Propaganda

Definition Propaganda is biased information designed to shape public opinion and behavior.

Definition Effectiveness depends on Propaganda is biased information designed to shape public opinion and behavior. A message that will resonate with a specific audience Using techniques tailored to the message Choosing the most effective means of communication (or medium) An environment or climate that is receptive to the propaganda message An audience that is sympathetic to the propaganda message

Propaganda Techniques

Ad Hominem or Name Calling Fritz Hippler, the president of the Reich Film Chamber, directed this film with input from German Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels. A pseudo-documentary, it included scenes of Jews shot in the Warsaw and Lodz ghettos by propaganda company crews attached to the German military.

Appeal to Fear 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.

Bandwagon This election poster emphasizes the message of jumping on the Nazi political bandwagon, as represented by the hands raised in a unified Nazi salute. 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.

Common Man Poster: "We’re for Adolf Hitler!" This poster was aimed at unemployed miners. Nazi propaganda targeted specific subgroups in the German population with messages specially crafted to speak to a group’s desires, hopes, and needs. This poster appears to imply that a vote for Hitler will mean an end to unemployment for this group.

Cherry picking or card stacking After the massive defeat at Stalingrad, Nazi propagandists began to alternate messages of fear and hope, demanding fanatical devotion to the homeland and ruthless treatment for the nation's enemies. This poster appeared just after Stalingrad. It was part of a major propaganda campaign with the theme "Victory or Bolshevist Chaos." This poster offers a stark contrast between the peaceful, abundant future promised by the Nazis and the threat of a bleak and miserable life under Communism.

Glittering generalities Poster: "For Freedom and Life / People's Storm“ In a last ditch effort to fend off military defeat, Nazi Germany began conscripting boys and elderly men to serve in the newly formed national militia, the Volkssturm (People's Storm). Mjölnir [Hans Schweitzer], artist; 1944

Transfer Through their control of cultural institutions such as museums, under the Reich Chamber of Culture the Nazis created new opportunities to disseminate anti-Jewish propaganda. Most notably, an exhibition entitled Der ewige Jude (The Eternal Jew) attracted 412,300 visitors, more than 5,000 per day, during its run at the Deutsches Museum in Munich from November 1937 to January 1938. Special performances by the Bavarian State Theater, reiterating the exhibition's antisemitic themes, accompanied the exhibition. The Nazis also associated Jews with "degenerate art," the subject of a companion exhibition in Munich seen by two million people. This image shows the cover of a 1937 publication advertising Der ewige Jude.

Sources United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Propaganda Exhibit. https://www.ushmm.org/propaganda. Accessed on January 26, 2017.