NCERT NOTES

FOR HISTORY
9th Standard
India and the Contemporary World-I
CONTENTS
The French Revolution .................................................................................................................. 1 - 7

Socialism in Europe and the Russian Revolution ............................................................... 8 - 13

Nazism and the Rise of Hitler ................................................................................................ 14 - 22

 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1
The French revolution was started in 1789 and ended in 1799. During this revolution, series of events
started by the middle class which shaken the upper classes. The people revolted against the cruel regime of
monarchy. This revolution put forward the ideas of liberty, fraternity, and equality.

French Society During the Late Eighteenth Century:

· Louis XVI of the Bourbon family of kings ascended the throne of France in 1774. Louis XVI upon his
accession found an empty treasury because of following reasons:
Ø France's involvement in wars.
Ø Participation in American War of Independence added a billion livres debt to the already tight
financial situation.
· To overcome the challenging financial situation; Louis XVI planned to impose more taxes to meet the
expenses of the state.
· This step generated anger and protest against the system of privileges present in the French Society
which eventually led to the outbreak of French revolution.

French Society during the Late Eighteenth Century:

● During the late eighteenth century, the French society was divided into three estates: Clergy (the first
estate), Nobility (the second estate) and Commoners (the third estate).
● The society of estates was part of the feudal system that dated back to the middle ages.
● The members of the first two estates i.e., the clergy and the nobility, enjoyed certain privileges by
birth. For example, Exemption from paying taxes to the state.
● Third estate of society which consisted of peasants, artisans, court officials and lawyers paid taxes.
● Peasants made up about 90 per cent of the population. However, only a small number of them owned
the land they cultivated.
● About 60 per cent of the land was owned by nobles, the Church and other richer members of the third
estate. The Church levied direct taxes on peasants such as tithes, taille and indirect taxes on articles of
everyday consumption like salt or tobacco.

Related Key Terms:

Tithes: A tax levied by the church, comprising one-tenth of the agricultural produce.
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

●
● Taille: Tax to be paid directly to the state.
● Livre: Unit of currency in France, discontinued in 1794.
Clergy: Group of persons invested with special functions in the church.

The Struggle to Survive:

● The subsistence crisis in France traces its genesis in the rise in population from about 23 million in
1715 to 28 million in 1789.

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 ● The rise in population led to demand for food grains. But the production of food grains could not keep
pace with the demand and as a result price of staple items rose rapidly.
● Most workers were employed as laborer's in workshops whose owner fixed their wages. But wages
did not keep pace with the rise in prices. Moreover, the gap between rich and poor widened.
● Things became worse whenever drought or hail reduced the harvest.
● Thus, the rise in population, meagre wages, natural calamities led to a subsistence crisis.

Subsistence Crisis: An extreme situation where the basic means of livelihood are endangered.

A Growing Middle Class Envisages an End to Privileges:

● The eighteenth century witnessed the emergence of social groups, termed the middle class who
earned their wealth through an expanding overseas trade and from the manufacture of goods such as
woollen and silk textiles.
● In the third estate, people such as lawyers or administrative officials who were educated and believed
that no group in society should be privileged by birth. Rather, a person's social position must depend
on his merit.
● These ideas envisaging a society based on freedom and equal laws and opportunities for all, were
put forward by many philosophers.

The Outbreak of the Revolution:

● In the backdrop of the deteriorating financial situation of the state; Louis XVI called an assembly of the
Estates General to pass proposals for new taxes on 5 May 1789.
● In Estates General the first and second estates sent 300 representatives each, while the third estate
was represented by its more prosperous and educated members. Peasants, artisans, and women
were denied entry to the assembly.
● Members of the third estate demanded that voting should be conducted by the assembly as a whole
where each member would have one vote unlike on the earlier pattern where each estate had one
vote. However, the king rejected this proposal.
● On 20th June, the representatives of the third estate led by Mirabeau and Abbé Sieyès assembled in THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
the grounds of Versailles and declared themselves a National Assembly. They swore not to disperse
till they had drafted a constitution for France.
● Louis XVI finally accorded recognition to the National Assembly and accepted the principle that his
powers would from now on be checked by a constitution.
● On the night of 4 August 1789, the Assembly passed a decree abolishing the feudal system of
obligations and taxes.

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 Mirabeau:
● He was born in a noble family but acted as a crusader against feudal privilege of society.
● He brought out a journal and delivered powerful speeches to the crowds assembled at Versailles.
Abbe Sieyes:
● Originally a priest, wrote an influential pamphlet called 'What is the Third Estate'?
Estates General:
● The Estates General was a political body to which the three estates sent their representatives.

France Becomes a Constitutional Monarchy:

● France became a constitutional monarchy in 1791 which transferred the powers of monarchs to
different institutions – the legislature, executive and judiciary.
● The National Assembly was indirectly elected; citizens voted for a group of electors, who in turn
chose the Assembly.
● Voting Rights:
Ø Not all citizens had the right to vote. Only men above 25 years of age who paid taxes equal to at
least 3 days of a laborer's wage were given the status of active citizens i.e., entitled to vote.
Ø The remaining men and all women were classed as passive citizens.
● The Constitution 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 and
inalienable' rights.

