See the next two pages and write briefly:

1. What does citizenship mean to you? Look at Chapters 1 and 3 and write 200 words on how the French Revolution and Nazism defined citizenship.

2. What did the Nuremberg Laws mean to the ‘undesirables’ in Nazi Germany? What other legal measures were taken against them to make them feel unwanted?

1. Citizenship refers to the legal status of an individual as a member of a sovereign state or as a member of a nation. It reflects the essence of belonging. It implies both rights of an individual and responsibilities towards the nation and its people.
   The French Revolution (1789-1799) brought significant changes to the concept of citizenship. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, adopted in 1789, played a crucial role in shaping these ideas. According to the Declaration, all “men are born and remain free and equal in rights.” These rights included liberty, private property, inviolability of the person, and resistance to oppression. Citizens were equal before the law and had the right to participate in legislation directly or indirectly. It emphasized individual rights and the concept of the general will.
   Nazi Germany redefined citizenship based on racial discrimination. The National Socialist Program explicitly denied citizenship to Jews and those of Jewish descent. The Nazi definition of citizenship centered around the “pure Aryan” Nordic race. Jews and other “undesirable” populations were excluded from being considered citizens of Germany. The Nazis propagated extreme nationalism, antisemitism, anti-communism, and white supremacy. Citizenship was no longer about equal rights but became a tool to enforce exclusion and persecution based on racial criteria. Therefore, we can say that the French Revolution championed individual rights and equality, while Nazism distorted citizenship to serve its racist and totalitarian agenda.

2. Once in power, the Nazis quickly began to implement their dream of creating an exclusive racial community of pure Germans by physically eliminating all those who were seen as ‘undesirable’ in the extended empire. Nazis wanted only a society of ‘pure and healthy Nordic Aryans’. They alone were considered ‘desirable’. This meant that even those Germans who were seen as impure or abnormal had no right to exist. Under the Euthanasia Programme, they had condemned to death many Germans who were considered mentally or physically unfit. Other undesirables were the Jews, Gypsies, black people because they were considered as racial ‘inferiors’ who threatened the biological purity of the ‘superior Aryan’ race. They were widely persecuted. Even Russians and Poles were considered subhuman, and hence undeserving of any humanity.
   Following were the other legal measures taken against them to make them feel unwanted:

   1. Boycott of Jewish businesses
   2. Expulsion from government services
   3. Forced selling and confiscation of their properties
   4. Jewish properties were vandalised and looted, houses attacked, synagogues burnt and men arrested.