"Propaganda tries to force a doctrine on the whole people... Propaganda works on the general public from the standpoint of an idea and makes them ripe for the victory of this idea."
- Adolf Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf (1926)
The Main Uses of Propaganda
Propaganda are works published by an organization/government in order to convince people about a certain opinion. In this case, the Nazi Government wanted to spread Anti-semitism, hatred against the Jewish religion, through the means of pamphlets, signs, and posters. Creativity was restrained, people who opposed the government "vanished", and while this occurred, the German population's thoughts were being controlled by Nazi Regime.
The Propaganda System in Nazi Germany
Joseph Goebbles suing a publisher in 1934.
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When Hitler was appointed chancellor, he named Joseph Goebbels, a close friend of Hitler, to be the Reich Minister of Propaganda. He was in charge of the what was being produced, and how it would be distributed to the population. During the reign of the Third Reich, he censored a large amount of opposition against the Nazi party. This censorship reached "newspapers, magazines, books, music, films, stage plays, radio programs and fine arts" (History). Essentially, you knew only what the Nazi government wanted you to know. Along with the ultimate goal of the propaganda, you were to believe and accept that their views were correct and above others. In order to achieve this, dozens of works, books, and the creative arts were destroyed as they were thought to oppose the government.
“Think of the press as a great keyboard |
The Effects of Propaganda
Geobbels and his established departments had shed the most positive light on the Nazi Party while inspiring great hatred to the Jewish population. This led people hate them with a passion and do what every they thought was necessary to eradicate them. The Nazi party used the Jews as scapegoats for all of Germany's problems. The Nazi party wanted to unite and rally the people of Germany over hate for the Jews ,so the people could start rebuilding and rebelling. The Nazi propaganda wasn't only anti-Jews the Nazi party wanted to raise morale ,so they used reminders that Germany can rebuild and signs of German strength to raise spirits. The massive amount of propaganda all around it took a quick effect ,and the people of Germany wanted the Nazi to have power of Germany because of all the propaganda and the very thing the said they would do. This was enough for Germany to want them to make the Nazi party in charge due to the propaganda that warped the German mind to think what the Nazi party was advertising was right.