The Propaganda Agenda
The term Propaganda is associated with “attempting to influence the masses through means of information, ideas, communication: publications, education, arts, media and products of popular culture” – these were all to be controlled by the state6. Propaganda gained the Nazis and Hitler the support of the masses. Large rallies were held to spread the message of the Party. The masses that came were followers, they were told by one voice, one opinion and it was never questioned. In order to make the propaganda most effective, Joseph Goebbles7 eliminated all others sources of information leaving the only source for entertainment and information, the Nazi8. The radio was the first trial. All radio station that existed became part of the ‘Reich Radio’, the aim to broadcast Nazi Ideology and Anti-Semitism. Cheap radios with limited range (so as not to receive foreign stations) were produced and Goebbles intended for every household to own one. The censorship of the press was controlled by Goebbles and he turned the press into a propaganda instrument where the press would only play what the Nazi wanted. The same happened with Films9. Propaganda was vital in Hitler’s control of the German society.
Youth Today, Soldiers Tomorrow
Hitler gained control of the impressible youth through the education system and the Hitler Youth10. Ex-member Edward Behrendt of the Hitler Youth once stated, “If you can capture the minds of young children and persuade them to become dedicated to your cause, your theory of the truth and your theory of what is right and wrong, then you can hold the whole country captive and you have complete control”. Hitler knew that if he could control the youth, he would also indirectly control the country. The youth would eventually be the ones who would lead Germany. They were the future generation, in training said generation Hitler is building future support. The men from the Hilter Youth will eventually be men, trained soldiers who would follow Hitler’s orders. The issue of the Youth Organisation was given to law student Kurt Gruber11. Gruber included sports, propaganda, and education12 into the Youth to promote physical fitness (military training), Nazi Ideology and gave the Youth a cause to join. In 1936, Hitler passed a law that made it mandatory for all German Youths (excluding the Jews) to be educated though the Hitler Youth, parents who opposed the law were sent to jail. The Hitler Youth was the instrument used by the Nazis to train young people in National Socialism. It was notably simple for Hitler to achieve this, due to how youthful and vulnerable the youth were.
Reward & Punishment
The Nazi Government utilised rewards in an attempt to win workers support. The Strength Through Joy (KDF) gave holidays, cruises, tickets and benefits to workers who performed well. Women who gave birth to six or more children were given gold medals and privileges. The boost in the birth rate would eventually in the long term increase Germany’s population. Many men who found shame in unemployment13 found joys as Hitler made projects and jobs for people. Those who opposed Hitler were often tortured and killed. The Gestapo knew everything. There was fear for some, but most men and women found that they had a good life if they followed Hitler. Married couples were given loans which did not have to be paid back if they had a large family. Men and Women found reward and punishment.
German Jews
The lives of Jews were made the most difficult during 1933-45. Jewish shops were looted. Synagogues burnt. The prosecution of Jews was called Anti-Semitism. It intensified after the communist and social democrats were gone. The Jews became the scapegoats for anything that bad that happened in Germany. After the first phrase14, the second phrase15, and Kristallnacht16; riots were held across the country, targeted at Jewish homes. Those who opposed Anti-Semitism were sent to concentration camps. It became normal for Jews to be arrested and imprison without charge. Jews were often beaten to dead and made to perform acts of humiliation on the streets. By 1938 all Jewish businesses had either been sold or closed. By the end of the 1930s, most of the Jews migrated to other countries. When World War II broke out, Hitler found that it would take to long to force the Jews out; he chose to kill them instead. Killing the Jews was the quickest way, it was genocide. And so the Holocaust began in 1941. When every the Nazi Army met a Jew, they were shot or sent to labour camps17 were they worked to death. The Jews during Hitler’s reign were persecuted; they were discriminated against, humiliated in the streets and finally murdered.
