Propaganda

Deconstructing Nazi propaganda Images

What is Propaganda?

Biased information Created to shape

public opinion and behavior

Simplifies complex issues or

ideas

Symbols, images, words, or music

Plays on emotions

Advertises a cause, organization, or movement and its opponents

Directs human action toward a

given goal

True, partially true, or blatantly false

information

Common Propaganda Techniques

• Bandwagon• Testimonial• Plain Folks• Transfer• Fear/Card Stacking• Logical Fallacies• Glittering Generalities

• Name-calling

Bandwagon

• An appeal to the subject to follow the crowd

• Tries to convince the subject that one side is the winning side and that winning is inevitable

• Appeals to a person’s desire to be on the winning side

Testimonial

• Quotations or endorsements which attempt to connect a well-known or respectable person with a product or ideal with the intent to better “sell” the product or ideal

Plain Folks

• An attempt to convince the public that his or her views reflect those of the “common person”

• The candidate tries to appear to be working for the benefit of the “common person”

Transfer

• An attempt to make the subject view a certain item in the same way as they view another item

• Used to transfer negative feelings for one object to another

• In politics, this technique is often used to transfer blame or bad feelings from one politician to another or from one group of people to another

Fear/Card Stacking

• Only presents information that is positive to an idea or proposal and omits information contrary to it

• While the information presented is true, other important information is purposely omitted

Logical Fallacies

• An argument that sounds as if it makes sense but the premises given for the conclusion do not provide proper support for the argument

Glittering Generalities

• Uses words that have different positive meaning for individual subjects, but are linked to highly valued concepts

• Words often used as glittering generalities are honor, glory, love of country, and freedom

Name-calling

• Uses derogatory language or words that carry a negative connotation when describing an enemy

• Attempts to arouse prejudice among the public by labeling the target something that the public dislikes

Common Propaganda Traits

• Uses truths, half-truths, or lies • Omits information selectively • Simplifies complex issues or ideas • Plays on emotions • Advertises a cause • Attacks opponents • Targets desired audiences

Nazi Propaganda Practices

Volksgemeinschaft:“National Community”

• A cornerstone of Nazi ideology and propaganda

• An organic, racial union of all “Aryan” Germans

• Political strife and dissension have no place in National Socialist society

• Contributing to the general welfare of the nation, not individualism

• Nazi propaganda played a crucial role in selling the myth to Germans who longed for unity, national pride and greatness

Making a leader

• Nazi propaganda idolized Hitler as a gifted statesman who brought stability, created jobs, and restored German greatness

• Under the Nazi regime, Germans were expected to pay public allegiance to the “Führer” in quasi-religious forms, such as giving the Nazi salute and greeting others on the street with “Heil Hitler!,” the so-called “German Greeting”

• Faith in Hitler strengthened the bonds of national unity, while non-compliance signaled dissension in a society where open criticism of the regime, and its leaders, were grounds for imprisonment Modern techniques of propaganda -- including strong

images and simple messages -- helped propel Austrian-born Adolf Hitler from being a little known extremist to a leading candidate in the 1932 German presidential elections. The style of this poster is similar to some of film stars of the era. Election poster, 1932; photo by Heinrich Hoffmann

Defining the Enemy

• One crucial factor in creating a cohesive group is to define who is excluded from membership

• Nazi propagandists contributed to the regime's policies by publicly identifying groups for exclusion, inciting hatred or cultivating indifference, and justifying their pariah status to the populace

• Propaganda helped to define who would be excluded from the new society and justified measures against the “outsiders”:

– Jews

– Sinti and Roma (Gypsies)

– homosexuals

– political dissidents

– Germans viewed as genetically inferior and harmful to “national health”Nazi propaganda often portrayed Jews as engaged

in a conspiracy to provoke war. Here, a stereotyped Jew conspires behind the scenes to control the Allied powers, represented by the British, American, and Soviet flags. The caption reads, "Behind the enemy powers: the Jew." Circa 1942.

• Propaganda served as an important tool to win over the majority of the German public who had not supported Adolf Hitler and to push forward the Nazis' radical program

• A new state propaganda apparatus, headed by Joseph Goebbels, sought to manipulate and deceive the German population and the outside world

• Propagandists preached an appealing message of national unity and a utopian future

An antisemitic poster published in Poland in March 1941. The caption reads, "Jews are lice; They cause typhus." This German-published poster was intended to instill fear of Jews among Christian Poles.

Deceiving the Public

Rallying the Nation • The Nazi Party dramatically increased its public

support by advertising itself as a protest movement against the corruption and ineffectiveness of the Weimar “system”

• Throughout World War II, Nazi propagandists disguised military aggression aimed at territorial conquest as acts of ethnic self-defense necessary for the survival of “Aryan civilization”

• Nazi propaganda frequently stressed the power of a mass movement to propel the country forward, subtly underscored by the upward angle of the hands

• This poster typifies the propaganda strategy of using simple confident slogans, with bold graphics often using the characteristic Nazi colors of red, black, and white.

"Greater Germany: Yes on 10 April" (1938). This election poster emphasizes the message of jumping on the Nazi political bandwagon, as represented by the hands raised in a unified Nazi salute.

Indoctrinating Youth

• From the 1920s onwards, the Nazi Party targeted German youth as a special audience for its propaganda messages

• These messages emphasized that the Party was a movement of youth:

– dynamic

– resilient

– forward-looking

– hopeful

• Millions of German young people were won over to Nazism in the classroom and through extracurricular activities

"Students/Be the Führer's propagandists." With militant appeals to nationalism, freedom, and self-sacrifice, the Nazi Party successfully recruited students disenchanted with German democracy and their current student organizations.

