How important and how successful was Nazi propaganda?

Propaganda and Censorship Governments use propaganda to persuade people to think and behave in a certain way. The Nazis used propaganda to convince the German people that their policies were right for Germany. The Nazis also used censorship. They tried to prevent people hearing, reading or seeing anything that was critical of the Nazis. Propaganda and censorship were vital to the Nazis because they helped to make sure that most Germans supported Nazi ideas. Both were controlled by the Minister of People’s Enlightenment and Propaganda, headed by Joseph Goebbels. He was a genius at using propaganda to persuade people that Hitler and his ideas were right for them.

Campaigns and Rallies Rallies were held all over the country to show how popular Hitler and the Nazis were and to persuade people that Nazi Germany was powerful and great. An annual rally of the Nazi Party was held each year in Nuremburg. Music, lighting and banners were used as a backdrop for Hitler’s speeches. The 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin were used as a propaganda opportunity to show the superiority of the Third Reich. German athletes won more medals than any other country. Poster campaigns were a way of giving ideas and images an important place in people’s minds. Images of Hitler as a wise leader appeared in many poster campaigns.

New Technology Radio was relatively new and Goebbels realised how useful it could be to Nazi propaganda. Industry was encouraged to produce cheap radios that everyone could afford and by 1939 Germany had more radios per head of population than any other country in the world. All radio programmes were carefully controlled and Hitler’s speeches were frequently broadcast. The radios on sale in Germany were designed to have a short range. This meant that they could not pick up foreign stations and listen to alternative versions of the news. Radio sets were placed in cafes and factories and loudspeakers placed in the streets.

Press Non-Nazi newspapers and magazines were closed down or taken over. News was biased in favour of the Nazis and editors were told what they could print. As a result, newspaper sales went down because people found them repetitive and boring.

Cinema The cinema was very popular in Germany and over 100 films were made each year. All film plots had to be shown to Goebbels before production started. Although some propaganda films were made, Goebbels believed that propaganda succeeded best if people were entertained. The German cinema, therefore continued to make comedies, love stories, thrillers and historical epics, which were all given a pro-Nazi slant.

Culture Many writers, composers and artists were persuaded or forced to create works in praise of Hitler and the Third Reich. Books written by Jews, Communists and anti-Nazis were banned. Many were destroyed in public book-burnings in Jazz music was banned because it was the music of black people (an inferior race). Much modern art was declared ‘degenerate’ and art galleries were forced to get rid of it.

How successful? The Nazi Party certainly spent a great deal of time and effort on propaganda in an attempt to indoctrinate the population into the Nazi world view It is however rather difficult to measure how successful these attempts were because there were no free elections in the Nazi period, opposition was banned and a reign of terror implemented against real and imagined opponents.

How Successful? The Secret Police and Gestapo compiled regular reports on the state of public opinion based on evidence gathered by their networks of spies and informers. The reliability of such evidence however is highly questionable. Similarly there were a series of plebiscites throughout the 1930's which invited approval of major government policies such as the decision to leave the League of Nations in 1933, the elevation of Hitler to Fuhrer in 1934 and the Anschluss with Austria in These too however are problematic when used as evidence of support for the regime or the success of propaganda not least because of the ongoing use of terror and fear of reprisals

Interpretations Traditionally historians have characterised the Nazi regime as extremely successful in indoctrinating even 'seducing' the German nation. This view has however been somewhat revised by historians who have emphasised how hard it is to reasonably assess the level of active support for regime. More recent studied have empathised that support for the regime varied through time - whilst Nazi economic policy was successful groups like workers and the middle class supported the regime but when hardship returned with the impact of war this support fell away.

Evaluation What is clear is that Nazi propaganda was especially successful when it tapped into existing political culture and beliefs e.g. the Fuhrerprincip, anti democracy, nationalism, anti Semitism. Nazi propaganda was less successful when it went beyond these existing beliefs for instance the radical Nazi policy against religion and the Church was much less successful. Nazi propaganda was also especially successful when aimed at the young whose ideas and beliefs had either yet to be formed or were only partially formed.