Class 9 History Chapter 3: Nazism and the Rise of Hitler Notes and Important Questions

Chapter 3 – Nazism and The Rise of Hitler is a vital chapter of History, Class 9 that familiarises us with post-World War I Germany and elaborates on the rise and fall of Hitler. It is one of the most complex chapters as it contains a variety of integral incidents from the World War I era and its aftermath. Often students find it difficult to understand and grasp all the intricacies of this topic, hence we have devised a simple and comprehensive summary of this chapter as per the CBSE class 9 syllabus. Read the Class 9 History Chapter 3: Nazism and the Rise of Hitler elucidating the important pointers on Nazism and the Rise of Hitler.

Chapter 3 – Nazism and the Rise of Hitler Notes

Read below to learn this chapter’s important topics in short. You can also download a PDF of these notes to study later.

Birth of the Weimar Republic

This chapter begins with a description of various important wars and how the Weimar Republic was established. Here are some useful pointers that can help you understand this topic:

• The First World War (1914-1918) put a dent in Germany after they were defeated by the Austrian Empire and the allies including England, France, & Russia. In November 1918, Germany was swiftly defeated by the help of US entry. German-occupied France and Belgium were freed, and Germany was drained of all its resources. 
• The national assembly assembled at Weimar and established a democratic constitution with a federal structure. In the parliament, deputies were elected with everyone allowed to cast votes including women.
• The Treaty of Versailles was signed from which Germany lost all its overseas colonies and its resources, putting them in humiliation. 
• The blame for the First World War was put on Germany as they were forced to pay 6 billion Euros for damages & loss of life in the war.

Effects of World War I

World War I led to extensive destruction and loss of human lives as well as depreciated losses in various fields like social, political, financial, etc. Let us analyse them:

• The war destabilized the whole continent, mentally & financially. November Criminals was the name thrown around to every socialist, Catholic, & democrat in support of the Weimar Republic. The Republic was forced to pay compensation.
• The social structure now put soldiers above civilians, glorifying war and martyrdom.
• Democracy at that time could not hold the weight of the trauma of the war paving the way to more radical politics & aggressive propaganda.

Political Radicalism and Economic Crises

The birth and rise of Weimar had a severe impact on society which could be seen in a variety of area. Mentioned below are some pointers of the chapter nazism and the rise of Hitler elucidating political radicalism and the economic crises of that time. 

• The historical coincidence of Weimar’s birth with the revolution of the Spartacist League against the pattern of the Bolshevik revolution in Russia.
• Free Corps, a war veteran organisation, helped crush the Spartacist League uprising while the Catholics, Socialists & Democrats met in Weimar for a democratic republic.
• Spartacists laid the foundation of the communist party in Germany. The radical Policy ran rampant in Germany. The French crept into Ruhr of Germany, an industrial area where they rebelled against the paying of gold.
• The Economic crisis soon developed into Hyperinflation. People carried cartons of currency to buy a loaf of bread which grabbed media attention worldwide.

The Years of Depression

As the economic depression grew more and more due to various reasons, it continued over a span of many years during which many historical events took place. Hence, you must go through the following events which are essentially elaborated to explain Nazism and the rise of Hitler. 

• 1924-1928 saw Germany stabilizing slightly. Short-term loans from the USA helped slowly sustain the economy. However, the crash of Wall Street in 1929 stopped the influx of cash. The great economic depression started taking over.
• In 1932, industrial work was cut down by about 40% accounting for the unemployment of 6 million people. The whole country lived in fear of the future and proletarianization (impoverishment of the working class).
• Suspended civil rights, rule by decree, and imposing emergency were some powers of the President due to Article 48.
• The democratic parliamentary system lost the trust of the public.

Hitler’s Rise to Power

This is one of the most important topics covered under Nazism and the Rise of Hitler. This topic describes the early life of Adolf Hitler and how he came into power and became the name he is known for. Go through these important pointers to understand it in detail:

• Adolf Hitler was born in the year 1889 and raised in Austria. He enrolled in the army during World War I acted as a messenger and soon was promoted to Corporal.
• In 1919, he joined a small communist party named the German Workers Party. He soon took hold of the party and renamed it as National Socialist German Workers; later called the Nazi Party.
• Bavaria was the first target of Hitler and planned to seize it. He launched an attack in 1923 but failed. After 1929, the whole economic crisis was tearing apart the middle-class families of Germany.
• Hitler tried his hands at elections, but in 1929 his party only won 3.2% of the votes, though it soon became the largest party in 1932 by winning 37% of votes in Reichstag, Germany.
• He sidelined the parliament by his powers and ruled by decree. All other political parties and trade unions were disbanded forcefully, only the Nazi party remained.

Reconstruction 

As Hitler came into power, he brought drastic changes. The most important changes brought forward during Nazism and the Rise of Hitler are mentioned below:

• Hjalmar Schacht was appointed by Hitler to recover the economy employed full production and full employment through a state-funded work-creation programme.
• Hitler removed Germany from the League of Nations in 1933, cemented his position in the Rhineland in 1936, and integrated Austria & Germany in 1938.
• Hitler then planned to wage war to gain resources out of the economic crisis. In 1939, he invaded Poland and declared war on France & England. In 1940, Germany sealed the tripartite pact with Italy and Japan. He attacked the Soviet Union in 1941, while the USA kept its distance from the war.
• When Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, a US naval base, the USA had to reluctantly enter the war.
• In 1945, the US bombed Hiroshima with the atomic bomb, ending the war and bringing Hitler to his knees.

Establishment of Racial State and the Nazi Worldview

As the Nazi regime grew, it became the sole reason for the propagation of racial hierarchy in the country. Here are the major implications and consequences which happened with the establishment of the racial state during the advent of Nazism and the Rise of Hitler:

• A racial hierarchy system ruled the minds of Nazism followers. They believed that the Nordic German Aryans were the purest humans, all other races in the middle and the Jews were at the bottom.
• They began systematically removing other races to create a pure German Aryan community in Germany.
• Jews were hugely persecuted in this racial war. Not allowed to own lands, they were thrown in concentration camps and forced to leave their own home and finally, their numbers dwindled.
• The survivors of the Jewish extermination, also known as the Holocaust, started sharing their stories with the world.
• Hitler’s idea of establishing Nazi idealogy at the root level was soul-shaking. Schools were taught the Nazi approach and boys were taught masculine aggression.
• Those Children of Jews who were physically handicapped or undesirable were thrown into gas chambers.
• The number of deaths reached upwards of 2.7 million, almost all Jews during the Holocaust.
• In History, Hitler is remembered as the ruthless leader who brainwashed an entire generation and fed them fascist ideals.

Important Questions and Answers

Here are some important practice questions and answers to Chapter 3 of Class 9 History chapter Nazism and the Rise of Hitler.

Important Topics for Class 9 Nazism and the Rise of Hitler

1. Birth of the Weimar Republic
   • The Effects of the War
   • Political Radicalism and Economic Crises
   • The Years of Depression
2. Hitler’s Rise to Power
   • The Destruction of Democracy
   • Reconstruction
3. The Nazi Worldview
   • Establishment of the Racial State
   • The Racial Utopia
4. Youth in Nazi Germany
5. Ordinary People and the Crimes Against Humanity

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