Chapter-3
Nazism and the Rise of Hitler
In the spring of 1945, a little eleven-year-old German boy called Helmuth was lying in bed when he
overheard his parents discussing something in serious tones.
His father, a prominent physician, deliberated with his wife whether the time had come to kill the
entire family, or if he should commit suicide alone.
His father spoke about his fear of revenge, saying, 'Now the Allies will do to us what we did to the
crippled and Jews.'
The next day, he took Helmuth to the woods, where they spent their last happy time together,
singing old children's songs.
Later, Helmuth's father shot himself in his office.
Helmuth remembers that he saw his father's bloody uniform being burnt in the family fireplace.
So traumatized was he by what he had overheard and what had happened, that he reacted by
refusing to eat at home for the following nine years. He was afraid that his mother might poison
him.
Although Helmuth may not have realized all that it meant, his father had been a Nazi and a
supporter of Adolf Hitler.
In May 1945, Germany surrendered to the Allies.
Anticipating what was coming, Hitler, his propaganda minister Goebbels, and his entire family
committed suicide collectively in his Berlin bunker in April.
At the end of the war, an International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg was set up to prosecute Nazi
war criminals for Crimes against Peace, War Crimes, and Crimes Against Humanity.
Germany's conduct during the war, especially those actions which came to be called Crimes
Against Humanity, raised serious moral and ethical questions and invited worldwide
condemnation.
Under the shadow of the Second World War, Germany had waged a genocidal war, which resulted
in the mass murder of selected groups of innocent civilians in Europe.
The number of people killed included:
6 million Jews
200,000 Gypsies
1 million Polish civilians
70,000 Germans (who were considered mentally and physically disabled)
Nazis devised an unprecedented means of killing people, that is, by gassing them in various killing
centres like Auschwitz.
The Nuremberg Tribunal sentenced only eleven leading Nazis to death. Many others were
imprisoned for life.
The punishment of the Nazis was far short of the brutality and extent of their crimes.
The Allies did not want to be as harsh on defeated Germany as they had been after the First
World War.
Birth of the Weimar Republic
Germany, a powerful empire in the early years of the twentieth century, fought the First World War
(1914-1918) alongside the Austrian empire and against the Allies (England, France, and Russia.)
All joined the war enthusiastically hoping to gain from a quick victory.
, Little did they realize that the war would stretch on, eventually draining Europe of all its resources.
Germany made initial gains by occupying France and Belgium.
However, the Allies, strengthened by the US entry in 1917, won, defeating Germany and the
Central Powers in November 1918.
The defeat of Imperial Germany and the abdication of the emperor allowed parliamentary parties
to recast German polity.
A National Assembly met at Weimar and 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.
This republic, however, was not received well by its people largely because of the terms it was
forced to accept after Germany's defeat at the end of the First World War.
The peace treaty at Versailles with the Allies was a harsh and humiliating peace.
Germany lost its overseas colonies, a tenth of its population, 13 percent of its territories, 75
percent of its iron, and 26 percent of its coal to France, Poland, Denmark, and Lithuania.
The Allied Powers demilitarized Germany to weaken its power.
The War Guilt Clause held Germany responsible for the war and the damages the Allied countries
suffered.
Germany was forced to pay compensation amounting to £6 billion.
The Allied armies also occupied the resource-rich Rhineland for much of the 1920s.
Many Germans held the new Weimar Republic responsible for not only the defeat in the war but
also the disgrace at Versailles.
The Effects of the War
The war had a devastating impact on the entire continent. From a continent of creditors, Europe
turned into one of debtors.
Unfortunately, the 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 and 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. They were mockingly called the 'November Criminals'.
This mindset had a major impact on the political developments of the early 1930s, as we will soon
see.
The First World War left a deep imprint on European society and polity.
Soldiers came to be placed above civilians.
Politicians and publicists laid great stress on the need for men to be aggressive, strong, and
masculine.
The media glorified trench life.
The truth, however, was that soldiers lived miserable lives in these trenches, trapped with rats
feeding on corpses.
They faced poisonous gas and enemy shelling and witnessed their ranks reduce rapidly.
Democracy was indeed a young and fragile idea, which could not survive the instabilities of
Europe.
Popular support grew for conservative dictatorships that had recently come into being.