Constitutional Monarchy: It is a form of monarchy in which the sovereign exercises authority in

accordance with a written or unwritten constitution.
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

Fig 1.1: The political system under the Constitution of 1791

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France Abolishes Monarchy and Becomes a Republic:
· Louis XI entered into secret negotiations with the King of Prussia in a bid to restore his powers which
were undermined with the enforcement of the constitution.
· However, before the negotiations could materialize the National Assembly voted in April 1792 to
declare war against Prussia and Austria.
Ø People joined war voluntarily; they saw this as a war of the people against kings and aristocracies all
over Europe. Among the patriotic songs they sang was the Marseillaise, composed by the poet
Roget de L'Isle.
● The revolutionary wars brought losses and economic difficulties to the people. Political clubs such as
Jacobins became an important rallying point for people who wished to discuss government policies
and plan their own forms of action.
● Jacobins stormed the Palace of the Tuileries, massacred the king's guards and held the king himself as
hostage for several hours.
● Later the Assembly voted to imprison the royal family. Elections were held.
● From now on all men of 21 years and above, regardless of wealth, got the right to vote.
● The newly elected assembly was called the Convention.
● On 21st September 1792, it abolished the monarchy and declared France a republic.
● On 21 January 1793 Louis XVI was executed publicly at the Place de la Concorde on the charge of
treason.

The Marseillaise:
● The Marseillaise was a patriotic song sung by people during the war against Prussia.
● It was composed by the poet Roget de L'Isle.
● It is now the national anthem of France.
Jacobin Club:
· Jacobin Club was a political club in France that started during the French Revolution.
● The members of the Jacobin club belonged mainly to the less prosperous sections of society.
Ø They included small shopkeepers, artisans such as shoemakers, pastry cooks, watchmakers,
printers, as well as servants and daily-wage workers. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
● Their leader was Maximilian Robespierre.
Members of the Jacobin Club known as San-culottes.

The Reign of Terror:

● Robespierre government's tenure from 1793 to 1794 is referred to as the Reign of Terror.
● Robespierre followed a policy of severe control and punishment.
○ He executed – ex-nobles, clergy, members of other political parties, even members of his own party
who did not agree with his method.

4
 ● His government issued laws placing a maximum ceiling on wages and prices.
● Equality was also sought to be practised through forms of speech and address. Instead of the
traditional Monsieur (Sir) and Madame (Madam) all French men and women were henceforth Citoyen
and Citoyenne (Citizen).
● Robespierre pursued his policies so relentlessly that even his supporters began to demand
moderation. Later, he was convicted by a court in July 1794, arrested and on the next day sent to the
guillotine.

A Directory Rules France:

● A new constitution was introduced after the fall of Robespierre government which denied the vote to
non-propertied sections of society.
● It provided for two elected legislative councils.
● A Directory was appointed with an executive made up of five members.
Ø This was meant as a safeguard against the concentration of power in a one-man executive as under
the Jacobins.
● However, the Directors often clashed with the legislative councils, who then sought to dismiss them.
● The political instability of the Directory paved the way for the rise of a military dictator, Napoleon
Bonaparte.

Women Participation in Revolution:

· Women were active participants in the events which brought about so many important changes in
French society.
● However, Women were deprived of political rights as men; the Constitution of 1791 reduced them to
passive citizens. They demanded the right to vote, to be elected to the Assembly and to hold political
office.
● In order to discuss and voice their interest's women started their own political clubs. For Example: The
Society of Revolutionary and Republican Women was the most famous of them.
● In early years; the revolutionary government led by Robespierre introduced laws that helped improve
the lives of women. For Example:
Ø Together with the creation of state schools, schooling was made compulsory for all girls.
Ø Marriage was made into a contract entered into freely and registered under civil law. Divorce was
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

made legal and could be applied for by both women and men.
● However, during the Reign of Terror, the government issued laws ordering closure of women's clubs
and banning their political activities.
● Women's movements for voting rights and equal wages continued through the next two hundred
years in many countries of the world. In 1946, women in France won the right to vote after a long
struggle.

5
 Olympe de Gouges (1748-1793):
● Olympe de Gouges protested against the Constitution and the Declaration of Rights of Man and
Citizen as it excluded women from basic rights.
● In 1791, she wrote a Declaration of the Rights of Woman and Citizen, in which she addressed the
Queen and to the members of the National Assembly, demanding equal rights for women.
● In 1793, Olympe de Gouges criticized the Jacobin government for forcibly closing down women's
clubs.
She was tried by the National Convention which charged her with treason. Soon after this she
was executed.

