Nazis In Power
Part 2: Terror and Force
PROPAGANDA
How did propaganda help the
Nazis stay in power?
Mediums of Propaganda
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Posters
Leaflets
Newspapers
Speeches
Rallies
Radio (People’s Receiver)
Speakers in towns
Cinema
Architecture
1. Broadcasting Social Benefit of
Nazi Rule
• Through all types of media, the Nazis
would display the benefits of Nazi
rule. positive messages
• Examples:
– Advertising KdF benefits
– Advertising loans for new families
2. Promoting the Fuhrer Cult
• Building Hitler up to a god-like figure was central
to Goebbels propaganda.
• Creating this status was meant to make people
feel obligated to obey the demands of the Nazi
state.
• Hitler’s success was widely publicised. For
example:
– the completion of the autobahn system
– his foreign policy victories
3. The Dominance of the Aryan Race
• The superior nature of the German
people, and a feeling of great national
pride was also widely advertised.
• The inferiority of Jews and
‘undesirables’ was created.
Propaganda- analysis
• There is no evidence that propaganda completely
changed the minds of the German people.
• For example, historical research has uncovered that
Germans who were not prejudice, did not become
prejudice as a result of propaganda.
• It did however, publicise the benefits of Nazi
government – making people feel ‘grateful’ for the
improvements the Nazis had made, allowing them to
stay in power
• propaganda also effectively played on existing
prejudices i.e. increasing underlying anti- Semitism,
allowing the Nazis to justify their treatment of
minorities
• Further, propaganda did have an impact on young
people whose young minds were easily shaped
Historiography
The traditional view maintains that Germans were brainwashed by
incessant propaganda.
However, Revisionist interpretations conclude that the success of
propaganda is difficult to judge as evidence of people’s attitudes is
unreliable because the system of fear may have stifled real
attitudes.
• Historians such as Tim Mason believe that Nazi propaganda was
largely unsuccessful among the working class.
• Historian Welch believes that the regime largely won over the
working class through programs such as Strength Through Joy
which provided entertainment and travel opportunities. Welch
concludes that propaganda in these spheres was largely
successful – at least to the extent that it tended to diffuse
class conflict and opposition to the regime.