How did the Nazi's use propaganda to win support and control the people of Germany?

How did the Nazis use propaganda to win support and control the people of Germany?

Propaganda is defined as: information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause or point of view.

• However, I do not think that quite does it justice – propaganda is getting you to believe in/commit to something that is probably not true. It is controlling, manipulative and insidious.

• It seeks to control your thoughts and therefore your will, effectively making you a puppet.

• The Nazis were superb at this. They realised that if they bombarded people with enough propaganda from various ‘reliable’ sources – the government, military, teachers, doctors etc, they could control people’s minds, and therefore their bodies.

• Those who didn’t/wouldn’t agree would either 1.

2.

3.

Conform because of herd mentality – everyone else is doing this so I must be wrong.

Conform because of fear – If I speak out I will be punished (we cover this later) Not conform, be discovered/reported, and beaten into submission, or shipped off to a concentration camp (we cover this later)

The Nazis hosted the Olympic Games in 1936 - this was a massive propaganda coup for them. They could use it to demonstrate their organisation and power, and hopefully, the dominance of the Aryan race.

It didn’t work out completely as they had hoped - Jesse Owens, a black American athlete, won four gold medals, and managed to break or equal nine Olympic records and also set three world records.

Watch the short clip; https://www.youtube.com/watch ?v=gNKlxcqLKcM

The Nazis put a lot of time and effort into propaganda films. The film on the left, The Eternal Jew, was an anti-Semitic film attacking Jewish people. The documentary on the right, The Triumph of the Will, focused on the Nuremberg rally (you will see a picture on the next slide). Even though it’s content is racist and offensive, the actual film-making itself was cutting edge at the time.

A Nazi rally held at the War Heroes Memorial in Nuremberg.

Over 700,000 people were in attendance and the Nazis used it to demonstrate their power, organisation and military might.

You have a selection of sources • How is each source trying to win support for the Nazis?

• What are they offering?

• Why would the people be drawn to this message?

I have done the first one for you on the next slide

TIP: If you are stuck write about; 1. What can you see? Describe the image/quote the words 2. Link this to the Q. How is the source trying to win support?

3. Explain. Why would the German people be attracted to this idea?

Source 1 Translation: “Work and bread”

Source 2 Translation: “This or communism”

Source 3 Translation: “Workers of the mind and hand! Vote for the front soldier Adolf Hitler!�

Source 4 Translation: Long live Germany!