NCERT Textbook: Nazism & the Rise of Hitler | Old & New NCERTs for IAS Preparation (Must Read) - UPSC PDF Download

 Page 1


Nazism and the Rise of Hitler
49
In the spring of 1945, a little eleven-year-old German boy called
Helmuth was lying in bed when he overheard his parents discussing
something in serious tones. His father, a prominent physician,
deliberated with his wife whether the time had come to kill the entire
family, or if he should commit suicide alone. His father spoke about
his fear of revenge, saying, ‘Now the Allies will do to us what we did to
the crippled and Jews.’ The next day, he took Helmuth to the woods,
where they spent their last happy time together, singing old children’s
songs. Later, Helmuth’s father shot himself in his office. Helmuth
remembers that he saw his father’s bloody uniform being burnt in the
family fireplace. So traumatised was he by what he had overheard and
what had happened, that he reacted by refusing to eat at home for the
following nine years! He was afraid that his mother might poison him.
Although Helmuth may not have realised all that it meant, his father
had been a Nazi and a supporter of Adolf Hitler. Many of you will
know something about the Nazis and Hitler. You probably know
of Hitler’s determination to make Germany into a mighty power
and his ambition of conquering all of Europe. You may have heard
that he killed Jews. But Nazism was not one or two isolated acts. It
was a system, a structure of ideas about the world and politics. Let
us try and understand what Nazism was all about. Let us see why
Helmuth’s father killed himself and what the basis of his fear was.
In May 1945, Germany surrendered to the Allies. Anticipating what
was coming, Hitler, his propaganda minister Goebbels and his entire
family committed suicide collectively in his Berlin bunker in April.
At the end of the war, an International Military Tribunal at
Nuremberg was set up to prosecute Nazi war criminals for Crimes
against Peace, for War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity.
Germany’s conduct during the war, especially those actions which
Nazism and the Rise Nazism and the Rise Nazism and the Rise Nazism and the Rise Nazism and the Rise
of Hitler of Hitler of Hitler of Hitler of Hitler
Nazism and the Rise of Hitler
Fig.1 – Hitler (centre) and Goebbels (left)
leaving after an official meeting, 1932.
New words
Allies – The Allied Powers were initially led by the UK and France.
In 1941 they were joined by the USSR and USA. They fought
against the Axis Powers, namely Germany, Italy and Japan.
Chapter III
2024-25
Page 2


Nazism and the Rise of Hitler
49
In the spring of 1945, a little eleven-year-old German boy called
Helmuth was lying in bed when he overheard his parents discussing
something in serious tones. His father, a prominent physician,
deliberated with his wife whether the time had come to kill the entire
family, or if he should commit suicide alone. His father spoke about
his fear of revenge, saying, ‘Now the Allies will do to us what we did to
the crippled and Jews.’ The next day, he took Helmuth to the woods,
where they spent their last happy time together, singing old children’s
songs. Later, Helmuth’s father shot himself in his office. Helmuth
remembers that he saw his father’s bloody uniform being burnt in the
family fireplace. So traumatised was he by what he had overheard and
what had happened, that he reacted by refusing to eat at home for the
following nine years! He was afraid that his mother might poison him.
Although Helmuth may not have realised all that it meant, his father
had been a Nazi and a supporter of Adolf Hitler. Many of you will
know something about the Nazis and Hitler. You probably know
of Hitler’s determination to make Germany into a mighty power
and his ambition of conquering all of Europe. You may have heard
that he killed Jews. But Nazism was not one or two isolated acts. It
was a system, a structure of ideas about the world and politics. Let
us try and understand what Nazism was all about. Let us see why
Helmuth’s father killed himself and what the basis of his fear was.
In May 1945, Germany surrendered to the Allies. Anticipating what
was coming, Hitler, his propaganda minister Goebbels and his entire
family committed suicide collectively in his Berlin bunker in April.
At the end of the war, an International Military Tribunal at
Nuremberg was set up to prosecute Nazi war criminals for Crimes
against Peace, for War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity.
Germany’s conduct during the war, especially those actions which
Nazism and the Rise Nazism and the Rise Nazism and the Rise Nazism and the Rise Nazism and the Rise
of Hitler of Hitler of Hitler of Hitler of Hitler
Nazism and the Rise of Hitler
Fig.1 – Hitler (centre) and Goebbels (left)
leaving after an official meeting, 1932.
New words
Allies – The Allied Powers were initially led by the UK and France.
In 1941 they were joined by the USSR and USA. They fought
against the Axis Powers, namely Germany, Italy and Japan.
