6 Propaganda in Nazi Germany

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CaptionGerman propaganda poster encouraging German students to join the NSD Student Union to fight for the Fuhrer and the people.

6Propaganda in Nazi Germany In this chapter we will look at the importance

of propaganda in Nazi Germany, especially the role of Dr Josef Goebbels. We will read how the Nazis took control of the different forms of media to spread their message and to promote the cult of personality around Adolf Hitler.

Useful terms  Führer principle: The cult of personality that glorified Hitler.  Hitler Youth: An organisation for boys from the age of 14 until 18. All young boys were expected to join. Its female counterpart was the League of German Maidens.  Volksempfänger: The Peoples’ Radio – cheap radio sets built to spread the Nazi message.

What was the importance of Josef Goebbels?

Josef Goebbels was appointed Reich Minister for

Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda in March 1933. This newly created ministry was responsible for controlling the media and arts during the Nazi regime.

Its establishment showed the importance Hitler attached to controlling what the German people heard, saw and read. As its head, Goebbels was to play a central role in influencing and controlling the opinions of the German people. In the words of historian Niall Ferguson, he was ‘the evil genius of twentieth-century marketing’.

?KEY QUESTION What steps did the Nazis take to establish state control over the mass media? Dr Josef Goebbels (1897–1945) was one of Hitler’s most loyal followers. A good public speaker, he proved to be a very talented propaganda minister. Very strongly anti-Semitic, he played a large role in creating the climate of hatred towards ©The Educational Company of Ireland

the Jews of Germany.

Goebbels’s main aims were to:

 Promote a sense of community among the German people, where the individual’s role was to serve the

German nation (the Nazis called this the Volksgemeinschaft, or People’s Community).

 Develop the Führer principle – this was the promotion of the cult of personality of Hitler as the leader who could do no wrong.

 Inspire pride in the Aryan master race and promote Nazi racial teaching.

 Develop hatred of the Jews (anti-Semitism) and rid the nation of all Jewish influences in areas such as literature.  Encourage German nationalism, criticise the Treaty of

Versailles and justify Hitler’s foreign policy.  Maintain public morale and incite hatred of the enemy during World War II. Many of these themes will be seen in the case study on the Nuremberg Rallies which we will examine in Chapter 7. Goebbels knew that for propaganda to be effective, he had to gain control of the media to promote the Nazi message. There was no TV, so newspapers, cinema and the radio were his main targets. This control would allow the Nazis to present events as it suited them. No criticism of the Nazis would be tolerated and news that portrayed them in an unfavourable light would not be published. How did Goebbels establish control of radio? Radio had become very popular during the 1920s and Goebbels realised the importance of what he called this ‘most modern instrument for influencing the masses’. He noted, ‘We must not allow technology to run ahead of the Reich, but rather the Reich must keep pace with technology.’ Goebbels felt that the radio could be used to the advantage of the Nazis. Goebbels encouraged everyone to own a radio so that people could hear the Nazi message. Cheap sets called Volksempfänger (the People’s Radio) were built. By 1939, over 70% of households owned a radio – the highest percentage in the world. The Reich Radio Chamber was established to give the propaganda ministry complete control of content. Everyone working in radio had to be a member of the new organisation. All stations were controlled by the newly founded Reich Radio Company. The propaganda ministry provided news bulletins directly to stations.

Poster of Hitler with the caption ‘Ein Volk (One People), Ein Reich (One Country), Ein Führer (One Leader). The cult of personality around Hitler was carefully developed during the Third Reich. ©The Educational Company of Ireland

Goebbels knew that most people listened to the radio for entertainment. He directed that little of the output was to be propaganda and popular music dominated most playlists. Goebbels believed propaganda was most effective when it was indirect. He said:

That is the secret of propaganda: to permeate the person it aims to grasp without his even noticing that he is being permeated. Of course propaganda has a purpose, but the purpose must be concealed with such cleverness and virtuosity that the person on whom the purpose is being carried out doesn’t notice it at all.

Source: Richard J. Evans, The Third Reich in Power, Penguin Books, 2006, page 127 How did the Nazis control literature? Controlling what people read was also important. The Nazis monitored the content of books to make sure that they reflected Nazi ideology. They were suspicious of modern literature, most of which they saw as undermining the traditional values of German society. They labelled it Jewish even if the authors were not. In May and June 1933, throughout Germany university students and members of the SA removed books from libraries that were termed ‘un-German’ literature. This campaign led to a wave of public book burnings, the most notable of which took place in Berlin in May 1933. Works by world-famous authors such as Heinrich and Thomas Mann, Ernest Hemingway and Sigmund Freud were among those destroyed. Founded in September 1933, the Reich Chamber of Culture was responsible for the control of literature. It censored texts and barred certain individuals from writing. In total, about 250 writers left Germany and over 4,000 books were banned. How did the Nazis control newspapers and film? As a former journalist, Goebbels believed that the objective of the press was to get people to ‘think uniformly, react uniformly, and place themselves body and soul at the disposal of the government’. In 1933 many opposition newspapers were shut down, especially socialist and communist papers. Jewish or left-wing journalists were sacked. Instructions were then given to the remaining newspapers on the size of headlines and photographs that should or should not appear in their papers. The Nazi publishing company, Eher Verlag, slowly took control of most of the press in Germany. Publishing houses owned by Jews, such as Ullstein, were forced to sell their newspapers at a fraction of their real value to Eher Verlag. The company ended up owning over 80% of the newspapers in Germany. Book burning in Berlin in 1933. ©The Educational Company of Ireland

The main Nazi Party newspaper was the Volkischer Beobachter (The People’s Observer). This became the most important newspaper in Germany. It was printed in four regional editions and was distributed to all civil servants. It was one of the first newspapers in the world to use colour.

Germany had the largest film industry in Europe and technically it was the equal of Hollywood. After the Nazis came to power, many leading actors and directors left Germany. Nonetheless, most remained and going to the cinema continued to be a popular leisure activity in Germany. Control of the industry was established by the creation of a new body, the Reich Film Chamber. Anyone who worked in the industry had to be a member of this organisation. The Reich Cinema Law of 1934 introduced strict censorship of films. Goebbels was interested in films and believed that they provided the German people with an important form of entertainment and escapism from everyday life. He did not want to turn them off by too much propaganda. As a result, the vast majority of films made were non-political. Nonetheless, all films were expected to follow themes set down by the Reich Film Chamber, such as praising leadership, glorifying war, depicting Jews as villains, etc. Films such as The Eternal Jew and The Jew Suss played an important role in spreading anti-Semitism. During the war, films were used (as in all countries) to boost morale and German cinemas continued to operate until the very end of the war. One of the last films released was a colour historical drama called Kolberg. It was produced by Goebbels and was designed to increase Germans’ determination to fight. How did the Nazis control what Germans heard and read? Radio All stations controlled by the Nazis. Cheap radios to spread the message. Newspapers Opposition journalists fired and criticism was not permitted. Nazi Party newspapers such as the Volkischer Beobachter. Film Tight control over actors and directors. Censorship introduced. Literature ‘Un-German’ books burned and removed from libraries. Books censored. Authors forced to leave Germany. REVIEW QUESTIONS 1 What were Goebbels’s main aims? 2 What was the Volksempfänger? 3 Why was there a series of book burnings throughout Germany in 1933? 4 What was the role of the Reich Chamber of Culture? 5 Outline some of the major developments in cinema in Nazi Germany. 6 Give evidence to support the view that Goebbels was very effective at his job as propaganda minister.©The Educational Company of Ireland