Nazism and the Rise of Hitler Class 9 Notes CBSE History Chapter 3 (Free PDF Download)

1. Otto Frank was at the pinnacle of his success. As a businessman, he had earned a lot. He was also living a happy life with his wife and two of his daughters. But fate was very cruel. Hitler gradually rose to power in the initial part of the 20th century. But clever Frank was foresighted. He also knew inside of him about what was to come. So he shifted from Germany to Amsterdam so as to escape from the madness of Hitler. He also tried hard to send his family to the U.S, so as to leave that hell once and for all. Later when Hitler became too much powerful, the Nazi soldiers separated the once happy family & transported them to the various concentration camps. Imagine a father, who is not able to look at his two lovely daughters &  his beloved wife. Every day he had hoped to see his family alive. That hope never came. In 1945 the father, Otto Frank, got to hear the news that he so desperately did not want to hear.

2. How did Hitler become so powerful? Why did the Germans support him in the very beginning? What happened during the time of Hitler? This chapter is devoted to all of these topics.

3. Germany’s Defeat In The World War I

i. Germany entered the world war on 1st August, 1914. Its aim was to dominate over Russia and France, the most powerful countries on either side of Germany.

ii. It first attacked Belgium. After this move by Germany, Great Britain attacked Germany.

iii. Later as the U.S joined the Allied forces, Germany was easily defeated by them.

iv. First, the failure of the Schlieffen plan and then the weakness of Kaiser Wilhelm II made the general public and the army lose respect for him.

v. In 1918 Wilhelm abdicated the throne.

vi. The Social Democratic Party & the Independent Social Democratic party convened a National Congress. Ultimately, a weak coalition government was made.

 4. Paris Peace Conference &  the Treaty of Versailles

Meanwhile, in Paris, the Allies met basically to take revenge (politically and economically) upon the defeated Central Powers. The main outcome of the peace conference was the Treaty of Versailles (1919). This treaty was signed with Germany. The terms of this treaty put the blame of all the description & damages squarely on Germany. Because of this treaty:

i. Germany had to lose its overseas colonies. Nearly 13% of the German territory was given away to various countries who directly or indirectly supported the Allies countries. 

ii. France also grabbed Alsace and Lorraine which were parts of Germany.

iii. Germany’s control over Poland was also taken away. Poland now had become a sovereign country again.

iv. As reparation, Germany had to shell out $33 billion.

v. Germany’s military prowess was more or less neutralised -especially in Rhineland.

vi. France and Belgium initially grabbed a significant part of Rhineland. Later when Germany failed to pay reparations the French and Belgian army occupied the Ruhr region as well.

5. After-Effects of The Treaty

i. It was a huge embarrassing  blow to the psychology of the proud Germans. They had to undergo extreme humiliation due to this treaty.

ii. The poor Weimar Republic - which had nothing to do with the war or the treaty - became the punching bag of the Germans. They felt that it was because of the weakness of the republic government that the Allies had dared to impose such heavy penalties.

iii. The conservative nationalistic people in Germany also abused the supporters of the Weimar Republic and turned against them. The supporters of it included mainly the Socialists. The Democrats and the Catholics also bore the brunt.

iv. As aggressive nationalism reared its head, so did the tendency to glorify the war and trench life.

6. Radical Elements In The Political Sphere

As the Weimar Republic came to existence so did the radical group called the Spartacist League. The group was impressed by the Soviets & wanted to imitate their style of governance. Initially, the Weimar Republic, with the help of the Free Corps, stunted the rise of the Spartacist League. As you can imagine from their love of the Soviet-style of governance, the league was Communist in spirit. Later it formed the Communist Party of Germany.

7. The Economic Fallout

i. Germany also had to pay the Allies an astronomical sum of money as reparations. On the other hand, during the war, it borrowed money & resources as well. So it was in great debt.

ii. France occupied the Ruhr upon non-payment of reparations.

iii. To counter the growing economic stress, Germany also printed a large amount of paper currency. This led to shocking inflation.

iv. Although America tried to bail Germany out, after the economic depression of 1929, America had stopped giving loans to Germany.

v. German industrial output also was at an all-time low. As many as 6 million Germans became unemployed.

