Hitlers\' Germany the Role Propaganda

Hitlers' Germany

The role propaganda plaid in Nazi Germany over 12 years, between 1933 and 1945 is the role propaganda plaid in any totalitarian state in modern times and more. The fact that the Nazis even established a special Ministry called the Ministry for Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda, by a decree signed on the 12th of March 1933 shows how important this tool was to the Nazi party that came to power as a unique party on his way to identify itself with the state. The declared role this new Ministry had was: "dissemination of enlightenment and propaganda within the population concerning the policy of the Rich Government and the National reconstruction of the German Fatherland"(Welch, p. 25) the appointed Minister was Joseph Goebbels. Furthermore, propaganda was also used by two other institutions: The Central Propaganda Office of the Party and the Reich Chamber of Culture. The Nazi regime gave propaganda the importance such a powerful tool deserves in the imposing and maintaining of a totalitarian regime. Even if with small differences in views, especially after the propaganda had been put to use in gaining the support of the people for the complete take over of the political power, propaganda was understood by the leader and its acolytes as the supreme mean of gaining people's heart and mind in favour of the party doctrine.

In his book, Third Reich: Politics and Propaganda, Welch is showing how propaganda came to be used on a people that already had the proper beliefs and ideals to be manipulated according the party's views. He uses the words of Aldous Huxley: "The propagandist is a man who canalises an already existing stream" to reinforce this idea that propaganda comes according to the shape and colour of people's hopes and fears. The lack of economic stability after World War I, the frustration of the people from a defeated country, who considered themselves being wrong by the Versailles treaty, were elements that greatly reinforced any propaganda attempts of a political party that plaid well into the hands of those who were dreaming of the rebirth of a German nation that could rely on an empire and had sources of economic growth that came not only from inside the present boarders, but from a much larger territory.

The totalitarian national socialist regime paid attention to every channel that helped to make each one of its subjects not only adhere but also play an active role in giving his or her unconditioned support. What could better work than using the mothers educating their children according to the doctrines of the National Socialist Party? Not only were they encouraged to have as many children as possible, but they were educated themselves into educating their Aryan offspring in the spirit of the Nazi regime.

The Nazis knew how to use in their best interests the new programs as well as programs that already existed before they came to power. For example: the Reichsbund der Kinderreichen (RdK): the National League of Large Families. The so called Kinderreich families of pure race were supported in every possible way. Several other programs were created and put to work for the final goal: the growth of a big powerful nation, educated in the spirit of the National Socialism from the very cradle and in total devotion to the Nazi regime. The perfect mother was needed in order to obtain the perfect nation. Therefore, women were financially supported, medically assisted and also trained how to be good mothers in every sense of the word. They were rewarded with medals depending on the number of children they had. Young people were encouraged to set up a family as soon as possible and women were encouraged to produce as large a family as possible in order to gain recognition and be useful to the Fatherland.

Education was crucial for the Nazi propaganda machine and in consequence, we find out that by 1937 the teachers were overwhelmingly members of the NSDAP (National Socialist Party). They were proved to have no Jewish ancestry as far as it was possible for them to prove it and were properly trained so that they could properly train the new generation of pure race. One of the most diabolical things is to see how a doctrine could be imposed on the easy to impress young minds of the children. Marie Corelli writes in her article: Poisoning Young Minds in Nazi Germany: Children and Propaganda in the Third Reich about a math problem taught in the German schools under the Nazi regime: "The Jews are aliens in Germany -- in 1933 there were 66,060,000 inhabitants in the German Reich, of whom 499,682 were Jews. What is the percent of aliens?"(Corelli, 2002).

Another important age group, the youth, received full attention from the part of the Nazis and the first youth organization was established in 1922 and was called the Jungsturm Adolf Hitler. It went through a series of transformations and had several different names, till it finally became the name: Hitler Yugend. By 1935 over a half of the total German youth was member of this organization. After 1939 it became compulsory for the young Germans to join the organization.

It is obvious that children, young people, mothers were only used as means of producing a nation that would enable the government to keep its power and expand as much as it pleased and suited it. A strong indoctrinated nation, ready to fight and to send its offspring in battle at whatever cost was the best the Nazi Party could have. The propaganda worked very well in these areas of education.

The Nazi propaganda was prolific in producing printing materials destined to be studied in the schools. The National Socialist philosophy was poring from all sides. There is a booklet entitled on the German People and Its Territory that starts with the declaration of the very essence of this philosophy: "The worldview of National Socialism is today the common property of the whole German people. All unprejudiced citizens of good will have made National Socialist thinking so deeply their own that it provides the support for every question of life and provides direction for every action."(Eher, 1937) This is how the brainwashing begins inside the Hitler Jugend organization.

The adult population was manipulated by simply proving how effective the new order works in its favour, putting away its fears of losing the old values and order, position in society and wealth.