Chapter III
2024-25
India and the Contemporary World
50
came to be called Crimes Against Humanity, raised serious moral
and ethical questions and invited worldwide condemnation. What
were these acts?
Under the shadow of the Second World War, Germany had waged
a genocidal war, which resulted in the mass murder of selected
groups of innocent civilians of Europe. The number of people killed
included 6 million Jews, 200,000 Gypsies, 1 million Polish civilians,
70,000 Germans who were considered mentally and physically
disabled, besides innumerable political opponents. Nazis devised
an unprecedented means of killing people, that is, by gassing them in
various killing centres like Auschwitz. The Nuremberg Tribunal
sentenced only eleven leading Nazis to death. Many others were
imprisoned for life. The retribution did come, yet the punishment
of the Nazis was far short of the brutality and extent of their crimes.
The Allies did not want to be as harsh on defeated Germany as
they had been after the First World War.
Everyone came to feel that the rise of Nazi Germany could be
partly traced back to the German experience at the end of  the
First World War.
What was this experinece?
New words
Genocidal – Killing on large scale leading
to destruction of large sections of people
2024-25
Page 3


Nazism and the Rise of Hitler
49
In the spring of 1945, a little eleven-year-old German boy called
Helmuth was lying in bed when he overheard his parents discussing
something in serious tones. His father, a prominent physician,
deliberated with his wife whether the time had come to kill the entire
family, or if he should commit suicide alone. His father spoke about
his fear of revenge, saying, ‘Now the Allies will do to us what we did to
the crippled and Jews.’ The next day, he took Helmuth to the woods,
where they spent their last happy time together, singing old children’s
songs. Later, Helmuth’s father shot himself in his office. Helmuth
remembers that he saw his father’s bloody uniform being burnt in the
family fireplace. So traumatised was he by what he had overheard and
what had happened, that he reacted by refusing to eat at home for the
following nine years! He was afraid that his mother might poison him.
Although Helmuth may not have realised all that it meant, his father
had been a Nazi and a supporter of Adolf Hitler. Many of you will
know something about the Nazis and Hitler. You probably know
of Hitler’s determination to make Germany into a mighty power
and his ambition of conquering all of Europe. You may have heard
that he killed Jews. But Nazism was not one or two isolated acts. It
was a system, a structure of ideas about the world and politics. Let
us try and understand what Nazism was all about. Let us see why
Helmuth’s father killed himself and what the basis of his fear was.
In May 1945, Germany surrendered to the Allies. Anticipating what
was coming, Hitler, his propaganda minister Goebbels and his entire
family committed suicide collectively in his Berlin bunker in April.
At the end of the war, an International Military Tribunal at
Nuremberg was set up to prosecute Nazi war criminals for Crimes
against Peace, for War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity.
Germany’s conduct during the war, especially those actions which
Nazism and the Rise Nazism and the Rise Nazism and the Rise Nazism and the Rise Nazism and the Rise
of Hitler of Hitler of Hitler of Hitler of Hitler
Nazism and the Rise of Hitler
Fig.1 – Hitler (centre) and Goebbels (left)
leaving after an official meeting, 1932.
New words
Allies – The Allied Powers were initially led by the UK and France.
In 1941 they were joined by the USSR and USA. They fought
against the Axis Powers, namely Germany, Italy and Japan.
Chapter III
2024-25
India and the Contemporary World
50
came to be called Crimes Against Humanity, raised serious moral
and ethical questions and invited worldwide condemnation. What
were these acts?
Under the shadow of the Second World War, Germany had waged
a genocidal war, which resulted in the mass murder of selected
groups of innocent civilians of Europe. The number of people killed
included 6 million Jews, 200,000 Gypsies, 1 million Polish civilians,
70,000 Germans who were considered mentally and physically
disabled, besides innumerable political opponents. Nazis devised
an unprecedented means of killing people, that is, by gassing them in
various killing centres like Auschwitz. The Nuremberg Tribunal
sentenced only eleven leading Nazis to death. Many others were
imprisoned for life. The retribution did come, yet the punishment
of the Nazis was far short of the brutality and extent of their crimes.
The Allies did not want to be as harsh on defeated Germany as
they had been after the First World War.
Everyone came to feel that the rise of Nazi Germany could be
partly traced back to the German experience at the end of  the
First World War.
What was this experinece?