8. The Emergence of Hitler

i. As the German economy was deteriorating day by day due to unfair ruling in the peace treaty, Hitler was seething with anger. Toxic nationalistic sentiment had filled him to the core.

ii. Who was Hitler as a man before Hitler became ‘the’ Hitler? He was the son of a customs official. He lived in Austria in his early days. Hitler also wanted to be an artist but was repeatedly rejected by the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna. (Imagine if he had been admitted to the Academy, the History could have been a lot less bloody).

iii. In 1913, Hitler then came to Munich and joined the 16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment. An aimless Hitler had found refuge in war. He really loved the discipline and the way of life that he experienced while he was in the army.

iv. After his service, Hitler also joined the German Workers Party. That was in the year 1919 the year when the Versailles Treaty was also signed. He then became the topmost leader of the party and had renamed it the National Socialist German Workers’ Party. This same party was then transformed into the Nazi Party. The Promise For A Better Country

v. The morale of the German people was at the very bottom after the treaty. Hitler, through his Nazi Party, had promised the Germans the better future once he would come to power. The people started dreaming  just like a drowning ant would clutch a straw. 

vi. By 1932, Hitler’s nazi Party got 37% votes and became a majority party in the German Parliament. Ultimately on 30th January 1933, Hitler became the Chancellor and The Dictatorship Began. Hitler then intoxicated the conservatives & the general population with his promises.

vii. When a mysterious fire broke out in the German Parliament building, Hitler used this as an opportunity for the murder of freedom speech and press. He also imposed heavy restrictions on the right to assemble.

viii. The Communists were then condemned to the concentration camps. And came the Enabling Act of 1933. The Nazi party had became the one and only party in Germany. Every other party & organisation was termed illegal. The Storm Troopers, the Gestapo, the Surveillance Force along with regular police were given a free hand to locate the ‘enemies’ & send them to the concentration camps.

ix. Politically speaking, Hitler did manage to reverse the embarrassing rulings of the peace treaty of 1919 ( but at what cost?). He returned back to the Rhine area. Czechoslovakia and Sudetenland were also annexed by Germany. Hitler then attacked Poland. In many countries, Nazi stooges were also installed. By 1940 Hitler became extremely powerful.

9. Racism In Hitler

i. “All human culture, the results of art, science, & technology that we see before us today, are almost exclusively the product of Aryans” - Hitler writes in Mein Kampf. From this, you can imagine how blind Hitler was in his love for so-called pure race.

ii. Hitler was against the union of the Aryans & other races as that would then produce inferior sons and daughters.

iii. Hitler was also a believer in the racial hierarchy. The Aryans were normally considered to be the most superior & the Jews were considered to be the most inferior. All other races were between these two extremes.

iv. His blind hatred against Jews led to the killing of 6 billion Jews. Killing is a very understatement here. The Jews were tortured, gassed, orphaned, widowed, separated & forced to live a life of hiding and constant fear. This mass killing of the Jews is called in history as the Holocaust.

We must note that Hitler killed countless people in Poland and in Russia as well. In fact, even the German people who were considered unfit were treated very harshly.

10. Holocaust

Hitler’s hatred for Jews was deadly as a forest fire which showed no sign of stopping. After Hitler became the dictator of Germany, he then pushed forth his theory of Aryan supremacy. He believed that blue-eyed Nordic Aryans were at top of racial hierarchy & the Jews were at the bottom. He associated spiritual significance with the killing of Jews. Thus,  with the help of his police force, the SA unit & the Gestapo, he systematically located and sent the Jews to concentration camps and butchered them. This systematic killing of the Jew community by Hitler is known as the Holocaust.

The Defeat of Germany in The First World War

• The Nazism and Rise of Hitler notes start with the fact that Germany fought World War 1 against the Allied forces.

• After the US joined the Allies, they crushed the German soldiers.

• The soldiers and the general public became disillusioned and went against Kaiser Wilhelm II.

• A constituent assembly was elected. A coalition government was formed in 1918.

The Peace Treaty of Versailles

As the Central Powers became weaker and the Triple Entente became stronger with the entry of America, Germany decided to negotiate for an armistice. Yes, the war stopped. But Germany had to pay a heavy price after the end. The important points in this part of History Chapter 3 Class 9 Notes are:

• Germany had to loosen its grips on its overseas colonies. It lost 13 per cent of its territories and a tenth of its population.

• France took away Alsace and Lorraine.

