Propaganda Was Central To Nazi Germany

Propaganda was central to Nazi Germany. Some of the most effective pieces of propaganda were the newspapers. Prominent among them was Der Stürmer -The Stormer or Attacker.

Die Juden sind unser Unglück! -The Jews are our misfortune

- tagline at the bottom of the newspaper - 

Der Stürmer was an anti-Semitic "tabloid style" newspaper first published by Julius Streicher in 1923 and almost continuously through to the end of World War II. Der Stürmer was viewed by Hitler as playing a significant role in the Nazi propaganda machinery and a useful tool in influencing the "common man on the street". The origin of the paper lies in conflict within the Nazi party at Nuremberg during attempts to establish power and control.

Scandal and sensationalism were the mainstay of the paper. As the Jews became more and more the primary focus, any scandal or crime that could be alleged would make its way into the paper. The tabloid focused particularly on tales of crimes against Aryan women and girls by the "evil, disgusting, no good Jews!"

Over the years distribution of Der Stürmer grew from 14,000 in 1927 to 473,000 om 1938. As Der Stürmer's circulation grew, it was distributed to any country with a large German population, including: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, and the United States, among others.

Streicher's publishing house also created and sold children's books. Prominent among them was Der Giftpilz (The Poisonous Mushroom or Toadstool). One story in that book tells about a mysterious stranger who entices children to his home. Hans saves his little sister from the dreaded Jew by calling the police. The story ends with this poem shared with the children by their mother.

“A devil goes through the land, 

The Jew he is, known to us all 

As murderer of the peoples and polluter of the races, 

The terror of children in every country!

He wants to ruin the youth. 

He wants all peoples to die. 

Have nothing to do with a Jew 

Then you’ll be happy and gay!”

Randall L. Bytwerk published a 2004 book on Nazi propaganda: Bending Spines: The Propagandas of Nazi Germany and the German Democratic Republic.  

Amazon's description of Bytwerk's book:

In many ways, modern totalitarian movements present worldviews that are religious in nature. Nazism and Marxism-Leninism presented themselves as explanations for all of life—culture, morality, science, history, and recreation. They provided people with reasons for accepting the status quo. Bending Spines examines the full range of persuasive techniques used by Nazi Germany and the German Democratic Republic, and concludes that both systems failed in part because they expected more of their propaganda than it was able to deliver. 

A similar book was published in 2008 by Jeffrey Herf: The Jewish Enemy: Nazi Propaganda during World War II and the Holocaust. 

Book description in Amazon: 

In many ways, modern totalitarian movements present worldviews that are religious in nature. Nazism and Marxism-Leninism presented themselves as explanations for all of life—culture, morality, science, history, and recreation. They provided people with reasons for accepting the status quo. Bending Spines examines the full range of persuasive techniques used by Nazi Germany and the German Democratic Republic, and concludes that both systems failed in part because they expected more of their propaganda than it was able to deliver. 

From George Mason University we hear that propaganda was not an invention of the Nazis:

Modern propaganda is distinguished from other forms of communication by its deliberate and conscious use of false or misleading information to sway public opinion. The invention of the printing press in the fifteenth century gradually made it possible to reach large numbers of people. But it was not until the nineteenth century that state governments began to employ propaganda for political purposes to any wide degree deliberately aimed at influencing the masses. The invention of radio and television in the twentieth century made it possible to reach even more people. The development of modern media, global warfare, and the rise of extremist political parties provided growing importance to the use of propaganda.

The term propaganda began to be widely used to describe the persuasive tactics used by both sides during the world wars and by later tyrannical political regimes of the twentieth century. Propaganda was used as a psychological weapon against the enemy and to bolster morale at home. The British were the first to develop an extensive system of war propaganda. In the later part of World War One, the Department of Information was formed to coordinate the government's propaganda efforts. Articles were written and distributed both at home and abroad. Important members of the press and various foreign governments received advance press releases and special treatment in the hope that they would write and report favorably on the British war efforts and bolster morale at home. At a time when most news was transmitted by telegraph, advance access to news was advantageous to those who received it first; they were more likely to influence their audiences before those that received the news later. It is not surprising that the word "propaganda" appeared as a separate entry in the Encyclopedia Britannica for the first in 1922 right after the end of the World War One. 

   

Adolf Hitler's WW I exploits—Nazi propaganda myth

Research reveals Adolf Hitler's heroic Great War exploits were a Nazi propaganda myth | Mail Online:

Adolf Hitler's heroic exploits during the First World War were an invention of the Nazi propaganda machine, new research has revealed.

The Nazi leader served as a messenger on the Western Front during the war and was awarded the Iron Cross for carrying messages.
He claimed in his autobiography, Mein Kampf, that he 'looked death in the eye' and risked his life 'probably every day' while he served as a messenger on the Western Front.

But a new book, Hitler's First War, by German historian Thomas Weber, reveals that Private Hitler was often stationed outside of the most dangerous areas and was rarely in the 'midst of the bombardment', as he claimed.

