Page 68 - Understanding NCERT Histroy 09th

l Girls had to maintain the purity of the race, distance themselves from Jews, look after
their homes and teach their children Nazi values.
l But all mothers were not treated equally. Honours Crosses were awarded to those who
encouraged women to produce more children. Bronze cross for four children, silver for
Goyal Brothers Prakashan
six and gold for eight or more.
l Women who maintained contact with Jews, Poles and Russians were paraded through
the town with shaved heads, blackened faces and placards hanging around their necks
announcing, ‘I have sullied the honour of the nation’.

Source C (Page no. 67)

All boys between the ages of six and ten went through a preliminary training in Nazi ideology.
At the end of the training they had to take the following oath of loyalty to Hitler: ‘In the
presence of this blood banner which represents our Fuhrer I swear to devote all my energies
and my strength to the saviour of our country, Adolf Hitler. I am willing and ready to give up
my life for him, so help me God.’
From W. Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

Source D (Page no. 67)
Robert Lay, head of the German Labour Front, said: ‘We start when the child is three years old.
As soon as he even starts to think, he is given a little flag to wave. Then comes school, the
Hitler Youth, military service. But when all this is over, we don’t let go of anyone. The labour
front takes hold of them, and keeps hold until they go to the grave, whether they like it or not.’

Activity (Page no. 67)

Q. Look at Figs. 23, 24, and 27. Imagine yourself to be a Jew or a Pole in Nazi Germany.
It is September 1941, and the law forcing Jews to wear the Star of David has just
been declared. Write an account of one day in your life.

,

Ans. Germany decreed that Jews over the age of six were required to wear a yellow Star of
David on their outer clothing whenever they are going in public. The Nazis in Germany
and throughout German-occupied Europe implemented the yellow star as a means to
publicly identify, humiliate, and isolate Jews. In many cases, this public identification
and accusation preceded the mass deportations of Jews to ghettos and in gas chambers.
Within Germany, the sight of neighbours forced to wear the yellow star often obtained
sympathy from non-Jewish Germans. This response was widespread enough that the
Ministry of Propaganda compelled to issue pamphlets instructing Germans on how they
should respond when encountering neighbours wearing the yellow star of David.

History Class IX H-59