Critical Thinking And Totalitarianism Analysis

718 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Introduction about the propaganda during the nazi reign

Critical Thinking and Totalitarianism While Germany was undergoing a great financial depression, Adolf Hitler took opportunity upon the state of the population to impose his political ideals and dictated through totalitarianism. What is totalitarianism? “Strictly defined, a totalitarian regime is one that bans all institutions apart from those it has officially approved. A totalitarian regime thus has one political party, one educational system, one artistic creed, one centrally planned economy, one unified media, and one moral code. In a totalitarian state there are no independent schools, no private businesses, no grassroots organizations, and no critical thought” (Wood, week 6, slide 4). He sought total control of the masses through the …show more content…

Joseph Goebbels, who was the head of the Ministry of Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda, played a significant role in the propaganda of Hitler’s intentions and objectives. The transmission of ideas through the press, radio and television and other means of communication (Friedrich and Brzezinski 130) positively impacted the mind of Germany and other countries. The people did not have a choice but to accept the information. Propaganda was everywhere, influenced in every aspect of their lives. Even though they tried to resist the influence of the regime, they could not because at a certain extent and many ways, it does successfully influence and persuade (Vaughn and MacDonald 151) them. Propaganda during the regime did not plan to send out valid reasons, but rather appeal to the emotion of the public. However, critical thinkers will analyse and examine the situation to develop an idea if the information given is worthy enough to …show more content…

Joseph Goebbels organised the “burning of un-German literature” (Friedrich and Brzezinski 7) so that the state would only be cultured by the “superior” German race. Depriving the nation of important foreign information can lead to narrow-minded opinions about different cultures and races. In addition, The Church was also a big part of this cultural deprivation. The majority of Germany were protestant and supported Hitler and his claims. However, “the Confessing Church and Lutheran and Reformed faiths was formed in opposition to the attempt to Nazify the Protestant churches, for the purpose of protecting purely religious activities” (Hoffmann 56). Although there were those who opposed to the Nazification of the Church, they were often punished and sent to concentration

Show More
Related

  • The Program of the National Socialist German Workers' Party

    1402 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hitler blamed the Jews for the evils of the world. He believed a democracy would lead to communism. Therefore, in Hitler’s eyes, a dictatorship was the only way to save Germany from the threats of communism and Jewish treason. The Program of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party was the instrument for the Nazis to convince the German people to put Hitler into power. Point one of the document states, “We demand the union of all Germans in a great Germany on the basis of the principle of self-determination of all peoples.” 1 This point explicates the Nazi proposition that Germany will only contain German citizens and also, that these citizens would display his or her self-determination towards Germany to the fullest.

    Read More

  • German Nationalism and Nazi Propaganda

    1299 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to Welch, “The public’s reaction to anti-Semitic films reveals that propaganda had considerable success in persuading the population that a Jewish ‘problem’ existed, but equally that there was a limit to their tolerance of the type of virulently anti-Semitic propaganda to be found in films like Der Ewige Jude and publications like Der Stuermer.” Even after years of Nazi propaganda, even Goebbels wasn’t convinced that “such propaganda had persuaded Germans to condone open violence against

    Read More

  • Negative Propaganda In World War II

    1674 Words  | 4 Pages

    In conclusion, even though the Nazi political party was known for their constant dependence on advertising, throughout the World War II and all history this king of propaganda has been no stranger to any type of government. Its power should never be underestimated since it has the ability to be used as a weapon of political warfare and determine the magnitude of the sovereignty of a particular government, in other words, it can make or break a social movement. Works Cited http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_propaganda http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_propaganda_during_World_War_II http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_effective_was_Government_propaganda_in_World_War_1 http://www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/voices/testimonies/life/backgd/before.html http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/propaganda_in_nazi_germany.htm http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/goeb36.htm http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/genocide/statements.htm http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/genocide/statements.htm https://www.msu.edu/navarro6/srop.html The Hunger Games Left to Tell Enciclopedia Salvat

    Read More

  • Why is it Important to Learn About the Holocaust?

    726 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hitler was superb at convincing people to believe everything he said. He promised the people a roast in every pot, security, and many more things. By promising the people security that meant that he would keep them all safe and that he can do a better job than anyone else. Adolf Hitler increased in support from bankers and industrialists. So, pretty much he had most of the people who had higher power on his side durning this time period. The the united States stock market crasedd in October 1929 unemployment in Germany quickly rose to over six million. This opened another window for Hitler to get more peoplewho thought that they had nothing and their life was over to side with him. President Hindenburg did not want for Hitler to become the chancellor so instead he appointed Von Pappen but, Adolf Hitler did not agree nor did the Nazi's. hitler eventually did become the chancellor on January 30th, 1933 Hitler then banned all political parties. In 1934 the president died and Adolf Hitler forced his way into power. Now that he was the president he can change anyhting that he wants.