New words
Genocidal – Killing on large scale leading
to destruction of large sections of people
2024-25
Nazism and the Rise of Hitler
51
Germany, a powerful empire in the early years of the twentieth
century,  fought the First World War (1914-1918) alongside the
Austrian empire  and against the Allies (England, France and Russia.)
All joined the war enthusiastically hoping to gain from a quick
victory. Little did they realise that the war would stretch on,
eventually draining Europe of all its resources. Germany made initial
gains by occupying France and Belgium. However the Allies,
strengthened by the US entry in 1917, won , defeating Germany and the
Central Powers in November 1918.
The defeat of Imperial Germany and the abdication of the 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 or Reichstag, on the basis of equal and
universal votes cast by all adults including women.
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. The peace treaty at
1  Birth of the Weimar Republic
Fig.2 – Germany after the
Versailles Treaty. You can see in
this map the parts of the
territory that Germany lost after
the treaty.
Germany 1914
Land taken from Germany
Land under League of Nations control
Demilitarised zone
2024-25
Page 4


Nazism and the Rise of Hitler
49
In the spring of 1945, a little eleven-year-old German boy called
Helmuth was lying in bed when he overheard his parents discussing
something in serious tones. His father, a prominent physician,
deliberated with his wife whether the time had come to kill the entire
family, or if he should commit suicide alone. His father spoke about
his fear of revenge, saying, ‘Now the Allies will do to us what we did to
the crippled and Jews.’ The next day, he took Helmuth to the woods,
where they spent their last happy time together, singing old children’s
songs. Later, Helmuth’s father shot himself in his office. Helmuth
remembers that he saw his father’s bloody uniform being burnt in the
family fireplace. So traumatised was he by what he had overheard and
what had happened, that he reacted by refusing to eat at home for the
following nine years! He was afraid that his mother might poison him.
Although Helmuth may not have realised all that it meant, his father
had been a Nazi and a supporter of Adolf Hitler. Many of you will
know something about the Nazis and Hitler. You probably know
of Hitler’s determination to make Germany into a mighty power
and his ambition of conquering all of Europe. You may have heard
that he killed Jews. But Nazism was not one or two isolated acts. It
was a system, a structure of ideas about the world and politics. Let
us try and understand what Nazism was all about. Let us see why
Helmuth’s father killed himself and what the basis of his fear was.
In May 1945, Germany surrendered to the Allies. Anticipating what
was coming, Hitler, his propaganda minister Goebbels and his entire
family committed suicide collectively in his Berlin bunker in April.
At the end of the war, an International Military Tribunal at
Nuremberg was set up to prosecute Nazi war criminals for Crimes
against Peace, for War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity.
Germany’s conduct during the war, especially those actions which
Nazism and the Rise Nazism and the Rise Nazism and the Rise Nazism and the Rise Nazism and the Rise
of Hitler of Hitler of Hitler of Hitler of Hitler
Nazism and the Rise of Hitler
Fig.1 – Hitler (centre) and Goebbels (left)
leaving after an official meeting, 1932.
New words
Allies – The Allied Powers were initially led by the UK and France.
In 1941 they were joined by the USSR and USA. They fought
against the Axis Powers, namely Germany, Italy and Japan.
Chapter III
2024-25
India and the Contemporary World
50
came to be called Crimes Against Humanity, raised serious moral
and ethical questions and invited worldwide condemnation. What
were these acts?
Under the shadow of the Second World War, Germany had waged
a genocidal war, which resulted in the mass murder of selected
groups of innocent civilians of Europe. The number of people killed
included 6 million Jews, 200,000 Gypsies, 1 million Polish civilians,
70,000 Germans who were considered mentally and physically
disabled, besides innumerable political opponents. Nazis devised
an unprecedented means of killing people, that is, by gassing them in
various killing centres like Auschwitz. The Nuremberg Tribunal
sentenced only eleven leading Nazis to death. Many others were
imprisoned for life. The retribution did come, yet the punishment
of the Nazis was far short of the brutality and extent of their crimes.
The Allies did not want to be as harsh on defeated Germany as
they had been after the First World War.
Everyone came to feel that the rise of Nazi Germany could be
partly traced back to the German experience at the end of  the
First World War.
What was this experinece?
New words
Genocidal – Killing on large scale leading
to destruction of large sections of people
2024-25
Nazism and the Rise of Hitler
51
Germany, a powerful empire in the early years of the twentieth
century,  fought the First World War (1914-1918) alongside the
Austrian empire  and against the Allies (England, France and Russia.)