• Denmark got Schleswig. Belgium also took pieces from the German cake.

• Poland was recreated. The newly created Poland was given West Prussia and Poznan.

• Germany was demilitarized.

• The Rise of Hitler Class 9 chapter in your book also mentions that the resource-rich province Rhineland was occupied by the Allied forces.

Humiliation: Economic and Psychological

The German people felt deeply humiliated by the Treaty of Versailles. They felt it was because of the weakness of the Weimar Republic that the Allied forces were able to enforce such heavy sanctions upon them. Because of this, the conservative nationalistic people of Germany became radical.

Political Radicalism

• The Opponents of the Weimar Republic: The Spartacist League tried to rise against the established political order and wanted Soviet-style governance. However, the initial uprising was crushed by the Weimar Republic.

• The Spartacist League later founded the Communist Party of Germany.

The Economic Crisis

The NCERT Class 9 History Chapter 3 Notes describe how the economic condition of Germany deteriorated after the peace treaty.

• On one hand, Germany already had heavy debts and on the other, it had to pay the Allied forces in gold. This emptied the coffers of the Weimar Republic.

• In 1923 Germany refused to pay. France, in turn, occupied Ruhr - the main industrial area of Germany at that time.

• The economic condition of Germany went from bad to worse. It started printing huge amounts of paper currency. This resulted in hyperinflation.

• America came to its aid. It provided Germany with short term loans.

• Then came the economic depression of 1929. The loan stopped. Industries all over the world suffered heavily.

• Chapter 3 History Class 9 describes that the industrial output was reduced to 40% of the 1929 levels.

Hitler's Rise to Power Notes

When Germany was slowly moving into the abyss of economic and political crisis, Hitler was watching with anger and toxic nationalistic sentiment. His military career started as a messenger ( he was deemed unfit for combat) and then he became a corporal.

Later when Germany suffered greatly, Hitler joined the German Workers Party in 1919. Soon he took over the reins of the party and renamed it as National Socialist German Workers’ Party. Later this party became the Nazi party as we know it.

The Dream of a Better Future

Hitler made the German people dream of a better future at a time when the German economic system was in the brink of collapse and the people had no job or money. The Nazi propaganda took advantage of the people’s willingness to believe in anything (however improbable) that promised to pull them out of the misery. In 1932, he got 37% votes in the German parliament.

The Days of Repression

Now comes the part in ‘Nazism and The Rise of Hitler Summary’ where we get to know why Hitler is hated so much across the world. The important points in this part of History Class 9 Chapter 3 Notes are:

• In 1933 Hitler Got Chancellorship - The highest position in the cabinet.

• First, he became successful in getting the support of the conservatives.

• Somehow a fire broke out in the German Parliament building. Hitler used this incident to his advantage and suspended the previously established rights of people like free speech, the right to assemble, free press etc.

• The Communists were sent to the concentration camps.

• After the Enabling Act of 1933, Hitler became the true dictator. No other political parties than the Nazi and Nazi affiliates were allowed. The parliamentary system was virtually abolished.

• Hitler started shaping German society as he envisioned with the help of Storm Troopers and Gestapo.

• Yes, Hitler did reverse the effects of the peace treaty. He reacquired the Rhineland. He annexed Sudetenland with Germany. Germany attacked Poland. And after the Tripartite Pact, the power of the Nazi empire increased in the vast swathe of Europe.

• He created a centralised political system.

Racism and the Pogrom Aimed at Jews

Hitler was a strong opponent of equality among people. He believed in the racial hierarchy. In this hierarchy, the blond, blue-eyed, Nordic Germans were considered to be the most superior race. The Jews were considered to be the most inferior of the races. All the other races were in between.

Hitler was Also a Proponent of Lebensraum - The concept that the area of the MotherLand needs to be extended so that more and more Germans can have enough space to live. It is with this racist mentality that Hitler went on to massacre millions of Jews. However, it is not the Jews alone who were killed by the Nazi forces- there were gipsies, blacks, Russians, Poles etc., who were also persecuted. Ironically, Hitler did not even spare his own people. Any German who was considered unfit was decreed to be killed.

Did You Know?

When it became that Hitler’s Germany won’t last long against the Allied forces, Hitler committed suicide - A man who gave so many lectures on bravery and heroism shoots himself in the head. Was Hitler truly brave then? What was he afraid of?