Writing the News

• Der Stürmer was the most notorious, antisemitic newspaper in Germany

• The newspaper, headed by Julius Streicher, published lurid tales of Jewish “ritual murder,” sex crimes, and financial malfeasance

• The Nazis understood the power and attraction of emerging technologies, such as film, loudspeakers, radio, and television, in the service of propaganda

• These technologies offered the Nazi leadership a means for mass dissemination of their ideological messages and a vehicle for reinforcing the myth of the National Community through communal listening and viewing experiences

"All of Germany Listens to the Führer with the People's Radio." The poster depicts a crowd surrounding a radio. The radio looms large, symbolizing the mass appeal and broad audience for Nazi broadcasts.

Film from the Steven Spielberg Film Archive showing the Opening of the Official Anti-Semitic Campaign, 1 April 1933. Also in this clip is Minister for Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels addressing a cheering crowd in Berlin Lustgarten, the boycott of Jewish shops, a truck filled with Nazis moving through streets, chanting: "Germans, protect yourselves. Don't buy from the Jews,“ book burning and more. [00:05:48]

Slide #2

'Your Own KdF-Car'

Your Own Car

'Your Own KdF-Car' poster, 1939 ©

The woman is blond haired and dressed conservatively. This is a typical Nazi view of women (no make up/natural look – white teeth)

They are obviously happy with this lifestyle

The mountains suggest a link between Germans and the rural ideal (also symbolize the pure Nordic roots of Nazism)

Nazi policies are associated with wealth and a good lifestyle

The VW beetle was designed by Otto Porsche & Hitler

Slide #3

“The seed of peace, not dragon's teeth”

The seed of peace not dragon’s teeth

“The seed of peace, not dragon's teeth” cartoon of Hitler, from the magazine Kladderadatsch, 22 March 1936 ©

There is an angel. This suggests that German greatness is a positive thing and not a threat

The imagery is quite deliberate. It is based on a parable in the Bible in which a man sows seeds. Suggests a link between Hitler and God

Hitler = Jesus

Hitler is walking on a map of Europe, eastward

The archangel Gabriel – announcing a new order?

Slide #4

German Students Fight for Hitler and Nation

German Students Fight for Hitler and Nation

Blonde hair, athletic, fit, strong, good looking

This young man is blonde haired and well-dressed.

This is a typical Nazi view of young men

The Nazi flag is prominently displayed.

A sense of power is conveyed.

The word “VOLK” (folk) (people) is used.

The word, “Kampft”- struggle or fight.

All students were forced to join the Hitler Youth – Boy Scouts declared a Jewish plot.

Slide #5

[Support relief for mother and child]

Farming in background – church in background

Role of the woman is to be a mother (blonde, strong, bear children)

Nazi partySymbol (NJ = National Socialist Jugend – youth movement)

It promotes the Nazi charitable organization (the NSV). The text: "Support the assistance program for mothers and children."

Hitler pointed out that unemployment in 1933 was equivalent to the number of women who came into the workforce since 1914. Average family size was supposed to have 4 children. Peasants were the backbone of society.

Sun = halo

Slide #6

"[If] You need advice or help, turn to your 'local group.”

The caption loosely translates as, "The National Socialist Party will save the people's community. The people's community will then turn to you and the party." Posters of this type illustrate the disconnect between the party rhetoric and the reality of party policy.

The Aryan Family (white, blonde, blue-eyed, happy) (farm family)

The “strong” eagle (power) – almost a “wing of an angel” (protecting this family)

The idea of a "Volksgemeinschaft," a community of the people, had a very powerful, very idealistic appeal, comparable to the idealistic appeal that some communist groups were attempting to make at the same time.

The analogy is suggested by the use of the word "Volksgenossen," literally "comrades," a term widely used by the Soviet Communist Party at the time.

The slogan on the poster reads "[If] You need advice or help, turn to your 'local group.” In other words, the suggestion is "We are here to help."

Slide #7

"We build body and soul"

Strong/fit youth (blonde, blue-eyed) – the future of Germany

Conveys the message of Germany being united

It promotes the Nazi labor service, for which men were expected to volunteer. The caption: "We build body and soul."

The goal of the Reich Labor Force was to train and teach through regimented exercise, work and sports (train young

men for the military).

Slide #8

"Long live Germany!"

after 1936

This poster makes a direct Christological comparison. Just as a dove descended on Christ when he was baptized by John the Baptist, so what looks to be an eagle hovers against the light of heaven over an idealized Hitler. The text: "Long live Germany!."

A strong, numerous, and united Germany –

power granted from God.

Oak leaf border = symbol of strength and longevity in Nazi iconography

Sun = halo

The Crusader w/ cross – based in the belief that Christ would return to earth for a 1000 year period. (the white saint?)

Multi-headed red snakes – stars of David, Protocols of Zion,

KDP=Christian Democratic Party, SDP=Social Democratic Party, RF=Republican Front?

The white countryside with a cross on its side – Nazism found its roots in the peasantry/agriculture

The soldier (uniform - authority, Swastika on belt) “draped” in the robe w/ the Swastika (powerful symbol)

Crusader = St. Michael slaying the 3-headed dragon (direct/saintly connection to God ???)

The connection of the Nazi soldier and the Crusader

Arm around Nazi soldier

The Multi-headed dragon is a well-known image from Christianity – St. George and the Dragon (good v. evil/Satanic forces).

Nazi propaganda often portrayed WWII as a war for Christianity.

Please use your corresponding worksheets with the next set of slides

Now you try it! Take your worksheet and divide into 3 groups, one for each of the following posters. Complete the front of

the worksheet and finish the back for homework.