Download 00 Part 6b – Propaganda and Control

“The task of propaganda is not to make an objective study
of the truth…but to convince the masses.
-Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf
Note – Difference
between pre and post
1933
Main
purposes of
Propaganda
To begin to understand how Propaganda
posters were used within Nazi Germany
* Methods
* Messages
* Purpose
To understand what made propaganda
posters so effective in Nazi Germany
Use the left click on the mouse button
The Role of Propaganda in Nazi
Strategy
Nazi Propaganda Practices
Volksgemeinschaft:
“National Community”
• National, racial and pure
peoples community
Making a
leader
• Nazi propaganda idolized Hitler who
brought stability, created jobs, and restored
German greatness
• Germans were expected greet others on the
street with “Heil Hitler!,” the so-called
“German Greeting”
Modern techniques of propaganda -- including strong
images and simple messages -- helped propel Austrianborn Adolf Hitler from being a little known extremist
to a leading candidate in the 1932 German presidential
elections. The style of this poster is similar to some of
film stars of the era. Election poster, 1932; photo by
Heinrich Hoffmann
Defining the
Enemy
• Define who is excluded from
membership
• Nazi propaganda publicly identifyied
groups for exclusion thus creating.
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–
–
–
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Nazi propaganda often portrayed Jews as engaged in
a conspiracy to provoke war. Here, a stereotyped
Jew conspires behind the scenes to control the
Allied powers, represented by the British,
American, and Soviet flags. The caption reads,
"Behind the enemy powers: the Jew." Circa 1942.
Jews
Sinti and Roma (Gypsies)
homosexuals
political dissidents
Germans viewed as genetically
inferior and harmful to “national
health”
Deceiving the
Public
• To win over the majority of the
German public who had not
supported Adolf Hitler and to push
forward the Nazis' radical program
• Joseph Goebbels, sought to
manipulate and deceive the German
population and the outside world.
An antisemitic poster published in Poland in March
1941. The caption reads, "Jews are lice; They cause
typhus." This German-published poster was intended to
instill fear of Jews among Christian Poles.
Rallying the
Nation
"Greater Germany: Yes on 10 April" (1938). This
election poster emphasizes the message of
jumping on the Nazi political bandwagon, as
represented by the hands raised in a unified Nazi
salute.
•
The Nazi Party dramatically increased its public
support by advertising itself as a protest
movement against the corruption and
ineffectiveness of the Weimar “system”
•
Throughout World War II, Nazi propagandists
disguised military aggression aimed at territorial
conquest as acts of ethnic self-defense necessary
for the survival of “Aryan civilization”
•
Nazi propaganda frequently stressed the power of
a mass movement to propel the country forward,
subtly underscored by the upward angle of the
hands
•
This poster typifies the propaganda strategy of
using simple confident slogans, with bold
graphics often using the characteristic Nazi colors
of red, black, and white.
Indoctrinating
Youth
• From the 1920s onwards, the Nazi Party
targeted German youth as a special audience
for its propaganda messages
• These messages emphasized that the Party
was a movement of youth:
– dynamic
– resilient
– forward-looking
– hopeful
"Students/Be the Führer's propagandists."
With militant appeals to nationalism,
freedom, and self-sacrifice, the Nazi Party
successfully recruited students disenchanted
with German democracy and their current
student organizations.
• Millions of German young people were won
over to Nazism in the classroom and through
extracurricular activities
Writing the
News
"All of Germany Listens to the Führer with the
People's Radio." The poster depicts a crowd
surrounding a radio. The radio looms large,
symbolizing the mass appeal and broad audience
for Nazi broadcasts.