    Read More

  • Elwira Bauer's Nazi Propagandist Children's Book Trust No Fox on Green Meadow and no Jew upon his Oath

    1065 Words  | 3 Pages

    In response to the factional society of the Weimar Republic, Nazism endeavored to create a new, more-unified society; an ideal national community, populated by an ethnically and culturally homogenous citizenry dogmatically obedient to the theories, laws, and policies of the central governing apparatus (the Nazi Hierarchy and ultimately Hitler). To attain its aims, Nazism employed a variety of tactics: laws were enacted to ethnically purify the population (e.g., the 1935 Nuremberg Laws), sentiments were propagated with the intention of uniting the population behind its leadership (i.e., the Führer Principle), and policies were instituted to ensure total cultural, political, and economic unity (e.g., the 1933 implementation of “Gleichschaltung”). In addition, Nazism utilized enormous amounts of written and oral propaganda to reinforce its principles and accompany its measures, rendering them more palatable to the public and consequently increasing their success, “Local cooperation and leadership were essential to the success of Coordination. So was a bombardment of propaganda from party newspapers and publicists…[e.g., Dr. Goebbels, der Angriff, etc.]” (Bergen 65).

    Read More

  • Totalitarianism In Nazi Germany

    1028 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the key criteria of a totalitarian government is that there is complete control over the economy. However, within Nazi Germany there was never all-encompassing state ownership over the economy. In fact, Hitler never placed importance on the ‘socialist’ aspect of NSDAP ideology. He did not believe in state ownership or redistribution of wealth, and he allowed capitalism and big business thrive in the Third Reich, as they were necessary for the revitalisation of Germany’s economy. Moreover, the Nazi State was not the extremely rigid political structure it appeared to be. While, Hitler himself was very secure in his position as Fuhrer, below him the political structure was quite chaotic. In terms of government agencies, there was not much direction from the top, as they were instructed to interpret the will of the Fuhrer and then enact it. Moreover, there was a large amount of overlap and inefficiency, while solidifying Hitler’s position, generally weakened the ability to rule over people. Finally, below Hitler, there was a lot of infighting in attempt to gain greater power and favor from Hitler. Similar to the inefficiencies created by overlap, this created inefficiency and weakened the ability to have totalitarian

    Read More

  • Psychological Impact of Nazi Propaganda on German Citizens

    1760 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Nazis are infamous for their heavy use of propaganda during their reign in the Third Reich, they used many means of propaganda such as posters, cartoons, radio, film, etc. The German citizens’ constant exposure to all of this propaganda from all directions had a deep psychological and psychoanalytical impact on them, it redefined their identity and who they were as well as what they thought of the world around them. Nazi propaganda often had deep symbolic meaning usually associated with anti-semitism and German nationalism, these elements were already present in the minds of the majority of Germans so it wasn’t hard for Adolf Hitler and the rest of the Nazi party to further provoke and enrage the emotions of people concerning these things, they merely had to tap into these pre disposed emotions in a way that would have the most favourable psychological impact for the Nazis. Some of the opinions and mindsets that German citizens had may have been there even before the Nazis came into power and made it seemed like they were brainwashing people with their propaganda, but with what justification can it be said that Nazi propaganda had a psychological and psychoanalytic impact on the German population to a great extent, rather than it being the work of pre set psychological states of mind of people due to the Treaty of Versailles, the Great Depression, Hyperinflation, and other sources which may have led the German population to support and hold anti-semitistic and nationalistic ideologies.

    Read More

  • Nazi Olympics

    2693 Words  | 6 Pages

    On 30 January 1933, the German president, Paul von Hindenburg, selected Adolf Hitler to be the head of the government. This was very unexpected. Hitler was the leader of an extreme right-wing political party, the National Socialist German Workers (Nazi) Party. Hitler sought to expand Germany with new territories and boundaries. Hitler also focused on rebuilding Germany’s military strength. In many speeches Hitler made, he spoke often about the value of “racial purity” and the dominance of the Aryan master race. The Nazi’s spread their racist beliefs in schools through textbooks, radios, new...

    Read More

  • Negative Propaganda

    1484 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the most destructive war in the history, propaganda became a new way of attempt to influence in a huge manner a notable percent of public opinion by using media or any alternative via of communication. Somehow, in World War II the known term ‘’propaganda’’ started to present negative connotations. In Germany this new way to express information among the population was invented by the Nazi’s which name given was ´´negative propaganda.’’ The Völkischer Beobachter, that means, ``People´s observer´´, serves as an example of Nazi´s ideology to disturb human’s minds in order to make them do something they did not felt comfortable doing. Perhaps newspapers were established in many territories that were conquered during the war, Nazi’s journalist made negative propaganda tending to persuade. Hitler, in contrast, was a great speaker. His oratory was his major and most powerful weapon, a factor in his rise.