The Abolition of Slavery:

● The French colonies in the Caribbean – Martinique, Guadeloupe and San Domingo – were important
suppliers of commodities such as tobacco, indigo, sugar and coffee.
● The slave trade began in began in the seventeenth century between Europe, Africa and the
Americas to cater the needs of plantation in these colonies.
● The National Assembly held long debates about whether the rights of man should be extended to all
French subjects including those in the colonies. But it did not pass any laws, fearing opposition from
businessmen whose incomes depended on the slave trade.
● In 1794, the Convention legislated to free all slaves in the French overseas possessions.
● However, this turned out to be a short-term measure.
Ø Ten years later, Napoleon reintroduced slavery.
● Slavery was finally abolished in French colonies in 1848.

Convention: The elected assembly formed in France in 1792 was called Convention. It abolished the
monarchy and declared France a republic.

The Revolution and Everyday Life:

· The years following 1789 in France saw many such changes in the lives of people. The revolutionary
governments passed laws that would translate the ideals of liberty and equality into everyday practice. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
· In 1789 censorship was abolished.
Ø Newspapers, pamphlets, books and printed pictures flooded the towns of France from where they
travelled rapidly into the countryside.

Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte:

● In 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself Emperor of France.
● Napoleon saw his role as a moderniser of Europe. He introduced many laws such as the protection of
private property and a uniform system of weights and measures provided by the decimal system.

6
 ● Initially, many saw Napoleon as a liberator who would bring freedom for the people. But soon the
Napoleonic armies came to be viewed everywhere as an invading force. He was finally defeated at
Waterloo in 1815.

Conclusion:
● The ideas of liberty and democratic rights were the most important legacy of the French Revolution.
These spread from France to the rest of Europe during the nineteenth century, where feudal systems
were abolished.
● Colonised peoples reworked the idea of freedom from bondage into their movements to create a
sovereign nation state.
● Tipu Sultan and Rammohan Roy are two examples of individuals who responded to the ideas coming
from revolutionary France.

Some Important Dates:

● 1774: Louis XVI becomes king of France, faces empty treasury and growing discontent within society
of the Old Regime.
● 1789: Convocation of Estates General, Third Estate forms National Assembly, the Bastille is stormed,
peasants' revolt in the countryside.
● 1791: A constitution is framed to limit the powers of the king and to guarantee basic rights to all human
beings.
● 1792-93: France becomes a republic, the king is beheaded. Overthrow of the Jacobin republic, a
Directory rules France.
● 1804: Napoleon became emperor of France, annexing large parts of Europe.
● 1815: Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo.
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

7
 SOCIALISM IN EUROPE
2 AND THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION
The Age of Social Change:
· After the French revolution, the ideas of freedom and equality spread across Europe and Asia.
· These ideas acted as a vehicle of societal change in a society which was broadly divided - into estates
and orders.
· Not everyone in Europe, however, wanted a complete transformation of society.
o Conservatives' wanted change but with reluctance, Liberals wanted a gradual restructuring of
society while 'radicals' planned to alter the society radically.
o Such differing ideas about societal change clashed during the social and political turmoil that
followed the French Revolution.
· In India, Raja Rammohan Roy and Derozio were influenced by the ideals of French Revolution.

Liberals, Radicals and Conservatives

Liberals:
· Liberals wanted a nation which tolerated all religions.
· Liberals opposed the uncontrolled power of dynastic rulers.
· They advocated the rights of individuals against governments.
· They argued for a representative, elected parliamentary government, with an independent judiciary.
· They did not believe in universal adult franchise.
o They felt men of property should have the vote.
o They also did not support the right to vote for women.

SOCIALISM IN EUROPE AND THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

Radicals:
· They wanted a nation in which the government was based on the majority of a country's population.
· They supported women's suffrage movements.
· They opposed the privileges of great landowners and wealthy factory owners.
· They were not against the existence of private property but disliked concentration of property in the
hands of a few.

Conservatives:
· They were opposed to radicals and liberals.
· They believed that the past had to be respected and change had to be brought about through a slow
process.

Universal Adult Franchise: Right of every citizen to vote.

Industrial Society and Social Change:

· The ideas of freedom and equality acted as precursors to social and economic changes in society.
· New cities came up and new industrialised regions developed, railways expanded, and the Industrial
Revolution occurred.

8
 · Industrialisation brought men, women and children to factories. Work hours were often long, and
wages were poor. Unemployment was common, particularly during times of low demand for industrial
goods.
o Liberals and radicals searched for solutions to these issues.
· Almost all industries were the property of individuals. Liberals and radicals themselves were often
property owners and employers.
· In France, Italy, Germany and Russia, people became revolutionaries and worked to overthrow existing
monarchs. Nationalists talked of revolutions that would create 'nations' where all citizens would have
equal rights.
· After 1815, Giuseppe Mazzini, an Italian nationalist, conspired with others to achieve this in Italy.
Nationalists elsewhere – including India – read his writings.

