Propaganda and Censorship

• Nazis controlling religion and the population


  Using the police state and terror
• Joseph Goebbels' work

  Using propaganda to win the hearts and minds of the German people
• Joseph Goebbels became an important member of the Nazi party after the Bamberg conference


  1926
• Joseph Goebbels proved himself during the election campaigns


  1928, 1932
• Hitler made Goebbels the Minister for People's Enlightenment and Propaganda


  1933
• Goebbels' role

  In charge of censoring anti-Nazi attitudes and promoting Nazi beliefs and attitudes through propaganda
• Nazi control of media, sport, culture, and the arts


  • Controlling all aspects to promote Nazi beliefs and attitudes
• Aspects controlled by Nazis

  • Media
  • Sport
  • Culture
  • Arts
• Nazis controlled all aspects of media, sport, culture, and the arts
• In 1933, Nazis started banning the newspapers of their opponents
• By 1935, Nazis had closed down 600 newspapers
• German newspapers were no longer free to publish what they wanted
• By 1939, 70% of Germans had a radio in their home
• All radio stations were under Nazi control
• Hitler made broadcasts compulsory to listen to
• Rallies organized and run by Goebbels in the late 1920s and early 1930s
• One important rally was held at Nuremberg every year
• Sport was used by the Nazis to self-promote and embed their ideas
• Every sporting win was promoted as a win for Nazi ideals
• In the 1936 Berlin Olympics, the Nazis won 33 medals
• The games were treated as an opportunity to promote Nazi ideals beyond Germany
• Jesse Owens, a black American, won four gold medals challenging the Nazis
• To promote the Nazi ideals beyond Germany

  Evidence of brutality or violence were hidden for the duration of the games
• Jesse Owens, a black American, challenged the Nazis and won four gold medals
• Owens' victories were censored from German films, newspapers, and radio announcements
• In the 1920s, new kinds of art, architecture, and cinema became popular
• The Nazis hated the new art, especially those that were gritty and realistic
• The Nazis wanted art that painted Germany in a romantic light and promoted the Nazi ideals of strength, sacrifice, and loyalty
• The Nazis set up a Reich Chamber of Art where membership was required to paint, sculpt, or teach
• 42,000 artists were accepted in 1936
• Over 12,000 paintings were removed from German art galleries, including work by Van Gogh and Picasso
• The Gestapo regularly checked on artists to ensure they were following the Nazi rules
• The Nazis held competitions to encourage the kind of art they wanted with big prizes to encourage artists
• Music of black and Jewish artists was banned, including jazz and Mendelssohn
• German composers like Wagner, Beethoven, and Bach were encouraged
• German folk music was also encouraged as a counter to the Bauhaus movement of the 1920s
• Hitler appointed Albert Speer to complete major architectural projects
• Speer used Nazi ideas to inspire his buildings, incorporating massive Nazi flags and symbols
• The most infamous images of Nazi culture are those of the book burnings during the 1930s and 40s
• Millions of books were taken from libraries and universities and burned