Unit Test (Solutions): Nazism and the Rise of Hitler | Social Studies (SST) Class 9 PDF Download

Time: 1 hour
M.M.: 30
Attempt all questions.
Question numbers 1 to 5 carry 1 mark each.
Question numbers 6 to 8 carry 2 marks each.
Question numbers 9 to 11 carry 3 marks each.
Question numbers 12 & 13 carry 5 marks each.

Q1: Who was Helmuth's father in the introductory story, and why did he commit suicide? (1 Mark)
(a) A Nazi supporter fearing Allied revenge
(b) A Jewish physician escaping persecution
(c) A Weimar politician opposing Hitler
(d) A Spartacist leader during the revolution
Ans: (a)

Helmuth’s father was a Nazi and a supporter of Adolf Hitler. He committed suicide because he feared that after Germany’s defeat in 1945, the Allies would take revenge on him for the Nazi crimes against the disabled and the Jews.

Q2: What was the Nuremberg Tribunal set up for after World War II? (1 Mark)
(a) To promote Nazi ideology
(b) To prosecute Nazi war criminals for crimes against peace, war crimes, and humanity
(c) To negotiate peace with Germany
(d) To rebuild the Weimar Republic
Ans: (b)

The Nuremberg Tribunal was set up after World War II to punish Nazi leaders for Crimes against Peace, War Crimes, and Crimes Against Humanity. It sentenced eleven top Nazis to death and gave life imprisonment to several others.

Q3: What clause in the Treaty of Versailles held Germany responsible for World War I? (1 Mark)
(a) Reparation Clause
(b) Demilitarisation Clause
(c) War Guilt Clause
(d) Territorial Loss Clause
Ans: (c)

The War Guilt Clause in the Treaty of Versailles blamed Germany for starting World War I. It made Germany responsible for paying £6 billion as compensation to the Allied countries.

Q4: What economic crisis in 1923 led to hyperinflation in Germany? (1 Mark)
(a) Wall Street Crash
(b) French occupation of the Ruhr and reckless printing of currency
(c) Dawes Plan failure
(d) Great Depression
Ans: (b)

In 1923, Germany stopped paying reparations to France. France occupied the Ruhr, and Germany printed excessive paper money, causing the mark to lose its value and prices to rise sharply.

Q5: What was the Enabling Act of 1933? (1 Mark)
(a) A law establishing the Weimar Republic
(b) An act giving Hitler powers to rule by decree and sideline Parliament
(c) A treaty for reoccupying Rhineland
(d) A policy for economic recovery
Ans: (b)

The Enabling Act of 1933 gave Hitler full powers to rule without Parliament. It allowed him to ban other political parties and trade unions, control the media, army, and courts, and establish a dictatorship.

Q6: Describe the effects of the Great Depression on Germany. (2 Marks)
Ans: The Great Depression reduced Germany’s industrial production to 40% of its 1929 level, leading to 6 million unemployed. Middle-class savings lost value, farmers suffered from low prices, and widespread fear and hardship weakened the Weimar Republic.

Q7: What was the Nazi worldview regarding racial hierarchy? (2 Marks)
Ans: The Nazi worldview placed Nordic German Aryans at the top of a racial hierarchy as the “desirable” race, while Jews were placed at the bottom as an “anti-race”. Groups such as Gypsies, Poles, and blacks were also called “undesirables” and seen as a threat to Aryan purity.

Q8: Explain the significance of Nazi propaganda in mobilizing support. (2 Marks)
Ans: Nazi propaganda portrayed Hitler as the saviour of Germany. It used grand rallies, the Swastika symbol, the Nazi salute, films, posters, and slogans to unite people and spread hatred towards Jews, creating strong public support for Nazi policies.

Q9: Discuss the steps taken by Nazis to destroy democracy after Hitler became Chancellor. (3 Marks)
Ans: 

• After the Reichstag fire, the Fire Decree removed civil rights like freedom of speech, press, and assembly.
• Communists were arrested and sent to concentration camps.
• The Enabling Act allowed Hitler to rule without Parliament, ban political parties and trade unions, and use security forces like the Gestapo and SS to control people through fear.

Q10: Describe the treatment of youth in Nazi Germany. (3 Marks)
Ans: 

• Schools removed Jewish and “politically unreliable” teachers, and textbooks promoted racial science and Hitler worship.
• Sports were used to train children for violence and war.
• Boys joined the Jungvolk at age 10 and the Hitler Youth at age 14 for strict military and ideological training, leading to service in the armed forces.

Q11: What were the three stages of Nazi persecution of Jews? (3 Marks)
Ans: The persecution of Jews happened in three stages:

• Exclusion (1933–1939): Nuremberg Laws removed Jewish citizenship, banned marriages with Germans, and included violence like the Night of Broken Glass.
• Ghettoisation (1940–1944): Jews were forced into overcrowded ghettos, facing starvation and disease.
• Annihilation (1941 onwards): Jews were sent to camps like Auschwitz and killed in gas chambers.

Q12: Explain Hitler's rise to power and his foreign policy successes until 1940. (5 Marks)
Ans: 

• Hitler joined the German Workers’ Party in 1919 and later renamed it the Nazi Party.
• After his failed coup in 1923, he used the Great Depression to gain support by promising jobs, national strength, and removal of the Treaty of Versailles.
• By 1932, the Nazi Party won 37% of the votes and Hitler became Chancellor in 1933.
• He left the League of Nations in 1933, reoccupied the Rhineland in 1936, and annexed Austria in 1938 under the slogan “One people, one empire, one leader”.
• He took Sudetenland and later Czechoslovakia, invaded Poland in 1939 starting WWII, signed the Tripartite Pact with Italy and Japan in 1940, and controlled much of Europe by the end of 1940.

Q13: What were the effects of great economics depression of 1929-1932 on Germany?  (5 Marks)
Ans: 

• Germany’s economy depended heavily on loans from the USA, which were stopped after the Wall Street Crash of 1929.
• By 1932, industrial production fell to 40% of the 1929 level.
• Unemployment rose to 6 million, about 30% of the workforce, with many willing to do any work for survival.
• Middle-class savings lost value, and small businesses and farmers faced ruin due to falling prices.
• Many women were unable to feed their children properly, leading to widespread despair and fear across society.