•
Der Stürmer was the most notorious, antisemitic
newspaper in Germany
•
The newspaper, headed by Julius Streicher, published
lurid tales of Jewish “ritual murder,” sex crimes, and
financial malfeasance
•
The Nazis understood the power and attraction of
emerging technologies, such as film, loudspeakers,
radio, and television, in the service of propaganda
•
These technologies offered the Nazi leadership a means
for mass dissemination of their ideological messages
and a vehicle for reinforcing the myth of the National
Community through communal listening and viewing
experiences
Film from the Steven Spielberg Film Archive showing the Opening of the Official
Anti-Semitic Campaign, 1 April 1933. Also in this clip is Minister for Popular
Enlightenment and Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels addressing a cheering crowd in
Berlin Lustgarten, the boycott of Jewish shops, a truck filled with Nazis moving
through streets, chanting: "Germans, protect yourselves. Don't buy from the Jews,“
book burning and more. [00:05:48]
What is going on here?
Book Burnings
Nazi students unload
confiscated materials
for the public book
burning that is to take
place on the
Opernplatz in Berlin.
The banner on the
back of the truck
reads: "German
students march against
the un-German spirit."
Book Burnings
Study the following propaganda posters carefully.
What can you learn from these sources
about Nazi methods of propaganda?
* Describe what you can see
* Who do you think each poster is aimed at?
* What is the message behind the poster?
Why was it produced?
What I can see
Key Questions
Hitler in the
background
Young HJ
boy.
Aryan in
appearance,
serious,
looking ahead
(in awe?)
Military/
Smart
Uniform
Caption in
Bold
“Youth Serves the Führer”
All 10-year-olds into the Hitler
Youth."
Left hand mouse click to
check your response
before moving on
What I can see
Key Questions
Hitler in the
background
Who is this poster
aimed at?
Young HJ
boy.
Aryan in
appearance,
serious,
looking ahead
(in awe?)
Military/
Smart
Uniform
Caption in
Bold
“Youth Serves the Führer”
All 10-year-olds into the Hitler
Youth."
What I can see
Key Questions
Hitler in the
background
Who is this poster
aimed at?
Young HJ
boy.
Aryan in
appearance,
serious,
looking ahead
(in awe?)
Why was this
poster produced?
Military/
Smart
Uniform
Caption in
Bold
“Youth Serves the Führer”
All 10-year-olds into the Hitler
Youth."
What I can see
Key Questions
Hitler in the
background
Who is this poster
aimed at?
Young HJ
boy.
Aryan in
appearance,
serious,
looking ahead
(in awe?)
Why was this
poster produced?
What does this
poster tell you
about Nazi
attitude towards
youth?
Military/
Smart
Uniform
Caption in
Bold
“Youth Serves the Führer”
All 10-year-olds into the Hitler
Youth."
How effective is this poster as a
piece of propaganda?
As with the last poster the
message of this poster is
aimed at young people and
their parents:
‘Every ten year old to us’
Again it is encouraging
youths to join ‘official’
organisations – in this case
The League of Young Girls
– JM.
Look at the poster carefully.
What makes it so effective?
Left hand mouse click
to check your
response before
moving on
Look at the poster carefully.
What makes it so effective?
Waving Flags, Bright and Jolly.
It is also a Nazi flag and is
therefore an appeal to peoples
patriotism and sense of loyalty.
This is an ‘official’ request.
Look at the poster carefully.
What makes it so effective?
Waving Flags, Bright and Jolly.
It is also a Nazi flag and is
therefore an appeal to peoples
patriotism and sense of loyalty.
This is an ‘official’ request.
This youth is obviously happy to
join the organisation. She is
enjoying herself. Her appearance
is also appealing – fresh faced
and attractive.
Look at the poster carefully.
What makes it so effective?
Waving Flags, Bright and Jolly.
It is also a Nazi flag and is
therefore an appeal to peoples
patriotism and sense of loyalty.
This is an ‘official’ request.
This youth is obviously happy to
join the organisation. She is
enjoying herself. Her appearance
is also appealing – fresh faced
and attractive.
Smart Uniform. A sense of
belonging to an important
organisation. Pride.
Look at the poster carefully.
What makes it so effective?
Don’t forget to look at the top, or
bottom of Propaganda posters as
the title or slogan usually sums
up the meaning.
‘Every ten year old to us’
This is made to sound official
and almost like a command that
should be obeyed.