All joined the war enthusiastically hoping to gain from a quick
victory. Little did they realise that the war would stretch on,
eventually draining Europe of all its resources. Germany made initial
gains by occupying France and Belgium. However the Allies,
strengthened by the US entry in 1917, won , defeating Germany and the
Central Powers in November 1918.
The defeat of Imperial Germany and the abdication of the 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 or Reichstag, on the basis of equal and
universal votes cast by all adults including women.
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. The peace treaty at
1  Birth of the Weimar Republic
Fig.2 – Germany after the
Versailles Treaty. You can see in
this map the parts of the
territory that Germany lost after
the treaty.
Germany 1914
Land taken from Germany
Land under League of Nations control
Demilitarised zone
2024-25
India and the Contemporary World
52
1.1 The Effects of the War
The war had a devastating impact on the entire continent both
psychologically and financially. From a continent of creditors,
Europe turned into one of debtors. Unfortunately, the infant Weimar
Republic 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 financially crippled by being forced to pay compensation.
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’.
This mindset had a major impact on the political developments of the
early 1930s, as we will soon see.
The First World War left a deep imprint on European society and
polity. Soldiers came to be placed above civilians. Politicians and
publicists laid great stress on the need for men to be aggressive, strong
and masculine. The media glorified trench life. The truth, however,
was that soldiers lived miserable lives in these trenches, trapped with
rats feeding on corpses. They faced poisonous gas and enemy shelling,
and witnessed their ranks reduce rapidly. Aggressive war propaganda
and national honour occupied centre stage in the public sphere, while
popular support grew for conservative dictatorships that had recently
come into being. Democracy was indeed a young and fragile idea,
which could not survive the instabilities of interwar Europe.
1.2 Political Radicalism and Economic Crises
The birth of the Weimar Republic coincided with the revolutionary
uprising of the Spartacist League on the pattern of the Bolshevik
Revolution in Russia. Soviets of workers and sailors were established
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. Many
Germans held the new Weimar Republic responsible for not only the
defeat in the war but the disgrace at Versailles.
2024-25
Page 5


Nazism and the Rise of Hitler
49
In the spring of 1945, a little eleven-year-old German boy called
Helmuth was lying in bed when he overheard his parents discussing
something in serious tones. His father, a prominent physician,
deliberated with his wife whether the time had come to kill the entire
family, or if he should commit suicide alone. His father spoke about
his fear of revenge, saying, ‘Now the Allies will do to us what we did to
the crippled and Jews.’ The next day, he took Helmuth to the woods,
where they spent their last happy time together, singing old children’s
songs. Later, Helmuth’s father shot himself in his office. Helmuth
remembers that he saw his father’s bloody uniform being burnt in the
family fireplace. So traumatised was he by what he had overheard and
what had happened, that he reacted by refusing to eat at home for the
following nine years! He was afraid that his mother might poison him.
Although Helmuth may not have realised all that it meant, his father
had been a Nazi and a supporter of Adolf Hitler. Many of you will
know something about the Nazis and Hitler. You probably know
of Hitler’s determination to make Germany into a mighty power
and his ambition of conquering all of Europe. You may have heard
that he killed Jews. But Nazism was not one or two isolated acts. It
was a system, a structure of ideas about the world and politics. Let
us try and understand what Nazism was all about. Let us see why
Helmuth’s father killed himself and what the basis of his fear was.
In May 1945, Germany surrendered to the Allies. Anticipating what
was coming, Hitler, his propaganda minister Goebbels and his entire
family committed suicide collectively in his Berlin bunker in April.
At the end of the war, an International Military Tribunal at
Nuremberg was set up to prosecute Nazi war criminals for Crimes
against Peace, for War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity.
Germany’s conduct during the war, especially those actions which
Nazism and the Rise Nazism and the Rise Nazism and the Rise Nazism and the Rise Nazism and the Rise
of Hitler of Hitler of Hitler of Hitler of Hitler
Nazism and the Rise of Hitler
Fig.1 – Hitler (centre) and Goebbels (left)
leaving after an official meeting, 1932.
New words
Allies – The Allied Powers were initially led by the UK and France.
In 1941 they were joined by the USSR and USA. They fought
against the Axis Powers, namely Germany, Italy and Japan.
Chapter III
2024-25
India and the Contemporary World
50
came to be called Crimes Against Humanity, raised serious moral
and ethical questions and invited worldwide condemnation. What
were these acts?