Conclusion
Hitler, armed with his political ambition expanded the Nazi Party and took total control over the German Government. Legalising laws, Hitler became the Dictator of Germany. With the aid of propaganda we influenced the masses, distorting their values and changing them to fit his National Socialism Ideology. He controlled the Hitler Youth, directly and indirectly exerting control on the entire current and future German society. Those who did not follow Hitler, were exterminated as with the suspension of legal rights, there was no law to protect them. Hitler’s use of anti-Semitism resulted in the extreme discrimination and genocide of Jews. Fuhrer Hitler was the Dictator of Germany; he had a totalitarian control over the German society.
Appendix
1: After Hitler was released from jail, he found that it was better to gain electoral votes in the Reichstag (German parliament) then forming a coup. In Presidential Election of 1932, Hitler received well over 11million votes, though not enough to become president showed the legitimate public appeal of the Nazi Party even when they advocated militarism, violence and hatred. By 1933, the Nazi Party had 288 out of the 647 possible seats in the German Parliament as well as Hitler himself as Chancellor (the second highest position of power in Germany).
2: Trade Unions were abolished in 1933, so there was no organised opposition to the Government.
3: Citizens were often rounded up and transported to detention camps were they were beaten, tortured or killed without charge. Citizen crimes frequently consisted of speaking out against the Nazis or those targeted as being “non-Aryan”.
4: The “Night of Long Knives” was the mass assassination and execution of early Nazi supporters (those who were deemed too independent) in 1934
5: The Gestapo was a group completely loyal and devoted to Hitler. They utilised violent beatings, tortures and a society of informers to intimidate those who resisted, to accept Hitler’s Rule.
6: All these had to emphasis Nazi ideals of power, military virtues of honor, the superiority of the Aryan Race, anti-Semitism in a positive light. Works that promoted critical thinking, liberal ideals, and anti-war doctrines were banned and burned. With the same message and themes repeated over a long duration of time, people would begin to believe them.
7: Joseph Goebbels was Minister of Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda during Hitler’s reign; he controlled the press, radio, theatre, films, books, sculptures and paintings.
8: With Hitler in dictatorial power, a decree was passed that gave the Regime the power to suspend publications and to treat rumors as an act of treason.
9: Films made had to go to the Censorship office, where it was to be view as appropriate before released into the public. Many films were found to highlight the idea of the Jews wickedness, one made a comparison between the Jews and the rats. Between 1933 and 1945 the Nazis produced over 1,097 films.
10: The Hitler Youth trained boys from the age of 6 to be prepared for when they joined the Storm Troopers when they turn 18. By 1933, the Hitler Youth had a membership of over 3.5million. The Girls on the other hand went to a different program that was the called the Young Maidens. It focused less on military training and more on physical fitness to bear children, beauty and the house.
11: “The first Hitler Youth style uniforms featuring a brown shirt and black shorts and a unique arm band with a Nazi swastika” (Kurt Grubber) were initiated. The uniform made members standout in public, a form of promoting the Hitler Youth and making the members themselves feel important.
12: Education was controlled by the government and the government required every classroom to contain a portrait of Hitler. Purges were held to rid schools and educational institutions of teachers and professors who were seen as enemies to the party. School textbooks were designed to show the wickedness of the Jews and the superiority of the Aryan race. The goal was to make sure that the Youth were taunt only that the Nazi wanted and believed. The curriculum was composed of four components: Leadership, Military Training, Race and Religion. Race; accentuate the importance of German traditions and the racial classes with the Jews as the lowest of classes (racist and anti-Semitism).
13: Unemployment in Germany dropped, from 6million in 1933 to 300,000 in 1939.
14: The first phrase of Anti-Semitism was the boycotting of Jewish businesses and the burning of books.
15: The second phrase, when the Nuremberg Law was passed, Jews denied in professional work, the right to learn in universities and schools gone, forbidden to own property, and marriages forbidden between Jews and Aryans.
16: Kristallnacht was the next step, on October 27, 18,000 Jews were expelled from Germany.
17: By the end of 1942, 20,000 people a day were being murdered in Auschwitz – the most notorious of the camps
