Propaganda, censorship and culture

• Propaganda


  Information designed to influence people
• Joseph Goebbels


  Minister of Enlightenment and Propaganda in Nazi Germany
• Nazi ideology


  • The glory of war
  • Hitler as a powerful leader
  • The evils of Communism
  • The inferiority of the Jews
  • The glorification of the Aryan race and volk values, such as family
• Use of film and radio


  1. Cinemas showed films that emphasised Nazi messages

  2. Hitler used radios in homes and loudspeakers in public spaces to reach everyone in German society

  3. Radio shows would feature Hitler's speeches, German music or Nazi history
• Rallies and military parades


  1. Rallies and military parades were important for showing the strength of Germany

  2. This appealed to the German people's nationalist pride

  3. One of the most popular events was the annual Nuremberg rally
• The Berlin Olympics, 1936


  1. The Nazis hoped the Olympics would showcase Aryan superiority

  2. An embarrassing moment for Hitler was when the African-American Jesse Owens won gold in the 100 metres

  3. The Nazi Party paused their anti-Semitic policies for the length of the Berlin Olympics
• Totalitarianism


  • All aspects of German life were controlled by the Nazis
  • The Nazis put a lot of effort into propaganda to establish loyalty but also persecuted opponents ruthlessly
  • The Nazis wanted to create a volksgemeinschaft who were completely loyal to him and the Third Reich
• The Nazi propaganda machine


  Only began to fail when Germany started to lose the war
• Censorship


  The counterpart to propaganda, the Nazis burned books, controlled scripts, and only allowed pro-Nazi newspapers
• The Nazi propaganda efforts were hugely successful, Goebbels could spread Nazi ideas in both obvious and subtle ways, and most of German society supported the Nazis
• It was difficult to believe that a win was possible when cities were being bombed and people suffered food shortages
• Nazi art and culture


  • Buildings - modelled off Ancient Romans and Greeks, had to be built from traditional materials
  • Music - traditional, 'degenerate' Jazz banned, music by Jewish composers forbidden, Beethoven encouraged
  • Art - glorified the Aryan race and traditional volk values, naturalist style, favoured artists rewarded
  • Literature - had to fit the Nazi message, thousands of books burned
  • Cinema - all film scripts had to be approved by Goebbels, compulsory to show Nazi propaganda films