Key Question:
What I can see
The Eagle
(The State)
protecting the
family
The father
above the
family
The mother
caring for the
baby – scarf on
her head
representing
domestic work
Happy, healthy
children
What does this
poster tell us
about:
*Nazi beliefs
regarding the
family and
family life
* Nazi attitudes
regarding the
role of women?
Left hand mouse
click to check your
response before
moving on
What I can read
(All text that would help you answer
an examination question would be
translated on the examination
paper).
The German National
Socialist Party safeguards
you national community
Comrades, if you need help
and assistance, ask your
local branch of the NSDAP
Volksgemeinschaft
was a phrase used by the Nazi’s
when appealing for ‘a national
community of all Germans’
What I can see
Physical
features
Map of
Germany
Handful
of money
A
knotted
whip
Title in
Bold
Key Question:
What does this
film poster tell us
about Nazi
attitudes towards
the Jews?
What is the
purpose of this
poster?
Communist
Symbol
Left hand mouse click to
check your response
before moving on
Key Question:
What does this film poster tell us about Nazi
attitudes towards the Jews?
Key Question:
What does this film poster tell us about Nazi
attitudes towards the Jews?
Appearance:
Over-bearing, forbidding, threatening
Key Question:
What does this film poster tell us about Nazi
attitudes towards the Jews?
Appearance:
Over-bearing, forbidding, threatening
Map of Germany
A measure of control over Germany. A
feeling of ownership.
Key Question:
What does this film poster tell us about Nazi
attitudes towards the Jews?
Appearance:
Over-bearing, forbidding, threatening
Map of Germany
A measure of control over Germany. A
feeling of ownership.
Holding Wealth
Holding much of the wealth within Germany
A reference to money lending and the
profits that many Jews made of out of
businesses within Germany.
Key Question:
What does this film poster tell us about Nazi
attitudes towards the Jews?
Knotted Whip:
A symbol of cruelty and control.
Key Question:
What does this film poster tell us about Nazi
attitudes towards the Jews?
Knotted Whip:
A symbol of cruelty and control.
The Title:
‘The Eternal Jew’. This was the name
of a film made by the Nazis showing
supposed Jewish characteristics.
Hitler maintained that if the Jewish
‘problem’ was not dealt with, then
Jews would continue to corrupt
society forever.
Key Question:
What does this film poster tell us about Nazi
attitudes towards the Jews?
Communist Symbol:
The Nazis often linked Judaism and
Communism.
The Nazis maintained that both
Communism and Judaism had to be
‘dealt with’ if Aryans were to live a
carefree life without fear of
exploitation and oppression.
Many Jews lived in Russia and it was
easy enough for the Nazis to link these
two enemies together and label both
Communists and Jews as destroyers of
culture and freedom.
Key Question:
What is the purpose of this film poster?
How may this poster affect Germans
who were suffering from financial
difficulty?
- unemployment for example.
Key Question:
What is the purpose of this film poster?
How may this poster affect Germans
who were suffering from financial
difficulty?
- unemployment for example.
How would this poster affect many
citizens who were uncertain about
Germany’s future?
Key Question:
What is the purpose of this film poster?
How may this poster affect Germans
who were suffering from financial
difficulty?
- unemployment for example.
How would this poster affect many
citizens who were uncertain about
Germany’s future?
How would this poster affect Germans
who supported right wing political
parties - like the Nazis?
Key Question:
What is the purpose of this film poster?
What types of feelings may posters
like this one have evoked amongst
many German people during the
1930’s?
Fear
Happiness Awe
Distrust
Trust
Compassion
Hatred
Scepticism
Racism
Key Question:
What message is held within this
poster?
Key Question:
What is the purpose of this poster?
What types of feelings may
posters like this one have
evoked amongst many
German people?
Fear
Awe
Trust
Distrust
Hatred
Loyalty
Pride
Confidence
Hope
Disgust
Sadness
What made propaganda
posters so effective
in Nazi Germany?
END