Hitler's Propaganda

9.2.5 The message and the lie.
Managing the message for Hitler had a number of elements. Firstly, in its form; his speeches and the party propaganda. Second the content, with alternation between clarity and vagueness of policy, the “big lie” and sprachregelung.

• Message delivery. Hitler argued that the most powerful form of engagement was real engagement with real people, delivering speeches and persuading people

An orator receives continuous guidance from the people before whom he speaks. This helps him to correct the direction of his speech; for he can always gauge, by the faces of his hearers, how far they follow and understand him, and whether his words are producing the desired effect … He will always follow the lead of the great

Propganda. Characteristic of the NSDAP throughout its history and of the national regime it articulated when in power was a tight control of the message (with the 1934 sedition laws making comment against the Furher a capital offence for example) and the promulgation of propaganda. The centrality of propaganda to Hitler’s thinking and political strategy is illustrated by the fact that his first role within the NSDAP was as being in charge of propaganda. In MK several years later, he commended Leuger (Mayor of Vienna) for his intuitive skill in managing the public perception, and he expounded this theoretical

Hitler describes the “big lie” in MK

in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; … they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some other explanation. For the grossly impudent lie always leaves traces behind it, even after it has been nailed down,

It is entirely consistent with Hitler’s leadership style that the “big lie” in MK are attributed to others in the context of a moral disapprobation. Throughout the war he subsequently created, he unwaveringly attributes the aggression to the allies, in particular to an international Jewish conspiracy while his regime is enacting genocide in the east against that same