NCERT In-text Questions Solved

    Q1.    Refer to Activity, Textbook page 61.
        Read sources A and B.
    •    What do they tell you about Hitler’s imperial ambitions?
    •    What do you think Mahatma Gandhi would have said to Hitler about these ideas?.
Ans.    •    Hitler’s imperial ambition was very high. He believed in extreme nationalism and always glorified war. He did not give much importance to friendly and peaceful relations with neighbouring countries. He intended to extend German boundaries by moving eastwards to concentrate all Germans geographically in one place.
    •    Mahatma Gandhi’s ideas always differed from Hitler’s. Gandhiji believed in non-violence but Hitler believed in extreme violence. However, Gandhiji would have tried his best to change Hitler’s heart. He would have appealed him to stop violence for the sake of humanity.

Q2.    Refer to Activity, Textbook page 63.
        See the next two pages (64-65) and write briefly:
    •    What does ‘citizenship’ mean to you? Look at Chapters 1 and 3 and write 200 words on how the French Revolution and Nazism defined citizenship?
    •    What did the Nuremberg Laws mean to the ‘undesirables’ in Nazi Germany? What other legal measures were taken against them to make them feel unwanted?
Ans.    Citizenship means the legal right to belong to a particular country. But Nazi Germany distorted this definition. Hitler hated Jews and all those who did not belong to the ‘Superior Aryan’ race. He took several legal measures to completely destroy them. First of all, he boycotted Jewish businesses. Then, he expelled them from government services. Afterwards, he confiscated their properties. Jewish houses were attacked, synagogues were burnt and finally, they were brought to death. Hitler declared that Jews had no right to live in Germany. Thus, they were denied to live in their own country.
On the contrary, the French Revolution gave much importance to the ideas of liberty and democratic rights. The new constitution that was formed in 1791 began with a Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. Rights such as the right to life, freedom of speech, freedom of opinion, equality before law, were established as natural rights.
    •    The Nuremberg Laws meant a warrant of death for the ‘undesirables’. The ‘undesirables’ were seen as impure or abnormal and had no right to exist. Under the Euthanasia programme, they were condemned to death.
        Other legal measures taken against them to make them feel unwanted were:
    •    They were terrorised.
    •    They were pauperised.
    •    They were segregated.
    •    They were forced to leave the country.
    •    They were referred to as vermin, rats and pests.

Q3.    Refer to Activity, Textbook page 66.
        If you were a student sitting in one of these classes, how would you have felt towards Jews?
        Have you ever thought of the stereotypes of other communities that people around you believe in? How have they acquired them?
Ans. I would have filled with compassion for Jews, who are also human beings and they have full right to live a life with diginity.
        Yes, I frequently come across people who believe in the stereotypes of other communities. I think they have acquired these biased feelings from family and society.

Q4.    Refer to Activity, Textbook page 67.
        Look at Figs. 23, 24 and 27. Imagine yourself to be a Jew or a Pole in Nazi Germany. It is September 1941, and the law forcing Jews to wear the Star of David has just been declared. Write an account of one day in your life.
Ans.    Develop your imagination and write the account.

Q5.    Refer to Activity, Textbook page 69.
        How would you have reacted to Hitler’s ideas if you were:
    •    a Jewish woman
    •    a non-Jewish German woman.
Ans.    • If I were a Jewish woman, I would have resisted Nazism. I wouldn’t have feared to death.
    •    If I were a non-Jewish German woman, I would have felt elated. But at the same, I would have tried my best to appeal to Hitler to be moderate for the sake of humanity.

Q6.    Refer to Activity, Textbook page 70.
        Look at Figs. 29 and 30 and answer the following:
        What do they tell us about Nazi propaganda? How are the Nazis trying to mobilise different sections of the population?
Ans.    The Nazi regime used language and media with great care and often to great effect. 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. Media was carefully used to win the support for the regime and popularise its worldview.
        Nazis are projecting themselves as saviours of people from all their distresses. They are trying to convince people that only Nazism would bring prosperity and improve general well-being.

Q7.    Refer to Activity, Textbook page 71.
        Why does Erna Kranz say, “I could only say for myself?” How do you view her opinion?
Ans.    Because she is not mature enough to think about others. She is a teenager with limited thoughts and ideas. She has nothing to do with others.