The Coming of Socialism to Europe:

· Socialists saw private property as the root cause of all social ills. They advocated that society as a
whole rather than single individuals should control property, which would promote collective social
interests.
· Socialists had different visions of the future.
Ø Some socialists such as Robert Owen believed in promoting the cooperatives at individual level
while Other socialists, such as Louis Blanc advocated that governments should encourage
cooperatives.
· Marx's Views on Industrial Society:
SOCIALISM IN EUROPE AND THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

Ø Marx argued that industrial society was 'capitalist'.

o Capitalists owned the capital invested in factories, and the profit of capitalists was produced by
workers.
· The conditions of workers could not improve as long as this profit was accumulated by private
capitalists.
· Marx advocated a socialist society where all property was socially controlled which would
emancipate workers from exploitation.
· He envisioned communist society as the natural society of the future.

Support for Socialism:

· By the 1870s, socialist ideas spread through Europe. To coordinate their efforts, socialists formed an
international body – namely, the Second International.
· Workers in England and Germany began forming associations to fight for better living and working
conditions.
· In Germany, these associations worked closely with the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and helped it
win parliamentary seats.
· By 1905, socialists and trade unionists formed a Labour Party in Britain and a Socialist Party in
France.

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 · However, till 1914, socialists never succeeded in forming a government in Europe. Represented by
strong figures in parliamentary politics, their ideas did shape legislation.

Cooperatives: These were to be associations of people who produced goods together and divided
the profits according to the work done by members.
Suffragette Movement: A movement to give women the right to vote.

The Russian Revolution:

Socialists took over the government in Russia through the October Revolution of 1917. The fall of monarchy
in February 1917 and the events of October are normally called the Russian Revolution.

The Russian Empire in 1914:

· During the Tsar Nicholas II regime in 1914, the Russian empire stretched to the Pacific and comprised
today's Central Asian states, as well as Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.
· It also included current-day Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, parts of Poland, Ukraine and Belarus.
· In Russian empire the majority religion was Russian Orthodox Christianity besides Catholics,
Protestants, Muslims and Buddhists.

Economy and Society:

· At the beginning of the twentieth century, about 85 percent of the Russian empire's population earned
their living from agriculture.

SOCIALISM IN EUROPE AND THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

· In the empire, cultivators produced for the market as well as for their own needs and Russia was a
major exporter of grain.
· In Russia, peasants wanted the land of the nobles to be given to them. Frequently, they refused to pay
rent and even murdered landlords.
· Russian peasants pooled their land together periodically and their commune (mir) divided it according
to the needs of individual families.
· Industry:
Ø Industry was found in pockets. Prominent industrial areas were St Petersburg and Moscow.
Ø Many factories were set up in the 1890s, when Russia's railway network was extended, and foreign
investment in industry increased. Coal production doubled and iron and steel output quadrupled.
Ø Most industry was the private property of industrialists. Government supervised large factories to
ensure minimum wages and limited hours of work.
· Workers were a divided social group. Some had strong links with the villages from which they came.
Others had settled in cities permanently.
· Women made up 31 per cent of the factory labour force by 1914, but they were paid less than men.
· These strikes took place frequently in the textile industry during 1896-1897, and in the metal industry
during 1902.
· Nobles got their power and position through their services to the Tsar, not through local popularity.

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 Political Parties in Russia
· The Russian Social Democratic Workers Party:
· It was founded in 1898 inspired by Marx's ideas.
· However, because of government policing, it had to operate as an illegal organisation.
· It set up a newspaper, mobilised workers and organised strikes.
· The party was divided over the strategy of organisation.
Ø The Bolshevik group was led by Vladimir Lenin. He thought that in a repressive society like Tsarist
Russia the party should be disciplined and should control the number and quality of its members.
Ø Others (Mensheviks) thought that the party should be open to all (as in Germany).
· Socialist Revolutionary Party:
Ø It was founded in 1900 struggled for peasants' rights and demanded that land belonging to nobles
be transferred to peasants.

A Turbulent Time: The 1905 Revolution

· Bloody Sunday:
Ø It was a massacre that took place on 22nd January 1905 in St Petersburg, wherein over 100
workers were killed and about 300 wounded when they took out a procession to present an appeal
to Tsar.
Ø This procession was taken out to demand a reduction in the working day to eight hours, an
increase in wages and improvement in working conditions.
Ø This was done because the prices of essential goods rose so fast that real wages were declined by
SOCIALISM IN EUROPE AND THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

20%. It was named Bloody Sunday since it took place on Sunday.

· Duma:
Ø Duma was an elected consultative Parliament formed in Russia during the 1905 Revolution.
Ø However, The Tsar dismissed the first Duma within 75 days and the re-elected second Duma
within three months.
Ø He did not want any questioning of his authority or any reduction in his power.
Ø He changed the voting laws and packed the third Duma with conservative politicians. Liberals
and revolutionaries were kept out.

The First World War and the Russian Empire:

· In 1914, the first world war broke out between two European alliances – Germany, Austria and Turkey
(the Central powers) and France, Britain and Russia (later Italy and Romania).
· In Russia, the war was initially popular, and people rallied around Tsar Nicholas II.
· However, as the war continued and the Tsar approach not to consult the main parties in the Duma led
to the support wore thin.
· The Tsarina Alexandra's German origins and poor advisers, especially a monk called Rasputin,
made the autocracy unpopular.

