Psychological Impact of Nazi Propaganda on German Citizens

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.

The process started when the Nazis established the “Ministry for popular enlightenment and propaganda” on March 11th 1933, with Joseph Goebbels sworn in as head of the ministry on March 13th. The sole purpose of this establishment was to enfor...

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...original pain (or some other sensory experience), which has replaced and now stands for the traumatic experience which occurred simultaneously with that original pain.” When connecting this with the Nazis and the German population during the third reich, it’s safe to assume that the “traumatic experience” among the Germans was the Great Depression and the Hyperinflation that made them go through a financial and economic struggle, as well as the Treaty of Versailles which humiliated them and made them question their identity which inevitably instigated hate towards the other powers in charge of drafting the Treaty. This consequently converted into a “hysterical symptom” which raged among the majority of the people and was used by the Nazis to their advantage because they tapped into the pre existing symbols and maximized the effect their propaganda had on the people.