Download Control in Nazi Germany

Hitler recognised the vital importance of using propaganda in achieving
and maintaining control / good propaganda provided a simple message
repeated often "it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over
and over"
March 1933 Gobbels appointed Reich Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda
The Nazis used propaganda to denigrate their opponents, to indoctrinate, to enforce conformity
A common form of propaganda. The Nazis preferred use of
visual images rather than written word. Dramatic images and
giant lettering offered audiences an immediate and simplistic
message.
Posters
Used in a variety of ways: to celebrate Nazi achievements,
glorify the Fuhrer, promote membership of Nazi organisations,
reinforce stereotypical images of Jews, raise morale during
the war
Gobbel's aim was to control existing newspapers and to promote the Nazi
Party's own propaganda newspapers.
October 1933 'Editors' Law' called for 'racially pure' journalism - led to
closure of Jewish, Communist and socialist newspapers. Editors were
restricted in what they could publish
Newspapers
December 1933 state press agency (the DNB) set up to monitor all news
material. Daily press conferences held to publicise Nazi views on current
events
Gobbels realised that an intelligent readership would not put up with a
relentless diet of crude propaganda so allowed some liberal newspapers to
exist and to express mildly dissident views e.g. Berliner Tegeblatt . Other
newspaper blatantly pro-Nazi e.g. Der Sturmer and Volkischer Beobachter .
Central role of press was not so much to convert dissidents, as to
reinforce the prejudices of believers
Typical questions: Assess how successfully
the Nazis used the radio (or the press or film
or some other form of propganda) as a means
of control in Nazi Germany in the period
1933-45.
Any such question is likely to expect you to
make a comparison between the role of
propaganda and the role of terror as a means
of control
The Nazis were quick to see the propaganda potential of this new technology.
Germany had largest radio audience in Europe in 1930s.
Government produced the 'People's radio' costing 35 Reichsmarks to
encourage people to have a radio in their home
Radio
Communal listening in factories, schools, offices and shops encouraged and
sometimes enforced / loudspeaker pillars erected in public places and large
gatherings
During the war, listening to foreign broadcasts became a capital offence
Hitler's radio broadcast following failure of July bomb plot 1944 was critical in
undermining the rebels and restoring confidence in the regime
Film provided the Nazis with the ideal medium to spread its ideology
Film
Director Leni Riefenstahl produced a number of powerful propaganda films e.g.
Triumph of the Will about the Nuremburg Rally, Olympia about the Olympic Games.
Film also played a key role in de-humanising Jews e.g.
The Eternal Jew and Jud Suss.
Films was also used to encourage nationalism and militarism (as preparation for war
and keeping up morale during the war)
Methods
Events
Ritual
A key feature of Nazi propaganda was the orchestration of grandiose
events e.g. a ceremonial torch-lit march through the Brandenburg Gate to
celebrate Hitler's appointment as Chancellor
A masterpiece of Nazi propaganda was the success of the Olympic Games in 1936
Religious Holy Days were replaced by a series of festival or celebration days e.g.
Seizure of Power Day, Nazi Party Foundation Day, Anniversary of the Munich
Putsch, thus marginalising traditional Christian practices
The role of propaganda
The indoctrination of young people was
the primary objective of the dictatorship
Jewish and left-wing teachers were dismissed
A new syllabus was introduced which marginalised religious
education and gave more time for physical education
Control in Nazi
Germany
See separate mindmap
The role of terror
Boys and girls were taught some different subjects
Propaganda and youth
All subjects, especially History and Biology, had to be taught in
a way that conformed to Nazi ideology e.g. History taught the
past military glories of the German nation and warned of a
Jewish-Bolshevik conspiracy. Biology was used to
demonstrate the survival of the fittest and superiority of the
Aryan Race
Special elitist schools - Adolf Hitler Schools - were established
to train the political leaders of the next generation
The Hitler Youth was set up to indoctrinate young people in their
leisure time. Boys joined the Hitler Youth and were trained to be
fearless soldiers. Girls joined the German Maidens and were
taught to be wives and mothers. membership was compulsory
from 1936
Music
Cultural propaganda
Art
Focus on German music and composers e.g. Beethoven
and Wagner played / Mendelssohn and Mahler not played /
used to make Germans feel superior and invincible / jazz
denounced as decadent
Modern art rejected as decadent / artists encouraged to glorify
the German nation, heroism and family / Hitler was the subject
for many works of art - portrayed as solitary, resolute and
god-like
Architecture
Reflected Hitler's personal tastes / favourite architects =
Paul Ludwig Troost (designed the Reich Chancellery)
and later Albert Speer (designed the Olympic Stadium)
Hitler was able to get a propaganda advantage from his popular policies e.g. .............
Reducing unemployment / workers welfare & leisure organisations (Strength through Joy / Beauty of Labour)
Popular policies
Challenging Versailles (restoring German pride) e.g. rearmament / Anschluss
Financial incentives for mothers / families
Hitler Youth activities
The effectiveness of Nazi propaganda depended upon the
issue, the audience and the year.
It was very important in helping to legitimise the Nazi take
over of power in 1933 - the emphasis being on it being a
'legal' seizure of power
Anti-semitic propaganda was successful to the extent that it
eroded sensitivities so that the political and economic
marginalisation of Jews had become taken for granted by 1938
How successful was Nazi propaganda?
Even when the war began to go badly many German people
did not personally blame Hitler - propaganda ensured that the
majority of German society followed the regime unquestioningly
There were also limitations, however e.g. there was no enthusiasm
for the Anschluss in 1938 or for war during the Sudetenland crisis.
Many Germans were appalled by the violence of Kristallnacht.
As the war progressed and defeat became more inevitable
the credibility of Nazi propaganda was undermined
Control in Nazi Germany (Propaganda).mmap - 24/11/2009 -