11
Impact on Industry:
· Russian industries were already fewer in number, further during the war Russia was cut off from other
suppliers of industrial goods due to German control of Baltic sea.
· Industrial equipment disintegrated more rapidly in Russia than elsewhere in Europe. By 1916, railway
lines began to break down.
· Able-bodied men were called up to the war. Consequently, there were labour shortages and small
workshops producing essentials were shut down.

The February Revolution in Petrograd:

Social Conditions: Petrograd

· The winter of 1917 witnessed the exceptional frost which made the conditions in the capital,
Petrograd grim.
· The layout of the city was designed in a manner that highlighted the divisions among its people.
· The workers' quarters and factories were located on the right bank of the River Neva while on the
left bank were the Winter Palace, and official buildings.
· In February 1917, food shortages were deeply felt in the workers' quarters.

Formation of Petrograd Soviet:

· On 22 February, a lockout took place at a factory on the right bank of river Neva. The next day, workers
in fifty factories called a strike in sympathy.
· Workers surrounded official buildings and the fashionable quarters which led to the government

SOCIALISM IN EUROPE AND THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

announcement of curfew.
· On 25 February, the government suspended the Duma.
· On the 27th of February the Police Headquarters were ransacked. The cavalry was called to control the
protestors who were protesting in hope of getting their demands meet i.e., Bread, better wages,
working hours.
· However, the cavalry refused to fire on the demonstrators instead three regiments mutinied and joined
striking workers.
· Later, Soldiers and striking workers assembled to form 'soviet' or 'council' in the same building where
the Duma met. This was Known as the Petrograd Soviet.

Functioning of Provisional Government:

· After formation of Petrograd Soviet, Tsar abdicated on 2 March.
· Soviet and Duma Leaders formed Provisional Government to run the country. From now onwards
Russia's future would be decided by a constituent assembly, elected on the basis of universal adult
suffrage.
· Army officials, landowners and industrialists were influential in the Provisional Government.
Restrictions on public meetings and associations were removed.
· 'Soviets', like the Petrograd Soviet, were set up everywhere, though no common system of election

12
 was followed.
· In April 1917, the Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin returned to Russia from exile.
Ø He put forward three demands- known as Lenin's 'April Theses.
o First World War to be brought to close.
o Transfer of Land to the peasants.
o Nationalisation of Banks.
· Through the summer the workers' movement spread. In industrial areas, factory committees were
formed which began questioning the way industrialists ran their factories.
· In June, about 500 Soviets sent representatives to an All-Russian Congress of Soviets. As the
Provisional Government saw its power reduce and Bolshevik influence grow, it decided to take stern
measures against the spreading discontent. It resisted attempts by workers to run factories and began
arresting leaders. Popular demonstrations staged by the Bolsheviks in July 1917 were sternly
repressed.

Vladimir Lenin:
· In April 1917, the Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin returned to Russia from exile.
· He had opposed the war since 1914. He felt it was time for soviets to take power from Provisional
government.
SOCIALISM IN EUROPE AND THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

13
 NAZISM AND THE RISE
3 OF HITLER
Nazism is also known as National Socialism, a political ideology propagated by Nazi party in Germany. It
was started by Adolf Hitler in 1920s and lasted till the end of the World War II in 1945.

Birth of the Weimar Republic:

· Germany fought the First World War (1914-1918) alongside Austria and against the Allies (England,
France, and Russia).
· Germany made initial gains by occupying France and Belgium. However, the Allies, strengthened by
the US entry in 1917, defeated Imperial Germany.
· This defeat led to the abdication of the emperor from throne and presented an opportunity before
parliamentary parties to recast German polity.
· A National Assembly was convened at Weimar which established a democratic constitution with a
federal structure.
· Deputies were now elected to the German Parliament or Reichstag, based on equal and universal
votes cast by all adults including women.
· However, people did not receive well the birth of new republic due to imposition of Treaty of Versailles
upon Germany by allies. As many Germans believed that new Weimar Republic was responsible for
not only the defeat in the war but the disgrace at Versailles.

NAZISM AND THE RISE OF HITLER

Fig 3.1: Germany after the Versailles Treaty

The Treaty of Versailles:

· It is a peace agreement signed between Germany and the victorious Allied Powers in 1919 at the
Palace of Versailles in Paris.
· The treaty ended the state of war that had existed between Germany and the Allies from 1914 and
brought World War I to an end.

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 Impact of Treaty of Versailles in Germany:
· Germany lost its overseas colonies, a tenth of its population, 13 per cent of its territories, 75 per cent of
its iron and 26 per cent of its coal to France, Poland, Denmark, and Lithuania.
· Germany was demilitarised to weaken its power by the allied powers.
· The War Guilt Clause held Germany responsible for the war and damages which the Allied countries
suffered.
· Germany was forced to pay compensation amounting to £6 billion.

