Effectiveness of Propaganda

“In the year of 1933-45, how far was propaganda the most effective tool at keeping control in Nazi Germany?”

In this essay I will explore the effectiveness of propaganda, used to maintain control over Nazi Germany. I will also analyse the arguments for the different cases associated with the statement before concluding with my own personal opinion.

Hitler consolidated power in 1933 when he was elected Chancellor of Germany. In order to establish control, Nazis dealt with all forms of opposition by banning Political Parties. By the summer of 1933, all organized opposition to the regime had been eliminated, therefore the Nazi party was the only legal political party in Germany. Within eighteen months Hitler was appointed Furher, and he had a plan to transform the country into a totalitarian regime.

Germany was radically monopolized by propaganda, it emphasized German prowess. Hitler was aware of valuable propaganda and so he appointed Joseph Goebbels as the Minister of Propaganda and National Enlightenment. Goebbels had to ensure nobody in Germany encountered anything that was hostile to the Nazi Party, he also had to make sure that the views of the Nazis were put across in the most persuasive and convincing manner. He executed this by making sure that all newspapers, films, radio programs, plays and other forms of entertainments displayed Nazi ideas.

The fundamental message was that Hitler was the saviour of Germany and it was the duty of every German to obey him without disobedience. Thus a significant way of spreading propaganda was through the modern use of radios. It was compulsory to listen to Hitler’s speeches; so loudspeakers were installed in public places. Anyone who criticized propaganda or did not listen to radio ...

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...ered from made them cautious and acted in the way Hitler wished them to. The use of force and terror showed the people true power of the Nazi’s in the way poster and rallies could not. Posters were not able to prevent rebellion whereas brute force would be able to.

Alternately, some Germans did not need to be terrorized into submission nor have persuasive posters to convince them to support Hitler. People in Germany were weary of their poor quality of life but Hitler pledged to restore German’s honour by tearing up the loathed Treaty of Versailles and to make Germany superior again. Due to this most Germans saw Nazism as a "warm-hearted".

Many people had voted for Hitler because of his economic policies, they believed it had a positive sense of direction. There was a widespread feeling that finally a government was doing something to get Germany back on her feet.