nazi party used the media carefully to win the support for the regime and
popularize its worldview. Nazi ideas were spread through visual images, films,
radios, posters, catchy slogans and leaflets.
●
The Nazis made equal efforts to appeal to all the different sections of the
population. They sought to win their support by suggesting that Nazis alone
could solve all their problems.