The Effects of the War:

· The war had a devastating impact on the entire continent both psychologically and financially.
· From a continent of creditors, Europe turned into one of debtors and unfortunately, the infant
Weimar Republic was being made to pay for the sins of the old empire.
· The republic carried the burden of war guilt and national humiliation. It was financially crippled by
being forced to pay compensation.
· Those who supported the Weimar Republic, mainly Socialists, Catholics, and Democrats, became easy
targets of attack in the conservative nationalist circles. They were mockingly called the 'November
criminals'.
· In public life, soldiers came to be placed above civilians. Politicians and publicists laid great stress on
the need for men to be aggressive, strong, and masculine.
· Aggressive war propaganda and national honour occupied centre stage in the public sphere, while
popular support grew for conservative dictatorships.

Political Radicalism and Economic Crises:

· There was a revolutionary uprising of the Spartacist League in Germany on the pattern of the
Bolshevik Revolution in Russia.
· It opposed the Weimar republic and demanded Soviet-style governance.
· The Weimar Republic crushed the uprising with the help of a war veterans organisation called Free
Corps. The anguished Spartacists later founded the Communist Party of Germany.
· Political radicalisation was only heightened by the economic crisis of 1923. Germany had fought the
NAZISM AND THE RISE OF HITLER

war largely on loans and had to pay war reparations in gold. This depleted gold reserves at a time
resources were scarce.
· In 1923 Germany refused to pay, and the French occupied its leading industrial area, Ruhr, to claim
their coal.
· Germany retaliated with passive resistance and printed paper currency recklessly. With too much
printed money in circulation, the value of the German mark fell.
· As the value of the mark collapsed, prices of goods soared. This crisis came to be known as
hyperinflation, a situation when prices rise phenomenally high.
· Eventually, the Americans intervened and bailed Germany out of the crisis by introducing the Dawes
Plan, which reworked the terms of reparation to ease the financial burden on Germans.

15
The Years of Depression:
· German investments and industrial recovery were totally dependent on short-term loans, largely
from the USA. This support was withdrawn when the Wall Street Exchange crashed in 1929. Fearing
a fall in prices, people made frantic efforts to sell their shares.
· This was the start of the Great Economic Depression. Over the next three years, between 1929 and
1932, the national income of the USA fell by half.
· Factories shut down, exports fell, farmers were badly hit, and speculators withdrew their money from
the market. The effects of this recession in the US economy were felt worldwide.

Impact of Great Depression on Germany:

· The German economy was the worst hit by the economic crisis.
· By 1932, industrial production was reduced to 40 per cent of the 1929 level. Workers lost their jobs or
were paid reduced wages. The number of unemployed touched an unprecedented 6 million.
· As jobs disappeared, the unemployed youth took to criminal activities and total despair became
commonplace.
· The middle classes, especially salaried employees and pensioners saw their savings diminish when
the currency lost its value.
· Big as well as small businesses, the self-employed and retailers suffered as their businesses got
ruined. Moreover, the large mass of peasantry was affected by a sharp fall in agricultural prices.

Political Situation in Germany during Great Depression:

· In years of Great Depression, the Weimar Republic was becoming politically fragile.
· Due to proportional representation, it became near impossible task to achieve majority in parliament
which led to a rule by coalitions. Within its short life, the Weimar Republic saw twenty different
cabinets lasting on an average 239 days.
· Liberal use of Article 48: The President under Article 48 had the powers to impose emergency,
suspend civil rights and rule by decree.
· People lost confidence in the democratic parliamentary system, which seemed to offer no solution.

NAZISM AND THE RISE OF HITLER

Hitler's Rise to Power:
· Hitler was born in 1889 in Austria. During the first world war he enrolled in the army and acted as
messenger in the front. He became a corporal and earned medals for his bravery.
· Hitler rise came in the backdrop of crisis created by signing of humiliating Treaty of Versailles after
end of first world war.
· In 1919, he joined a small group called the 'German Workers Party' and subsequently took over the
organisation and renamed it the National Socialist German Workers' Party. This party came to be
known as the Nazi Party.
· The Nazis could not effectively mobilize popular support till the early 1930s. It was during the great
depression; Nazism became a mass movement.

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 · In 1928, the Nazi Party got very less percentage of votes in the Reichstag – the German parliament and
by 1932, it had become the largest party.
· He promised to build a strong nation, undo the injustice of the Versailles Treaty, and restore the dignity
of the German people.
· Hitler devised a new style of politics. He understood the significance of rituals and spectacle in mass
mobilisation. Nazis held massive rallies and public meetings to demonstrate the support for Hitler and
instil a sense of unity among the people.
· Nazi propaganda skilfully projected Hitler as a messiah, a saviour, as someone who had arrived to
deliver people from their distress.

