Describe the problems faced by the Weimar Republic.

The problems faced by the Weimar Republic were as follows:

1. The Weimar constitution had Inherent drawbacks making the Weimar Republic fragile.

 One was proportional representation which made it difficult for any party to get a
majority leading to coalition governments.
 Article 48, which gave the President the power to rule by decree, suspend civil rights
and to impose an emergency.

[Link] why Nazism became popular in Germany by 1930.

In 1919 Adolph Hitler took over the German Workers’ Party and called it the Nazi Party,
giving birth to Nazism in Germany.
During the Great Economic Depression Nazism became very popular. The Nazi
Propaganda which was very unique helped in making Nazism very popular. In his
powerful speeches, Hitler promised to build a strong nation, restore the dignity of the
Germans and provide employment for all. Numerous public meetings were held by the
Nazi Party to instil unity among the people.
The red banners, the Nazi salute, and the rounds of applause attracted the people and Nazism
became very popular. The Meetings projected Hitler as a saviour of Germany. The
German people who were shattered after the First World War believed him..

3. What are the peculiar features of Nazi thinking?

The peculiar features of Nazi thinking are as follows.

1. Nazi ideology was the same as Hitler’s worldview. According to this there was no equality
between people but only a racial hierarchy. In this view blond, blue-eyed Nordic German
Aryans were at the top called ‘desirables’ while Jews (undesirables) were placed at the
lowest rung.
2. Hitler believed in Lebensraum or living space. New territories had to be conquered to
increase the living space.
3. Nazis wanted a society of pure and healthy Nordic Aryans. It meant that even those
Germans who were seen as impure or abnormal had no right to live. Under the Euthanasia
Programme, the Nazi condemned to death many Germans, who were mentally or
physically unfit.

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

Films were made to create hatred for the Jews. The film, ‘The Eternal Jew’, showed the Jews
with flowing beards and dressed in kaftans. The Jews were referred to as vermin, rats, and pests.
Nazi propaganda compared the Jews to rodents.
Orthodox Jews were stereotyped as killers of Christ and money lenders. Stereotypes about Jews
were even popularised through maths classes. Children were taught to hate the Jews. The Nazi
propaganda against the Jews was so effective that people felt anger and hatred surge inside them
when they saw someone who looked like a Jew.

5. Explain what role women had in Nazi society.

In Nazi Germany, boys were told to be aggressive and steel-hearted, girls were told that they had
to become good mothers and rear pure-blooded Aryan children. Girls had to protect the purity of
German race. They had to look after their homes and Nazi values had to be taught to the
children.

Women who produced ‘desirable children’ were awarded. They got better treatment in
hospitals, and got concessions in shops, on theatre tickets and railway fares. Honour
crosses were awarded to women. A bronze cross was awarded to women for four children,
silver cross for six children and gold for eight or more children.

[Link] what ways did the Nazi state seek to establish total control over its people?

The Nazi state tried to establish total control over its people. Special forces were created to
control the society, in the way Nazis wanted. Apart from SA or the Storm Troopers, and regular
police, who wore a green uniform, these included the Gestapo (secret state police) and SS (the
protection squads), criminal police, and the Security Service (SD). They were given extra-
constitutional powers, that gave the Nazi state its reputation as the most dreaded criminal state.

[Link] Peace Treaty at Versailles with the Allies was a harsh and humiliating peace. Explain the
statement with any three examples.
Answer:

 In the First World War, Germany was defeated. The peace Treaty at Versailles with the
Allies was a harsh and humiliating peace.
 Germany lost its overseas colonies and also much of its territories in Europe.
 Germany lost 75% of its iron and 26% of its coal to France and other countries.
 The Allied Powers demilitarised Germany to weaken its power. Germany was forced to
pay compensation amounting to £ 6 billion.
 The Allied forces occupied the resources rich Rhineland till the 1920s.

[Link] was the ideology of the Nazis regarding the Jews ?

Answer:
The ideology of the Nazis regarding the Jews were :
 All schools were cleansed and purified under Nazism. Those teachers were dismissed who
were found to be Jews or seen as politically unreliable.
 German and Jew children were not allowed to sit or play together.
 All the undesirable children—Jews, Gypsies, and the physically handicapped were
dismissed from schools [Link] were taken to gas chambers in the 1940s.

Short Question & Answers

The Great Depression was a period of _______ .

Economic crisis

What is the German Parliament known as ?

:
The German Parliament is known as the Reichstag.

A camp where people were isolated and detained without due process of law, referred to
as _______ .

Concentration camp

Which Article of the Weimar Constitution gave the President the powers to impose
emergency, suspend civil rights and rule by decree ?

Article 48

Who offered the chancellorship to Hitler on 30 January 1933 ?

President Hindenburg

The Tripartite Pact was signed between Germany, Japan and _______ .
Italy

Nazi propaganda projected _______ .

Hitler as a messiah

Nazi youth groups for children below 14 years of age were called _______ .
:
Jungvolk

What was Auschwitz ?

Auschwitz was the centre for mass killing during Nazi rule.
What was the original name of Nazi party ?

The National Socialist German Workers Party.

The gas chambers that looked like bathrooms, equipped with fake shower heads, were
labelled as _______ .

Disinfection areas

Name the four countries included in the Allied Powers in World War II.

England, France, Russia and USA were included in the Allied Powers.

Which country used atomic bombs during World War II ?

USA used atomic bombs during World War II against Japanese cities of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki.
.
What was the work entrusted to the International War Tribunal set up in Nuremberg after
the war ?

It was set up to prosecute Nazi war criminals for crimes against peace, for war crimes and
crimes against humanity.

What was the name given to separately marked areas where the Jews lived ?

The separately marked areas where the Jews lived were called ghettos.

Which incident persuaded the USA to join the war ?

Japan’s unprovoked attack on the US base at Pearl Harbour in December 1941 persuaded
the USA to join the war.

What do you know about Wall Street Exchange ?

It is the name of the world’s biggest stock exchange.

Which countries were known as Axis Powers in World War II ?

Germany, Italy and Japan were known as Axis Powers.