Propaganda and Ultranationalism
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Propaganda refers to information and ideas that are spread to
achieve a goal. This information can be dishonest and
misleading. It is used to manipulate strong human emotions,
especially fear and insecurity.
It often:
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Calls opponents names that are designed to arouse anger in people
Plays down their own failures and defeats, or use words that hide the
meaning of their actions
Use respected symbols such as religious symbols, family images or a
national flag
Appeal to peoples fears when trying to persuade them to support
particular actions
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Both Stalin and Hitler have used propaganda to achieve their
goals. Stalin used to show the people of the Soviet Union that
he was a caring leader, that he was “father-like” to his people
while in reality, he was sending people to work camps or
having them executed.
Hitler had a similar method. He created a department whose
sole purpose was to create propaganda for all aspects of the
media. Through this, the department portrayed the Jewish
population as evil.
How does Ultranationalism develop?
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There are many factors that can lead from nationalism to
ultranationalism. Economic change, political change, social
change can all lead to this.
The Great Depression began on October 29th, 1929. The price
of stocks on the New York Stock exchange dropped
drastically.
This caused a chain reaction to other businesses and then to
other countries throughout the world. As banks closed, people
lost their savings and investments. Businesses shut down so
people lost their jobs.
With no work, there was less money. Less money means less
spending and the economy slows down to the point of
recession or even further to a depression.
Germany after WWI
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After WWI, Germany became a republic and people earned
the right to vote for their next leader. However, there was
never a political party who won enough votes to make real
change in the country.
Germany also suffered from having to pay war reparations to
the Allies, and had to pay their loan back to the Americans that
they had borrowed to rebuild their country.
In the 1920s Germany went through a period of extreme
inflation. This meant that there were rising prices while the
value of the money dropped. German money became
worthless while prices continued to climb for product.
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By 1929, trade began to increase and the German economy
began to recover. However, with the crash of the economy,
other countries stopped trading to protect their own industries.
Due to the lack of trade, many people in Germany were laid
off from their jobs and faced homelessness and starvation.
Many people wanted change. They wanted a strong leader. The
National Socialist German Workers’ Party – the Nazi Party –
started to gain support.
By 1933, Hitler and his Nazi party gain power after several
failed attempts.
Once in power, he dissolved parliament and declared the start
of the Nazi Reich with himself as the dictator.
Japan after WWI
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For WWI, Japan had supported the Allies. After the war,
Japanese agriculture and industrial exports to Europe
increased.
However, when the Great Depression began, Japan’s trading
partners began to limit their imports to support local industry.
Many Japanese workers lost their jobs.
Silk farmers also suffered because the Americans and
Europeans could no longer afford the silk.
In 1932, the rice crop failed and this caused famine.
Japanese ultranationalists blamed their politicians. They
became angrier when the USA, Canada and Australia shut out
immigrants.
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In order to obtain more raw
materials and markets for
Japanese products, Japan
invaded Manchuria in 1931.
By 1937, the military
controlled the Japanese
government and Japan was
at war with China.
They brought back
traditional warrior values
such as obedience to the
emperor and also created a
cult around the Emperor
Hirohito.
Charismatic Leaders
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Adolf Hitler promised Germans that he would restore the
national pride by making Germany the leading nation on
Earth.
Hitler promised:
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Not to recognize the Treaty of Versailles
Rebuild Germanys armed forces and take back lost territories
Restore the superiority of the “Aryan race” – those of white European
descent with Germanic and Nordic peoples being the purest
Nazi propaganda experts used radio, movies, public address
systems, and giant posters to keep Hitler’s image and message
before the public.
They used pamphlets and rallies to attract the masses. At the
rallies, the people would chant, “Today Germany, Tomorrow
the whole world.”
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In Japan, democracy faded with ultranationalism to be
replaced with a one-party state ruled by the military.
Emperor Hirohito had no power in Japan, even though he was
believed to have divine power.
The commanders of Japan’s armed forces decided on the
country’s national interests and made most of the foreign
policy decisions that led Japan into WWII.
It was the military leaders that decided to invade China and
capture territory belonging to other nations. They justified this
by saying that Europe and the USA did the same.
In 1941, General Tojo Hideki became prime minister of Japan
and transformed Japan into a military dictatorship. He
promised the people that Japan would dominate Asia.
Tojo Hideki
Instilling Ultranationalistic Values
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Germany, Italy, Japan and the Soviet Union have all used
various means to promote the extreme nationalistic values.
The military and police forces were used to protect and
strengthen these values.
Education was used to instill these values in the youth.
Culture, art, music and media were used to express these
values and to drown out those who opposed them.
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In Germany, Hitler used propaganda to glorify the past
victories and accomplishments of the German people. He used
the operas of Richard Wagner while condemning modern art
and music. Books were destroyed if they went against the
values of the Third Reich.
The German people were asked to build an empire that
consisted of the “master race.” This empire would last for
thousand of years. Germany stated that it must rid the nation of
anyone who was considered inferior. This consisted of (in the
Nazi mind) Jews, socialists, Roma (gypsies), homosexuals,
and people with disabilities.
Students were taught from elementary to university Nazi
values and were shielded from any challenges that were not
part of the Nazi values. In the summer of 1933, ultranationalist
students burned books that were seen as un-German.tehn