Nazi Propaganda
Joseph Goebbels Minister of Propaganda for the Third Reich DEEPLY anti-jewish, one of Hitler s most committed followers His entire job was to spread propaganda through media (radio, public speeches, posters, movies) to influence the opinions of German citizens
Two Types of Nazi Propaganda & Their Purposes Type 1: Pro-Hitler/Pro-Nazi--To create a positive image of Hitler and the Nazi Party Type 2: Anti-Jewish--To create a negative view of those considered to be enemies, particularly Jews
Goals of Pro-Nazi Propaganda To portray Hitler and The Nazi Party as the saviors of Germany To connect the Nazis to a positive, idealistic vision of Germany s future To portray the Nazis as confident, decisive, and overwhelmingly powerful
Goals of Anti-Jewish Propaganda To connect Jews to every problem facing Germany and to every other group seen as opponents To reinforce traditional negative stereotypes about Jews To create a climate of contempt toward Jews To dehumanize the image of Jews (to facilitate discrimination, segregation, exile, and murder)
Hitler s Propaganda Methods Present simple themes in a repetitive manner Appeal to emotion rather than intellect Have broad appeal to the masses Focus mainly on one enemy - Claim that this enemy is at the root of all problems
Propaganda: Pervasive in Nazi Germany Images Posters, Book and Newspaper Illustrations Spoken Word Nazi Speeches and Radio broadcasts; Songs and slogans Printed Word Der Sturmer ; Academic publications; School curricula Dramatic - cinema (i.e. Triumph of the Will; The Eternal Jew; Jud Suss); Party Rallies
Hitler as the Heroic Leader
Hitler Brings Unity
The Reich will never be destroyed if you are united and loyal.
Hitler Brings Traditional Values Motherhood German Women Think of Your Children Vote Hitler
Workers of the mind and hand Vote for the front soldier Hitler!
Power and Pageantry
Jewish Stereotypes Stereotype=an oversimplified and often negative image assigned to all members of an entire group of people Stereotypes are DANGEROUS because they remove a person s individuality and identity. They cause people to believe things that aren t necessarily true. Nazi propaganda spread false stereotypes about Jews in order to increase Jewish hatred in the Reich.
Jews as Aliens Only a racial comrade can be a citizen. Only a person of German blood, irrespective of religious denomination, can be a racial comrade. No Jew, therefore, can be a racial comrade. Point 4 - Nazi Party Program, 1920
The Jew as a Genetic Threat With satanic joy in his face, the blackhaired Jewish youth lurks in wait for the unsuspecting girl whom he defiles with his blood, thus stealing her from her people. With every means he tries to destroy the racial foundations of the people he has set out to subjugate. Adolf Hitler - Mein Kampf
The bottom slogan reads: Women and girls, the Jews are your undoing!
The Jew as a Money-Hoarder The God of the Jews is Money. And to gain money, he will commit the greatest crimes. He will not rest until he can sit on the largest sack of money, until he becomes the King of Money.
Nazi propaganda poster blaming Jews for the war The inciter of war, the prolonger of war.
Jews depicted as controlling the Allies
All Enemies are Jews! Note the similarity between the portrayal of Churchill (who was not Jewish) and the antisemitic stereotype.
The Jewish Conspiracy
Jews plotting to rule the world The Protocols of the Elders of Zion (Front cover of a French edition)
The Jew as demonic From an advertising poster for a movie
The Devil The Jews are our misfortune.
The Poison Mushroom A Children's Book
Just as it is often hard to tell a toadstool from an edible mushroom, so too it is often very hard to recognize the Jew as a swindler and criminal... 29
The Jewish nose is bent. It looks like the number six... 30
Just look at these guys! The louseinfested beards! The filthy, protruding ears... 31
Here, kids, I have some candy for you. But you both have to come with me... 32
He who fights the Jews battles the Devil. 33
Jews Out! : A Children s Game
Dehumanizing Words (Words that turn Jews into something less-than-human) Was there any form of filth... particularly in cultural life, without at least one Jew in it? If you cut even cautiously into such an abscess, you found, like a maggot in a rotting body, often dazzled by the sudden light - a little Jew Adolf Hitler - Mein Kampf
Dehumanizing Words We had the moral right, and the duty toward our nation to kill this people who wished to kill us. We do not, because we were exterminating a bacillus [germ], wish to be infected by that bacillus [germ] in the end and die. Heinrich Himmler - October 4, 1943
Dehumanizing Images: Jews portrayed as vermin
Results of Propaganda True Believers are empowered by propaganda to engage in behavior that would otherwise be forbidden (hatred, discrimination, etc.). The repetition and large amount of propaganda eventually silences the opposition.
Lessons for Today Learn to recognize and interpret propaganda and to distinguish it from legitimate information Recognize truth-twisting found in public communication (i.e. - stereotypes, misuse of statistics, over-generalization, guilt by association, etc..) Recognize that images and words are important because they create the social attitudes which will cause others to feel either respect or contempt.