Political Radicalism and Economic Crises
Nazism and the Rise of Hitler
In the spring of 1945, a little eleven-year-old German boy called Helmuth was lying in bed when he
overheard his parents discussing something in serious tones.
His father, a prominent physician, deliberated with his wife whether the time had come to kill the
entire family, or if he should commit suicide alone.
His father spoke about his fear of revenge, saying, 'Now the Allies will do to us what we did to the
crippled and Jews.'
The next day, he took Helmuth to the woods, where they spent their last happy time together,
singing old children's songs.
Later, Helmuth's father shot himself in his office.
Helmuth remembers that he saw his father's bloody uniform being burnt in the family fireplace.
So traumatized was he by what he had overheard and what had happened, that he reacted by
refusing to eat at home for the following nine years. He was afraid that his mother might poison
him.
Although Helmuth may not have realized all that it meant, his father had been a Nazi and a
supporter of Adolf Hitler.
In May 1945, Germany surrendered to the Allies.
Anticipating what was coming, Hitler, his propaganda minister Goebbels, and his entire family
committed suicide collectively in his Berlin bunker in April.
At the end of the war, an International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg was set up to prosecute Nazi
war criminals for Crimes against Peace, War Crimes, and Crimes Against Humanity.
Germany's conduct during the war, especially those actions which came to be called Crimes
Against Humanity, raised serious moral and ethical questions and invited worldwide
condemnation.
Under the shadow of the Second World War, Germany had waged a genocidal war, which resulted
in the mass murder of selected groups of innocent civilians in Europe.
The number of people killed included:
6 million Jews
200,000 Gypsies
1 million Polish civilians
70,000 Germans (who were considered mentally and physically disabled)
Nazis devised an unprecedented means of killing people, that is, by gassing them in various killing
centres like Auschwitz.
The Nuremberg Tribunal sentenced only eleven leading Nazis to death. Many others were
imprisoned for life.
The punishment of the Nazis was far short of the brutality and extent of their crimes.
The Allies did not want to be as harsh on defeated Germany as they had been after the First
World War.
Birth of the Weimar Republic
Germany, a powerful empire in the early years of the twentieth century, fought the First World War
(1914-1918) alongside the Austrian empire and against the Allies (England, France, and Russia.)
All joined the war enthusiastically hoping to gain from a quick victory.
, Little did they realize that the war would stretch on, eventually draining Europe of all its resources.
Germany made initial gains by occupying France and Belgium.
However, the Allies, strengthened by the US entry in 1917, won, defeating Germany and the
Central Powers in November 1918.
The defeat of Imperial Germany and the abdication of the emperor allowed parliamentary parties
to recast German polity.
A National Assembly met at Weimar and 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.
This republic, however, was not received well by its people largely because of the terms it was
forced to accept after Germany's defeat at the end of the First World War.
The peace treaty at Versailles with the Allies was a harsh and humiliating peace.
Germany lost its overseas colonies, a tenth of its population, 13 percent of its territories, 75
percent of its iron, and 26 percent of its coal to France, Poland, Denmark, and Lithuania.
The Allied Powers demilitarized Germany to weaken its power.
The War Guilt Clause held Germany responsible for the war and the damages the Allied countries
suffered.
Germany was forced to pay compensation amounting to £6 billion.
The Allied armies also occupied the resource-rich Rhineland for much of the 1920s.
Many Germans held the new Weimar Republic responsible for not only the defeat in the war but
also the disgrace at Versailles.
The Effects of the War
The war had a devastating impact on the entire continent. From a continent of creditors, Europe
turned into one of debtors.
Unfortunately, the 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 and 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. They were mockingly called the 'November Criminals'.
This mindset had a major impact on the political developments of the early 1930s, as we will soon
see.
The First World War left a deep imprint on European society and polity.
Soldiers came to be placed above civilians.
Politicians and publicists laid great stress on the need for men to be aggressive, strong, and
masculine.
The media glorified trench life.
The truth, however, was that soldiers lived miserable lives in these trenches, trapped with rats
feeding on corpses.
They faced poisonous gas and enemy shelling and witnessed their ranks reduce rapidly.
Democracy was indeed a young and fragile idea, which could not survive the instabilities of
Europe.
Popular support grew for conservative dictatorships that had recently come into being.
Political Radicalism and Economic Crises