The book is not new, as this article claims. It was first published in November, 2010. Amazon describes the book.

Perhaps no individual in modern history has received more intensive study than Adolf Hitler. His many biographers have provided countless conflicting interpretations of his dark life, but virtually all agree on one thing: Hitler's formative experience was his service in World War I. Unfortunately, historians have found little to illuminate this critical period. Until now.

In Hitler's First War, award-winning author Thomas Weber delivers a master work of history--a major revision of our understanding of Hitler's life. Weber paints a group portrait of the List Regiment, Hitler's unit during World War I, to rewrite the story of his military service. Drawing on deep and imaginative research, Weber refutes the story crafted by Hitler himself, and so challenges the historical argument that the war led naturally to Nazism. Contrary to myth, the regiment consisted largely of conscripts, not enthusiastic volunteers. Hitler served with scores of Jews, including noted artist Albert Weisberger, who proved more heroic, and popular, than the future Fuehrer. Indeed, Weber finds that the men shunned Private Hitler as a "rear area pig," and that Hitler himself was still unsure of his political views when the war ended in 1918.

Through the stories of such comrades as a soldier-turned-concentration camp commandant, veterans who fell victim to the Holocaust, an officer who became Hitler's personal adjutant in the 1930s but then cooperated with British intelligence, and the veterans who simply went back to their Bavarian farms and never joined the Nazi ranks, Weber demonstrates how and why Hitler aggressively policed the myth of his wartime experience.

Underlying all Hitler studies is a seemingly unanswerable question: Was he simply a product of his times, or an anomaly beyond all calculation? Weber's groundbreaking work sheds light on this puzzle and offers a profound challenge to the idea that World War I served as the perfect crucible for Hitler's subsequent rise.

Weber is a member of the history department at the University of Aberdeen, where he teaches European and International history.

The Power of Nazi Propaganda

An online exhibition: Propaganda by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. explores the Nazis' sophisticated propaganda campaigns and their legacy. Visit the museum's special exhibition, State of Deception: The Power of Nazi Propaganda. Both demonstrate how the Nazis used advertising, carefully crafted messages, design, radio, TV and film to sway millions with their vision of a new Germany. 

A heavily illustrated large format book on the history of Nazi propaganda is for sale online: State of Deception: The Power of Nazi Propaganda. It features never-before-published posters, rare photographs, and historical artifacts from the Museum's exhibition. 

What is propaganda? "Propaganda, simply put, is the manipulation of public opinion. It is generally carried out through media that is capable of reaching a large amount of people and effectively persuading them for or against a cause. The exact meaning of propaganda is constantly debated, however, and no specific definition is completely true."

The millions of us on the internet or watching television are constantly bombarded by propaganda. Buy this car, go on this vacation, vote for this candidate. Its coming at us constantly. The purpose, obviously, is to influence our decisions in the direction chosen by the propagandists. That's why it is so important to see behind the message to understand what is really going on.

A You Tube podcast, What is Propaganda, takes a look at three of the most common techniques used by advertising in the media. It offers examples from popular culture to help explain the tactics.

The Holocaust Memorial Museum shares the following view of Nazi propaganda:

After World War I, propaganda became a subject of considerable debate and study throughout the western world, but particularly in the United States and Germany. The term came to be perceived in a negative light and identified in many circles with lies, manipu-lation, and falsehood. Some American opinion leaders feared that unregulated propaganda would destroy the foundations of democracy by creating a nation of obedient slaves marching in lockstep to the government’s orders. Others believed that the democratic marketplace of ideas would counter any potential threats from propaganda. Still others believed that propaganda, when employed for the public good, could create a more educated, healthier, and progressive citizenry. 

In Germany, like the United States, propaganda became the subject of serious discussion and intellectual study. It was commonly held that Germany had lost World War I, not on the battlefield, but because Allied propaganda had sapped the fighting spirit of German troops and weakened morale at home by encouraging demands for peace. In contrast, Imperial Germany’s propaganda efforts were widely criticized for failing to explain why the nation needed to continue to wage war and painted non-threatening images of the enemy. Some politicians and scholars of propaganda urged Germans to learn from the victors. Among these was Adolf Hitler, a former German soldier and leader of an obscure right-wing extremist party in Bavaria. "Propaganda," he wrote five years after the war, "is a truly terrible weapon in the hands of an expert." 

Nazi propagandists drew upon the successful techniques and strategies used by the Allies, Socialists, Communists, and Italian Fascists to advance their political campaigns, win public support, and to wage war. Once in power, the Nazis eliminated the "marketplace of ideas" through terror and media manipulation and mobilized propaganda as a weapon to unite the German people around a "leader" and to facilitate aggression, mass murder, and genocide.

It is critical that we learn these lessons today when similar techniques continue to be used. We dare not allow propaganda messages to turn us into thoughtless cyborgs.