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Nazism and The Rise of Hitler

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Question
CBSEENSS9008411
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Describe the problems faced by the Weimer Republic.

Solution

The problems faced by the Weimer Republic are discussed below:
(i)This republic, however, 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.
(ii)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.
(iii)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.
(iv)The Allied armies also occupied the resource-rich Rhineland for much of the 1920s.
(v)Many Germans held the new Weimar Republic responsible for not only the defeat in the war but the disgrace at Versailles.


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Question
CBSEENSS9008412
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Discuss why Nazism became popular in Germany by 1930?

Solution

This crisis in the economy, polity and society formed the background to Nazism popularity in Germany.
(i)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 of a better future.

(ii)Hitler was a powerful speaker. His passion and his words moved people. He promised to build a strong nation, undo the injustice of the Versailles Treaty and restore the dignity of the German people. He promised employment for those looking for work, and a secure future for the youth. He promised to weed out all foreign influences and resist all foreign ‘conspiracies’ against Germany. 

(iii)Hitler devised a new style of politics. He understood the significance of rituals and spectacle in mass mobilisation. Nazis held massive rallies and public meetings to demonstrate the support for Hitler and instil a sense of unity among the people.
(iv)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.

(v)Nazi propaganda skilfully projected Hitler as a messiah, a saviour, as someone who had arrived to deliver people from their distress. It is an image that captured the imagination of a people whose sense of dignity and pride had been shattered, and who were living in a time of acute economic and political crises.

Question
CBSEENSS9008413
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What are the peculiar features of Nazi thinking?

Solution

The peculiar features of Nazi thinking were as follow:


(i)The one aspect of Nazi ideology related to the geopolitical concept of Lebensraum, or living space.
(ii)It believed that new territories had to be acquired for settlement.
(iii)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.

Question
CBSEENSS9008414
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Explain why Nazi propaganda was effective in creating a hatred for Jews.

Solution

The Nazi propaganda was effective in creating a hatred for Jews for the followinfg reaons:
(i)Nazi hatred of Jews had a precursor in the traditional Christian hostility towards Jews. They had been stereotyped as killers of Christ and usurers.
(ii)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 were termed special treatment, final solution (for the Jews), euthanasia (for the disabled), selection and disinfections. ‘Evacuation’ meant deporting people to gas chambers.
 
(iii)Media was carefully used to win support for the regime and popularise its worldview. Nazi ideas were spread through visual images, films, radio, posters, catchy slogans and leaflets. Propaganda films were made to create hatred for Jews. The most infamous film was The Eternal Jew. Orthodox Jews were stereotyped and marked.
(iv)Nazism worked on the minds of the people, tapped their emotions, and turned their hatred and anger at those marked as ‘undesirable’.
(v)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.

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