The Destruction of Democracy:

· Hitler, after having acquired Chancellorship in the Cabinet (German Parliament), set out to dismantle
the structures of democratic rule.
· A mysterious fire that broke out in the German Parliament building which facilitated his move. By using
the Fire Decree of 28 February 1933, he indefinitely suspended civic rights like freedom of speech,
press and assembly that had been guaranteed by the Weimar constitution.
· Hitler in his pursuit to finish dissent prosecuted his archrivals- communists into concentration camps.
Ø Concentration camp: A camp where people were isolated and detained without due process of
law.
· In March 1933, the Enabling Act was passed which established dictatorship in Germany. This act
gave Hitler all powers to sideline the parliament and establish rule by decree.
· All political parties were banned except for the Nazi Party and its affiliates. The state established
complete control over the economy, media, army, and judiciary.
· Special surveillance and security forces such as Gestapo (secret state police), the SS (the protection
squads), criminal police and the Security Service (SD) were given unbridled powers.
· People could now be detained, rounded up and sent to concentration camps, deported at will or
arrested without any legal procedures.
· This led to the destruction of democracy.
NAZISM AND THE RISE OF HITLER

Reconstruction of Economy:
· Hitler assigned the responsibility of economic recovery to the economist Hjalmar Schacht who aimed
at full production and full employment through a state-funded work-creation programme.
· Hitler pulled out of League of Nations in 1933, reoccupied the Rhineland in 1936, and integrated
Austria and Germany in 1938 under the slogan, One people, One empire, and One leader.

Expansion of Nazi Power in Europe:

· In September 1939, Germany invaded Poland. This started a war with France and England.
· In 1940, a Tripartite Pact was signed between Germany, Italy, and Japan.

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 · Puppet regimes, supportive of Nazi Germany, were installed in a large part of Europe. By the end of
1940, Hitler was at the pinnacle of his power.
· Hitler attacked the Soviet Union in June 1941 in pursuit of achieving his long-term aim of conquering
Europe. In this historic blunder Hitler exposed the German western front to British aerial bombing and
the eastern front to the powerful Soviet armies.
· The Soviet Red Army inflicted a crushing and humiliating defeat on Germany at Stalingrad.

Fig 3.2: Expansion of Nazi in Europe

The Nazi Worldview:

· Basically, Nazi's ideology reflects the world view of Hitler. According to this there was no equality
between people, but only a racial hierarchy.
· It perceived Nordic German Aryans at the top, while Jews were located at the lowest rung in society.

NAZISM AND THE RISE OF HITLER

Jews were considered to be the archenemies of the Aryans.
· Darwin's idea of survival of fittest was distorted by Nazi followers to justify imperial rule over
conquered peoples.
Ø Nazism advocated the strongest race would survive, and the weak ones would perish. The Aryan
race was the finest. It had to retain its purity, become stronger and dominate the world.

Nordic German Aryans: A Branch of Aryans which lived in north European countries and had
German or related origin.

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 Concept of Lebensraum or living space:
· This concept is related to geopolitical world view of Hitler.
· According to this view the new territories had to be acquired for settlement which would enhance the
area of the mother country, while enabling the settlers on new lands to retain an intimate link with the
place of their origin.
· It would also enhance the material resources and power of the German nation.
· Using this concept, Hitler wanted to extend German boundaries so that all Germans geographically
gets settled in one place.
· Poland became the laboratory for this experimentation.

Establishment of the Racial State:

· After acquiring power, Nazis pursued their agenda to establish a society of 'pure and healthy Nordic
Aryans'.
· Nordic Aryans were considered to be 'desirable'. This meant that even those Germans who were
impure or abnormal had no right to exist.
· Jews, Gypsies, Blacks living in Germany were considered as racial 'inferiors' who threatened the
biological purity of the 'superior Aryan' race. They were widely persecuted.
· Condition of Jews:
Ø Jews remained the worst sufferers in Nazi Germany. Nazi hatred of Jews had a precursor in the
traditional Christian hostility towards Jews. They had been stereotyped as killers of Christ and
usurers.
Ø They lived in separately marked areas called ghettos. They were often persecuted through periodic
organised violence, and expulsion from the land.
Ø From 1933 to 1938 the Nazis terrorised, pauperised, and segregated the Jews, compelling them to
leave the country. The next phase, 1939-1945, aimed at concentrating them in certain areas and
eventually killing them in gas chambers in Poland.
NAZISM AND THE RISE OF HITLER

The Racial Utopia:

· Under the shadow of war, the Nazis proceeded to realise their murderous, racial ideal. Genocide and
war became two sides of the same coin. Occupied Poland was divided up.
· Poles were forced to leave their homes and properties behind to be occupied by ethnic Germans
brought in from occupied Europe.
· Members of the Polish intelligentsia were murdered in large numbers to keep the entire people
intellectually and spiritually servile. Polish children who looked like Aryans were forcibly snatched from
their mothers and examined by 'race experts' if they were fit enough to be raised in German families.

