Propaganda During Ww2

PROPAGANDA BATTLES Though propaganda has never been a substitute for military strength, extensive resources, or skillful negotiation, it has often played an important role in wartime strategy.(Propaganda,1) Propaganda really influnced both sides of World War II. In this paper I will show why the Nazi party best benifited from the use of prapaganda. Adolf Hilter use it to turn people against jews, blacks and about every one else that was not German and he also use it to make people want to join Nazi army. Franklin Roosvelt or F.D.R also use the science of propaganda to turn people against Germany, Italy and Japan. Hitler had first become aware of propaganda and its uses before the First World War. During the war he saw the effect of British propaganda on the soldiers of the Centeral Powers. Later on after the war Hitler wrote a book called Mein Kampf ( My Struggle), he devoted two whole chapters to study and practice of propaganda. He once said, “The psyche of the masses,” he wrote. “is not receptive to anything that is weak. They are like a woman, whose psychic state determined less by abstract reason than by an emotional longing for a strong force will complement her nature. Likewise, the masses love a commander, and despise a petitioner.”(Propaganda,12) After many speeches and papers he wrote on prapaganda he became a political power and became the leader of the party. By know Hitler was to busy to devote much time to propaganda. He knew that prapaganda required a full time expert. In Joseph Goebbels he found his man. Goebbels was to become one of history’s greastest political propagandists. Hitler met him in 1926 and loving his power of persuasion, made him the head of the party of propaganda department. Gobbels had studied the methods by the Fascists in Italy to create the image of Mussolini and he applied them to Hitler. He knew to impress the masses, the modern dictator must be a superman and a man of the people, wise yet simple. Gobbles wrote, “approach him with confidence, because they feel he is their friend and protector.” He describe

Hitler as an artist, an architect and a painter, who had left all that behind to help the German people in their darkest hour. Goebbels made great use of the mass demonstrations which became regular feature of Nazi Germany after Hitler’s rise to power. Emotional manipulation, he found was must effective at these great gatherings. The demonstrations generally took place at night after 8 p.m, when peoples resistance was at its lowest and when there minds where open to persuasion. Goebbels’ propaganda ministry had complete control of the press, radio, theater, cinema, the creative arts, music, wrighting, art exhibitions. When every book people read, every newspaper, every film they see, every brodcast, then they no longer wher able to understand what the saw and hear and then they lost ther judgment.(Propaganda,18) Goebbels openly admitted that propaganda had little to do with the truth. He was careful not to tell whole lies, he was master of telling the half truth. In cinema Goebbel had real closeness he use it a lot in propagandist styles. He was quick to realize that this new art form form could reach a wider audience than books or theater. The thinking of thousands of adult men and women all cooped up in the dark, straing at same image on the silver screen was unthinkable. Thanks to the government

movie attendance

quadrupled in the a ten-year period. Goebbels took a personal interest

in all the films made during th Third Reich, and often directed many of them. The best known films of the nazi period are Triumph of the Will, a documentery about 1936 Olympic games in Berlin. The Olympic games gave Nazi the power to push there propagandist views and foreign

countries. At Berlin in 1936, during the sixteen days of the games, 2,500 reports were broadcaste in 28 languages by German and foreign

reporters.(WWII Through German Eyes, 48) When these people came to Berlin all anti-Semtic regulations, such as “Jews not admitted,” were removed from hotels and resturants. Goebbels’ propagandist found that youths where very is to persuade. With appeal to there emotions and exploration of their

readiness to believe

and follow, the nazis had already won them over. What really got them was the Hitler parade of uniforms, that made there every boring every day life a little more tolerable. After finding out how good children could be for Hitle started a program called the Hitler Youth. Hitler Youth, gave an order that all other organization were forbidden to take part in any form of organized sport. They were also forbidden to march in formation, have their

own bands, carry flags, banners, and pennants. These measure reveal the Nazis’ understanding the juveniles mind. The poster had certin advanteges over the other form of propaganda. When people walked down any street they would see a nazi poster. Hans Schweitzer master of all the nazis’ propagandist posters. As a nazi leader once said, “ What lengthy speeches failed to do, Hans did in a second through the glowing fanaticism of his powerful ar.”(WWII Through German Eyes,65) The same principles of propaganda poseters held good for postage stamps. The stamp reaches even larger public than the poster. Stamps on evenlopes referring to the Saar referendum in 1935