Introduction

In 1945, an eleven-year-old German boy, Helmuth, overheard his Nazi-supporting father fear retribution from the Allies for Nazi crimes against Jews and others. Traumatized, his father committed suicide, reflecting the moral and psychological weight of Nazi atrocities. Nazism was a system of brutal ideology and practices, culminating in Germany’s surrender in May 1945. The Nuremberg Tribunal prosecuted Nazi war criminals for Crimes Against Humanity, including the genocide of 6 million Jews, 200,000 Gypsies, and others.

1. Birth of the Weimar Republic

Germany, a powerful empire, fought in the First World War (1914–1918) with Austria against the Allies. Initial gains were reversed after the US joined in 1917, leading to Germany’s defeat in 1918. The emperor abdicated, and a Weimar Republic was established with a democratic constitution and universal suffrage.

1.1 Effects of the War

• The Treaty of Versailles (1919) imposed harsh terms: Germany lost 13% of its territory, 75% of iron, 26% of coal, and paid £6 billion in reparations.
• The War Guilt Clause blamed Germany, fueling resentment and weakening the Weimar Republic.
• Soldiers were glorified over civilians; trench life was harsh, with gas attacks and high casualties.
• Support grew for conservative dictatorships as democracy struggled.

1.2 Political Radicalism and Economic Crises

• The Spartacist League attempted a Bolshevik-style uprising, crushed by the Free Corps, leading to the Communist Party of Germany.
• In 1923, Germany refused reparation payments; France occupied the Ruhr, prompting hyperinflation (US dollar = 98,860,000 marks by December).
• The Dawes Plan (1924) eased reparations, stabilizing 1924–1928.

1.3 The Years of Depression

• The Wall Street Crash (1929) triggered the Great Depression, halving US national income and impacting Germany.
• By 1932, German industrial production fell to 40% of 1929 levels; unemployment reached 6 million.
• Middle classes feared proletarianisation; peasants faced falling prices; women despaired over hunger.
• The Weimar Republic’s instability, due to proportional representation and Article 48, eroded public confidence.

2. Hitler’s Rise to Power

Born in 1889 in Austria, Adolf Hitler joined the German Workers’ Party in 1919, renaming it the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nazi Party). His failed 1923 coup led to imprisonment, but by 1932, the Nazis gained 37% of Reichstag votes amid the Great Depression.

• Hitler’s speeches promised to undo Versailles, restore German pride, and provide jobs.
• Nazi propaganda used rallies, red banners with swastikas, and salutes to mobilize support.
• In 1933, President Hindenburg appointed Hitler Chancellor.

2.1 Destruction of Democracy

• The Fire Decree (February 1933) suspended freedoms after a Reichstag fire.
• The Enabling Act (March 1933) allowed Hitler to rule by decree, banning all parties except the Nazis.
• Special forces like the Gestapo, SS, and SA enforced control, detaining people in concentration camps.

2.2 Reconstruction

• Hjalmar Schacht led economic recovery with state-funded projects like superhighways and the Volkswagen.
• Hitler’s foreign policy included leaving the League of Nations (1933), reoccupying the Rhineland (1936), and annexing Austria and Sudetenland (1938).
• In 1939, Germany invaded Poland, starting the Second World War. The 1940 Tripartite Pact allied Germany with Italy and Japan.
• Hitler’s 1941 invasion of the USSR led to defeat at Stalingrad, followed by Soviet advances. The US entered after Japan’s Pearl Harbor attack (1941).

3. The Nazi Worldview

Nazi ideology, rooted in Hitler’s beliefs, promoted a racial hierarchy with Nordic German Aryans at the top and Jews as the lowest “anti-race.”

• Hitler misused Darwin’s natural selection and Spencer’s “survival of the fittest” to justify racial superiority.
• The concept of Lebensraum (living space) drove eastward expansion for German settlement.

3.1 Establishment of the Racial State

• Nazis aimed for a “pure” Aryan society, eliminating “undesirables” like Jews, Gypsies, and the disabled via the Euthanasia Programme.
• Jews faced historical Christian hostility, lived in ghettos, and were stereotyped as usurers.
• From 1933–1938, Jews were terrorized and forced to emigrate; from 1939–1945, they were concentrated and killed in gas chambers.

3.2 The Racial Utopia

• Occupied Poland was divided; Poles were displaced, and ethnic Germans resettled.
• Polish intelligentsia were killed; children were tested for “Aryan” traits, with failures sent to orphanages.
• Jews were deported to death camps like Auschwitz and Treblinka for mass killings.

4. Youth in Nazi Germany

Hitler prioritized indoctrinating youth with Nazi ideology through schools and organizations.

• Jewish and “undesirable” children were expelled; schools taught racial science and Nazi values.
• Boys joined Jungvolk (age 10) and Hitler Youth (age 14), learning aggression and loyalty to Hitler.
• Sports like boxing fostered violence; all other youth groups were banned.

4.1 The Nazi Cult of Motherhood

• Women were to rear “pure” Aryan children, maintaining racial purity and Nazi values.
• Honour Crosses rewarded mothers: bronze (4 children), silver (6), gold (8+).
• Women associating with “undesirables” faced public shaming and imprisonment.

4.2 The Art of Propaganda

• Nazis used deceptive terms like “final solution” for genocide and “disinfection-areas” for gas chambers.
• Media, including films like The Eternal Jew, stereotyped Jews as vermin.
• Posters and rallies mobilized diverse groups, portraying Nazis as saviors.

5. Ordinary People and the Crimes Against Humanity

Many Germans supported Nazism, believing it would bring prosperity, while others were passive due to fear. Resistance, like Pastor Niemoeller’s, was rare but brave.

• Jews internalized Nazi stereotypes, as recorded in Charlotte Beradt’s Third Reich of Dreams.
• The Holocaust’s horrors emerged post-war; survivors preserved diaries and archives to bear witness.

6. Important Dates

7. Activities and Questions

7.1 Activities

• Compare Hitler’s imperial ambitions in Sources A and B; imagine Gandhi’s response.
• Define citizenship in the context of the French Revolution and Nazism (200 words).
• Explain the Nuremberg Laws’ impact on “undesirables” and other legal measures against them.
• As a student in a Nazi classroom, describe your feelings toward Jews and stereotypes about other communities.
• As a Jew or Pole in 1941, write a day’s account after the Star of David law.
• Analyze Nazi propaganda in Figs. 29 and 30 for mobilizing different groups.
• Write a one-page history of Germany as a schoolchild, Jewish survivor, or political opponent.
• As Helmuth, write a paragraph to your father defending Jewish friends.
• Explain Erna Kranz’s view on the lack of concern for Nazi victims.

7.2 Questions

• Describe the problems faced by the Weimar Republic.
• Discuss why Nazism became popular by 1930.
• What were the peculiar features of Nazi thinking?
• Explain why Nazi propaganda was effective in creating hatred for Jews.
• Compare the role of women in Nazi Germany and the French Revolution.
• How did the Nazi state establish total control over its people?