    Read More

  • Hitler's Utopia

    1023 Words  | 3 Pages

    Adolf Hitler came to power on February 28, 1933 (Rossel). He rose to power using inflammatory speeches and inspiring hope for the defeated Germans. He constructed a system to empower the German people and allow them to thrive in the period after the Great Depression (Noakes). Using keen acumen and decisive moves, he was able to turn Germany into a war machine bent on the creation of an Aryan utopian society, at the cost of all inferior races, especially the Jews ("The Period between 1933 and 1939"). At this time Germany was a defeated country. They had recently had numerous humiliating defeats in WWI, and the Germans no longer had the pride they once had celebrated (Laurita). Augmented by the fact that the Great Depression had ravaged the country and left many in a state of penury and impoverished, the Germans were desperate. As well, Germany was currently a country without any source of stability without a generally supported constitution. When Hitler promised a utopian society filled with hope and where the Germans would be exalted as the superior race, the Germans listened and obeyed his every word (Noakes). Hitler fed on the desperation and hopelessness of these German people to make a society driven by fear; this state of pity allowed Hitler to convince the Germans that he could provide a better future.

    Read More

  • Thesis Statement On Nazi Propaganda

    1302 Words  | 3 Pages

    Introductory Paragraph: Propaganda is a tool of influence that Adolph Hitler used to abuse the German population by brainwashing them and completely deteriorating an entire race. How does one person get the beliefs of an entire country? Hitler put Joseph Goebbels in charge of the propaganda movement. Goebbels controlled every element of propaganda, there were many varieties of Nazi Propaganda. Propaganda was also being used as a tool to gain the support of the German population for the war, and supporting their government. The Jew’s were the targeted race and were completely pulverized by the Nazi’s. Hitler not only tried to destroy an entire race, he gained complete control of an entire country.

    Read More

  • Totalitarianism Essay

    1538 Words  | 4 Pages

    For a historian, the 20th century and all the historic events that it encompasses represents a utopia with endless sources of inspiration for the analysis of political figures, events and their consequences. Political figures such as Benito Mussolini of Italy, Adolf Hitler of Germany, Mao Zedong of China and Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union are all names we are familiar with due to the time period that they influenced; this time period after the trauma and atrocities of World War I and the Great Depression led to completely new forms of government in Europe and beyond. These “manifestations of political evil”, commonly known as totalitarian states, should not be considered as mere extensions of already existing political systems, but rather as completely new forms of government built upon terror and ideological fiction. Therefore, this was also a time in which political philosophers such as Hannah Arendt, the author of the standard work on totalitarianism, “Origins of Totalitarianism”, could thrive. When looking at totalitarianism as a political philosophy, two initial questions have to be dealt with: what is totalitarianism and what kind of effect it had on countries ruled by totalitarian regimes. The reasons for its occurrence have briefly been mentioned above, although there are much deeper ideological, social and economic reasons including imperialism and anti-Semitism. In order to fully understand it, we must also contrast it to other political systems like authoritarianism and dictatorship, which are similar to a certain extent, but lack crucial elements that are in the core of totalitarian ideology. Out of the many examples of totalitarian regimes in the 20th century, Nazi Germany, Communist China and the Soviet Union stan...

    Read More

  • Essay On Nazi Germany A Totalitarian State

    2864 Words  | 6 Pages

    The extent to which Nazi Germany was a totalitarian state can be classed as to a substantial amount. With Hitler as Fuhrer and his ministers in control of most aspects of German social, political, legal, economical, and cultural life during the years 1934 to 1939, they mastered complete control and dictation upon Germany.

    Read More

  • The Holocaust and its Portrayal in The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

    1200 Words  | 3 Pages

    In WWII Germany was controlled as a fascist totalitarian state under the rule of Adolf Hitler. In 1933, the president of the Weimar Republic appointed Hitler as the chancellor of Germany. He continued gaining support from Germans by telling the Germans what they wanted to hear. He blamed problems on the Jews and promised to solve problems from the depression. Hitler gave the working class more jobs by destroying Jewish companies, the unemployed workers were given jobs of construction of building more works, and farmers were offered higher wages for crops. As chancellor, he controlled the media and censored comments against the war. As a fascist state, extreme nationalism was displayed and gained support through propaganda against Jews. Hitler wanted a larger military for territorial expansion. Eight countries were conquered by him: Poland, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, the ...

    Read More

  • Nazim as Totalitarianism

    1818 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...ies through laws, policies, and campaigns enabled Adolf Hitler to charismatically lead the German nation as a totalitarian dictator, and control German life under the state. All aspects of Hitler’s governance provided an element of a totalitarian state from political principles to personal lives. During the years of The Third Reich, Hitler essentially remained the unchallenged Fuhrer of Nazi Germany and established a totalitarian state.

    Read More

More about Critical Thinking And Totalitarianism Analysis

Open Document