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 Nazis executed Jews with these three Steps:
· Exclusion (1933-1939): The Following steps were taken to exclude Jews from mainstream
society.
Ø Implementation of The Nuremberg Laws of citizenship of September 1935.
Ø Jewish businesses were boycotted.
Ø Jews were expelled from government services.
Ø Their properties were either confiscated or compelled to sell forcibly.
· Ghettoisation (1940 – 1944):
Ø From September 1941, all Jews had to wear a yellow Star of David on their breasts. This
identity mark was stamped on their passport, all legal documents, and houses.
Ø They were kept in Jewish houses in Germany, and in ghettos like Lodz and Warsaw in the east.
These became sites of extreme misery and poverty. Jews had to surrender all their wealth
before they entered a ghetto.
Ø The ghettos became example of hunger, starvation, and disease due to deprivation and poor
hygiene.
· Annihilation 1941 onwards:
Ø In this phase, Jews from Jewish houses, concentration camps and ghettos from different parts
of Europe were brought to death factories by goods trains.
Ø Mass killings took place within minutes with scientific precision.

Youth in Nazi Germany:

· Hitler felt that a strong Nazi society could be established only by teaching children Nazi ideology. This
required a control over the child both inside and outside school.

NAZISM AND THE RISE OF HITLER

· All schools were 'cleansed' and 'purified'. This meant that teachers who were Jews or seen as
'politically unreliable' were dismissed.
· Segregation of Children into Germans and Jews was done. They could not sit together or play together.
· Subsequently, 'undesirable children' – Jews, the physically handicapped, Gypsies – were thrown out of
schools.
· Good German' children were subjected to a process of Nazi schooling, a prolonged period of
ideological training. School textbooks were rewritten. Racial science was introduced to justify Nazi
ideas of race.
· Children were taught to be loyal and submissive, hate Jews, and worship Hitler.
· Youth organisations were made responsible for educating German youth in the 'the spirit of National

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 Socialism'. Ten-year-olds had to enter Jungvolk.
· It was made mandatory for all boys to join the Nazi youth organisation “Hitler Youth”, where they
learnt to worship war, glorify aggression and violence, condemn democracy, and hate Jews,
communists.

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

The Nazi Cult of Motherhood:
· Nazi ideology glorified woman as mothers, it propagated the view that women were radically
different from men.
· In Nazi Germany, Women who bore racially undesirable children were punished and those who
produced racially desirable children were awarded.
Ø For example: They were given favoured treatment in hospitals and were also entitled to
concessions in shops and on theatre tickets and railway fares.
· To encourage women to produce many children, Honour Crosses were awarded. A bronze cross was
given for four children, silver for six and gold for eight or more.
· All 'Aryan' women who deviated from the prescribed code of conduct were publicly condemned, and
severely punished. Those who maintained contact with Jews, Poles and Russians were paraded
through the town with shaved heads.

The Art of Propaganda:

· To disseminate and win support to the Nazi ideology, the Nazi regime used media with great effect.
· Nazi ideas were spread through visual images, films, radio, posters, catchy slogans, and leaflets. In
posters, groups identified as the 'enemies' of Germans were stereotyped, mocked, abused and
described as evil.
· Socialists and liberals were labelled as malicious foreign agents.
· Creating Stereotype for Jews:
Ø To spread hatred against Jews movies were made. For Example, the Eternal Jew.
Ø Jews were shown with flowing beards wearing kaftans, whereas in reality it was difficult to
NAZISM AND THE RISE OF HITLER

distinguish German Jews by their outward appearance because they were a highly assimilated
community.
Ø They were referred to as vermin, rats, and pests.

Ordinary People and the Crimes Against Humanity:

· Ordinary People were indoctrinated through Nazi propaganda, they thought that Nazism would bring
prosperity to Germans. They felt that hatred towards Jews, but not every German was Nazi.
· Many organised active resistance to Nazism, braving police repression and death. Most Germans,
however, were passive onlookers and apathetic witnesses.
· Charlotte Beradt wrote an account of Jews condition in book 'In the Third Reich of Dreams'.

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 Ø She describes the agony which Jews faced due to stereotyping done by Nazi Press in her book.

Knowledge about the Holocaust:

· The world remained in oblivion about the atrocities committed on Jews till the end of world war. Nazi
killed Jews at large scale often known as – Holocaust.
· Nazi leadership left no stone unturned to ensure that all incriminating evidence never catch the
attention of world community. They distributed Petrol to their functionaries to burn the documents,
diary accounts recovered from inhabitants of camps.

Yet the history and the memory of the Holocaust live on in memoirs, fiction, documentaries, poetry,
memorials, and museums in many parts of the world today. These are a tribute to those who resisted it, an
embarrassing reminder to those who collaborated, and a warning to those who watched in silence.

Some Important Dates:

· August 1, 1914: First World War begins.
· November 9, 1918: Germany capitulates, ending the war.
· November 9, 1918: Proclamation of the Weimar Republic.
· June 28, 1919: Treaty of Versailles.
· January 30, 1933: Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany.
· September 1, 1939: Germany invades Poland. Beginning of the Second World War.
· June 22, 1941: Germany invades the USSR.
· June 23,1941: Mass murder of the Jews begins.
· December 8, 1941: The United States joins Second World War.
· January 27, 1945: Soviet troops liberate Auschwitz.
· May 8, 1945: Allied victory in Europe

NAZISM AND THE RISE OF HITLER

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