"The rank and file are usually much more primitive than we imagine.
Propaganda must always therefore be essentially simple and
repetitious. In the long run only he will achieve basic results in
influencing public opinion who is able to reduce problems to the
simplest terms and who has the courage to keep forever repeating them
in this simplified form despite the objections of intellectuals."
Joseph Goebbels, Propaganda Minister, Third Reich
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/propaganda_in_nazi_germany.htm
Propaganda within Nazi Germany was taken to a new and frequently
perverse level.
Hitler was very aware of the value of good propaganda and he appointed
Joseph Goebbels as head of propaganda.
Propaganda is the art of persuasion - persuading others that your
'side of the story' is correct.
Propaganda might take the form of persuading others that your military
might is too great to be challenged; that your political might within
a nation is too great or popular to challenge etc.
In Nazi Germany, Dr Joseph Goebbels was in charge of propaganda.
Goebbels official title was Minister of Propaganda and National
Enlightenment.
As Minister of Enlightenment, Goebbels had two main tasks:
to ensure nobody in Germany could read or see anything that was
hostile or damaging to the Nazi Party.
to ensure that the views of the Nazis were put across in the most
persuasive manner possible.
To ensure success, Goebbels had to work with the SS and Gestapo and
Albert Speer.
The former hunted out those who might produce articles defamatory to
the Nazis and Hitler while Speer helped Goebbels with public displays
of propaganda.
To ensure that everybody thought in the correct manner, Goebbels set
up the Reich Chamber of Commerce in 1933.
This organisation dealt with literature, art, music, radio, film,
newspapers etc.
To produce anything that was in these groups, you had to be a member
of the Reich Chamber.
The Nazi Party decided if you had the right credentials to be a
member.
Any person who was not admitted was not allowed to have any work
published or performed.
Disobedience brought with it severe punishments.
As a result of this policy, Nazi Germany introduced a system of
censorship.
You could only read, see and hear what the Nazis wanted you to read,
see and hear.
In this way, if you believed what you were told, the Nazi leaders
logically assumed that opposition to their rule would be very small
and practiced only by those on the very extreme who would be easy to
catch.
Hitler came to power in January 1933.
By May 1933, the Nazi Party felt sufficiently strong to publicly
demonstrate where their beliefs were going when Goebbels organised the
first of the infamous book burning episodes.
Books that did not match the Nazi ideal was burnt in public - loyal
Nazis ransacked libraries to remove the 'offending' books.
"Where one burns books, one eventually burns people" commented the
author Brecht.
The same approach was used in films.
The Nazis controlled film production.
Films released to the public concentrated on certain issues : the
Jews; the greatness of Hitler; the way of life for a true Nazi
especially children, and as World War Two approached, how badly
Germans who lived in countries in Eastern Europe were treated.
Leni Riefenstahl was given a free hand in producing Nazi propaganda
films.
A young film producer, she had impressed Hitler with her ability.
It was Riefenstahl who made "Triumph of Will" - considered one of the
greatest of propaganda films despite its contents.
What was seen in the cinemas was controlled. "Hitlerjunge Quex" was
made in 1933.
This film told the story of a boy brought up in a communist family in
Germany who broke away from this background, joined the Hitler Youth
and was murdered by the Communists in Germany for doing so.
"The Eternal Jew" was a film that vilified the Jews - comparing the
Jews in Europe to a hoard of rats, spreading disease etc.
"Tarzan" films were banned because the Nazis frowned on so little
clothing being worn especially by women.
One film that celebrated the might of the German Navy was not screened
as it showed a drunken German sailor.
However, the cinemas were not full of serious films with a political
message.
Goebbels ordered that many comedies should be made to give Germany a
'lighter' look.
The ensure that everybody could hear Hitler speak, Goebbels organised
the sale of cheap radios.
These were called the "People's Receiver" and they cost only 76 marks.
A smaller version cost just 35 marks.
Goebbels believed that if Hitler was to give speeches, the people
should be able to him.
Loud speakers were put up in streets so that people could not avoid
any speeches by the Fuhrer.
Cafes and other such properties were ordered to play in public
speeches by Hitler.
Goebbels and his skill at masterminding propaganda is best remembered
for his night time displays at Nuremberg.
Here, he and Speer, organised rallies that were designed to show to
the world the might of the Nazi nation.
In August of each year, huge rallies were held at Nuremberg.
Arenas to hold 400,000 people were built. In the famous night time
displays, 150 search lights surrounded the main arena and were lit up
vertically into the night sky.
Their light could be seen over 100 kilometres away in what a British
politician, Sir Neville Henderson, called a "cathedral of light".
Why was so much effort put into propaganda?
At no time up to 1933, did the Nazi Party win a majority of votes at
elections.
They may have been the largest political party in 1933, but they did
not have a majority of support among the people.
Therefore, those who had supported the Nazis needed to be informed on
how correct their choice was with an emphasis on the strength of the
party and the leadership.
Those who opposed the Nazi Party had to be convinced that it was
pointless continuing with their opposition.
The fact that Goebbels had so much power is indicative of how
important Hitler thought it was to ensure that the people were won
over or intimidated into accepting Nazi rule.
_____________________________________________________________
"The rank and file are usually much more primitive than we imagine.
Propaganda must always therefore be essentially simple and
repetitious. In the long run only he will achieve basic results in
influencing public opinion who is able to reduce problems to the
simplest terms and who has the courage to keep forever repeating them
in this simplified form despite the objections of intellectuals."
Joseph Goebbels, Propaganda Minister, Third Reich
Harry
.
|
