The First World War left a deep imprint on European society and polity. It had a devastating impact on the entire continent.
(i) In society, soldiers were ranked higher than civilians. Trench life of the soldiers was glorified by the media.
(ii) Politicians and publicists laid great stress on the need for men to be aggressive and masculine.
(iii) Aggressive war propaganda and national honour occupied centre stage in the public sphere.
(iv) People's support grew for the recently established dictatorships.
(v) Democracy as a young and fragile idea could not survive the instabilities of Europe between the two World Wars.

The lessons the German children learn't under Nazi schooling were:
(i) to be loyal and submissive
(ii) to hate Jews
(iii) and to worship Hitler.

(i) Central Government was that part of divided Poland which was not annexed to Germany.
(ii) Here poles from annexed north-western Poland were headed as cattle.
(iii) It was the destination of all undesirable of the empire.
(iv) It was home to some of the largest ghettos and gas' chambers used by Nazis to kill Jews and others.

Crimes against humanity carried out by Nazis included the following
(i) They suspended civic rights like freedom of speech, press and assembly.
(ii) Concentration camps were established to torture communists.
(iii) Hitler banned all political parties and trade unions except the Nazi Party and its affiliates.
(iv) Special surveillance and security forces were created to control and order society in ways that the Nazis wanted. People could now be detained in Gestapo torture camps.
(v) The Jews, Gypsies and Blacks were classified as 'undesirables' and they were widely persecuted.
(Vi) Germany occupied Czechoslovakia and Poland. Captured civilians were forced to serve as slave labour.
(vii) Jew teachers and 'politically unreliable' teachers were dismissed from the schools. Jews, physically handicapped and Gypsies were considered as undesirable children' and were considered as thrown out of school.
(viii) Aryan women who deviated from the prescribed code of conduct were publicly condemned and punished.

(i) Hitler assigned the responsibility of economic recovery to the economist Hjalmar Schacht who aimed at full production and full employment through state-funded work creation programs. This project produced the famous German highways and people's car the Vlkswagen.
(ii) Hjalmar Schacht advised Hitler against investing in rearmament. So he had to leave..Hitler chose war as the way out of the approaching economic crisis.
(iii) Resources were to be accumulated through the expansion of territory.
(iv) In september 1939, Germany invaded Poland. This started a war with France and England 
(v) In september 1940, a Tripartite Pact was signed between Germany, Italy, and Japan strengthening Hitler's claim to international power., 
(vi) Puppet regimes, supportive of Nazi Germany, were installed in a large part of Europe. By the end of 190, Hitler was at the pinnacle of his power.
(vii) Hitler moved to achieve his long-term aim of conquering Eastern Europe. He wanted to ensure food supplies and living space for Germany. He attacked the Soviet Union in June 1941 but was defeated.

After being appointed Chancellor m Jan 1933, Hitler tried to consolidate Nazi power by destroying democracy. He captured .all legal authority to rule, crushing political opposition, and eliminating all rivals within the party.
(i) Suspension of all Rights: The Fire Decree of 20th February 1933 enabled him to indefinitely suspend civil rights like freedom of speech. press and assembly that had been guaranteed by the Weimar Republic.
He took the opportunity "to eliminate key communists leaders. many of whom were exiled or packed to concentration camps.
(ii) The Enabling Act: In March 1933, the Enabling Act was passed. This Act established a dictatorship in Germany. It transferred all powers from the parliament to the government headed by Hitler. 
Hitler outlawed all political parties. Trade Unions were banned. Tlie Nazi party was the only legitimate party.
Nazi Germany became a one-party, one-man rule as state established complete control over the economy, army, education, judiciary, and media.
(iii) Total control: People were forced to swear their personal loyalty to Hitler and the Nazi salute became a compulsory means of greeting. Germany became a police state. A system of spying on the common pan was introduced. Special surveillance and security forces like Gestapo were created and vested with extra-constitutional powers and power to rule with impunity.
(iv) Conspiracy: Through conspiracy and false accusations many potential rivals within the Nazi party were eliminated (e.g. Roehm, June 1934, and key SA leaders). After President Yon Hindenburg's death in July 1934, Hitler assumed offices 6f both the President and Chancellor-thus was established the one-party, one-man dictatorship of Hitler.

Extra - constitutional powers were given to these forces.
(i) This gave the Nazi state a reputation of most dreaded criminal state.
(ii) People could now be detained in Gestapo torture chambers.
(iii) People could be rounded up and sent to concentration camps.
(iv) Could be deported at will.
(v) Could be arrested without any legal  procedures.

(i) Total control over schools: Hitler put all schools under total control of the state. Undesirable children, i.e. Jews, Blacks and Gypsies were first segregated. Subsequently, 'undesirable children'-were thrown out of school. And finally in the 1940's they were taken to the gas chambers.
(ii) Teachers: Teachers who were Jews or seen as politically unreliable were dismissed.
(iii) New Education Policy: He announced his new education policy. 'Good German' children were subjected to a process of Nazi schooling and ideological training. All school textbooks were rewritten. Racial science was introduced to justify the Nazi ideas on race. Children were taught to be loyal, submissive, hate Jews and worship Hitler. Stereotypes about Jews were popularised through maths classes.
(iv) Spirit of Violence and Aggression: To inculcate the spirit of violence and aggression, new sports were introduced. Hitler believed that boxing could make children iron-hearted, strong and masculine.
(v) Youth organisation: Youth organisations were made responsible for educating German youth in 'the spirit of National Socialism'. Youth was forced to join youth organisations. The 10-year-old had to join 'Jungvolk' and 14-year-old 'Hitler Youth'.

The factors contributing to the meteoric rise of Hitler were
(i) Hitler was a powerful orator. His speech could mesmerise the masses.
(ii) He promised to build a strong nation, undo the injustice of the Versailles Treaty and restore the dignity of the German people
(iii) He assured employment for unemployed people and a secure future for the youth.
(iv) He promised to control all foreign influence and resist foreign conspiracies against Germany.
(v) He introduced a new style of politics. The Nazi party held massive rallies and public meetings to demonstrate the support for Hitler and this massive mobilisation created a sense of unity among the German people:
(Vi) Nazi propaganda skillfully projected Hitler as a messiah, a saviour and as someone who had arrived to save people from their distress.
(vii) Hitler came during such a period when the dignity and pride of German people were totally shattered due to the defeat in First World War followed by the humiliating Treaty of Versailles.The crisis in the economy, polity and society formed the background of Hitler's rise to power.

(i) The Nazis proceeded to realise their murderous, racial ideal under the shadow of war (i.e. World War II) Genocide and war became two sides of the same coin.
(ii) Occupied Poland was divided up. Much of north-western Poland was annexed to Germany.
(iii) Poles were forced to leave their homes and properties behind for ethnic Germans brought in from occupied Europe.
(iv) Poles were then collected like cattle and sent to the other part called the Central Government. Central Government was the destinations of all 'undesirables' of the empire.
(v) Polish intelligentsia were murdered in large numbers to keep the entire people servile.
(vi) Polish children who looked like Aryans were snatched from mothers and examined by 'racial-experts.
(vii) Those who passed the race test were raised by German; families and if not they were deposited in orphanages where most perished.
(viii) The Central Government had the largest ghettos and gas chambers. It also served as killing fields for the Jews.