Under the shadow of the Second World War, Germany had waged
a genocidal war, which resulted in the mass murder of selected
groups of innocent civilians of Europe. The number of people killed
included 6 million Jews, 200,000 Gypsies, 1 million Polish civilians,
70,000 Germans who were considered mentally and physically
disabled, besides innumerable political opponents. Nazis devised
an unprecedented means of killing people, that is, by gassing them in
various killing centres like Auschwitz. The Nuremberg Tribunal
sentenced only eleven leading Nazis to death. Many others were
imprisoned for life. The retribution did come, yet the punishment
of the Nazis was far short of the brutality and extent of their crimes.
The Allies did not want to be as harsh on defeated Germany as
they had been after the First World War.
Everyone came to feel that the rise of Nazi Germany could be
partly traced back to the German experience at the end of  the
First World War.
What was this experinece?
New words
Genocidal – Killing on large scale leading
to destruction of large sections of people
2024-25
Nazism and the Rise of Hitler
51
Germany, a powerful empire in the early years of the twentieth
century,  fought the First World War (1914-1918) alongside the
Austrian empire  and against the Allies (England, France and Russia.)
All joined the war enthusiastically hoping to gain from a quick
victory. Little did they realise that the war would stretch on,
eventually draining Europe of all its resources. Germany made initial
gains by occupying France and Belgium. However the Allies,
strengthened by the US entry in 1917, won , defeating Germany and the
Central Powers in November 1918.
The defeat of Imperial Germany and the abdication of the 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 or Reichstag, on the basis of equal and
universal votes cast by all adults including women.
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. The peace treaty at
1  Birth of the Weimar Republic
Fig.2 – Germany after the
Versailles Treaty. You can see in
this map the parts of the
territory that Germany lost after
the treaty.
Germany 1914
Land taken from Germany
Land under League of Nations control
Demilitarised zone
2024-25
India and the Contemporary World
52
1.1 The Effects of the War
The war had a devastating impact on the entire continent both
psychologically and financially. From a continent of creditors,
Europe turned into one of debtors. Unfortunately, the infant Weimar
Republic 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 financially crippled by being forced to pay compensation.
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’.
This mindset had a major impact on the political developments of the
early 1930s, as we will soon see.
The First World War left a deep imprint on European society and
polity. Soldiers came to be placed above civilians. Politicians and
publicists laid great stress on the need for men to be aggressive, strong
and masculine. The media glorified trench life. The truth, however,
was that soldiers lived miserable lives in these trenches, trapped with
rats feeding on corpses. They faced poisonous gas and enemy shelling,
and witnessed their ranks reduce rapidly. Aggressive war propaganda
and national honour occupied centre stage in the public sphere, while
popular support grew for conservative dictatorships that had recently
come into being. Democracy was indeed a young and fragile idea,
which could not survive the instabilities of interwar Europe.
1.2 Political Radicalism and Economic Crises
The birth of the Weimar Republic coincided with the revolutionary
uprising of the Spartacist League on the pattern of the Bolshevik
Revolution in Russia. Soviets of workers and sailors were established
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. Many
Germans held the new Weimar Republic responsible for not only the
defeat in the war but the disgrace at Versailles.
2024-25
Nazism and the Rise of Hitler
53
in many cities. The political atmosphere in Berlin was charged with
demands for Soviet-style governance. Those opposed to this – such
as the socialists, Democrats and Catholics – met in Weimar to give
shape to the democratic republic. The Weimar Republic crushed the
uprising with the help of a war veterans organisation called Free
Corps. The anguished Spartacists later founded the Communist Party of
Germany. Communists and Socialists henceforth became irreconcilable
enemies and could not make common cause against Hitler. Both
revolutionaries and militant nationalists craved for radical solutions.
Political radicalisation was only heightened by the economic crisis
of 1923. Germany had fought the war largely on loans and had to
pay war reparations in gold. This depleted gold reserves at a time
resources were scarce. In 1923 Germany refused to pay, and the
French occupied its leading industrial area, Ruhr, to claim their coal.
Germany retaliated with passive resistance and printed paper currency
recklessly. With too much  printed money in circulation, the value
of the German mark fell. In April the US dollar was equal to 24,000
marks, in July 353,000 marks, in August 4,621,000 marks  and  at
Fig.3 – This is a rally organised by the radical group known as the Spartacist League.
In the winter of 1918-1919 the streets of Berlin were taken over by the people. Political demonstrations became common.
Fig.4 – Baskets and carts being loaded at a
bank in Berlin with paper currency for wage
payment, 1923. The German mark had so
little value that vast amounts had to be used
even for small payments.
New words
Deplete – Reduce, empty out
Reparation – Make up for a wrong done
2024-25