Propaganda

Distorted Mirror of Reality

"All propaganda must be popular and its intellectual level must be adjusted to the most limited intelligence among those it is addressed to, consequently, the greater the mass it is intended to reach, the lower its purely intellectual level will have to be."

~Adolf Hitler Mein Kampf "Psychology of Propaganda"

Fascism is a form of counter-revolutionary politics that first arose in the early part of the twentieth-century in Europe. It was a response to the rapid social upheaval, the devastation of World War I, and unstable economy. Fascism is a philosophy or a system of government that advocates or exercises a dictatorship of the extreme right, typically through the merging of state and business leadership, together with an ideology of aggressive nationalism. It promotes celebrating the nation or the race as a pure community surpassing all other loyalties. This right-wing political philosophy will even advocate violent action to maintain this loyalty which is held in such high regards.

The most recognized name that goes along with Fascism is Germany's Adolf Hitler, a founder of the Nazi party who rose to power in 1933. Some of the central mythic goals of National Socialist movement in 1930's Germany were to: activate "the people" as a whole against perceived oppressors or enemies, to create a pure nation of unity, and to establish ultimate control of one supreme leader, Hitler, from whom all power proceeds downward. Nationalism thus became a central component of the Third Reich. As a result, art of propaganda was considered to be the most crucial element in establishing the new Reich as envisioned by Hitler. Politics and aesthetics seemingly united in this context. Art became a cultural and political mission in Germany and it led to an increase in ethnic propaganda. This essay, therefore, will analytically discuss the mythic context of Hitler's Race and Nation and Leni Riefenstahl's film, Triumph of the Will by examining its significance within Nazi conceptions of Aryanism and art.

Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf (My Struggle) dwells on his views on the significance of race in culture and social systems, and particularly on his perception of the role of Aryans and Jews in culture creation and destruction. In order to bring together and gain support from the majority of the nation Hitler praises the mythical importance of Aryan race, "Everything we admire on this earth today--science and art, technology and inventions--is only the creative product of originally perhaps one race. On them depends the existence of this whole culture; if they perish, the beauty of this earth will sink into the grave with them" (288). Hitler was attempting to convey to the German people that their race and culture was superior to all others and that Aryans were invincible. Hitler wanted to create a sense of pride, unity and stability among the people because stability was not a very strong factor among the masses who felt they had nothing to lose. Therefore, Hitler called his political cause "the movement".

Movement was, indeed, one of the mythic messages, movement away from the state of stagnation of the Weimar Republic, as the Nazis emphasized it repeatedly to persuade the masses, away from the shameful dictate of the Versailles peace treaty, away from "true blood--sucking parasites, Jews," (304) and forward towards the building of a "New Pure Germany" who would be a power to reckon with throughout Europe and the World at large.

Although Hitler lacked his own characteristics of being a true Aryan (blond haired and blue eyed individual), he represented all of Germany as an ultimate ruler eliminating all other potential authorities that could possibly compete with him, just as a self--evident mythology cannot tolerate other powers, which might challenge and lead to the dissolution of the mythic system.

In his book Mein Kampf Hitler stated, "The art of propaganda lies in understanding the emotional ideas of the great masses and finding, through a psychologically correct form, the way to the attention and hence to the heart of the broad masses" (180). Hitler's ability to use rhetoric instilled in him the ability to execute his totalizing vision, mastering the art of manipulation and persuasion. Appealing to a person's emotions is crucial in order to convince or persuade them towards certain ideas or to initiate a certain response. Hitler's ability to manipulate language, and invent false ideas full of racist venom such as to say "supported by