...world. Though some historians recount the events from World War II from a general perspective and focus on the different military strategies and government policies, others discuss the individuals involved in the war and their influence on the causes and outcome of the war. Further on, historians tend to focus on the major leaders during the world: Churchill, Hitler, Roosevelt and De Gaulle. Nevertheless, some historians have paid close attention to those around these great leaders and discussed their influence over them and their respective government policies. Before the beginning of World War II, Adolf Hitler guided the Nazi party into power in Germany during the 1930’s. Hitler did not led Germany into war on its own, but with the help of a few close associates one of them being Joseph Goebbels. As one of the main directors of the Nazi Propaganda in Germany and other parts of Europe, Joseph Goebbels led Germany’s internal affairs during the war especially during the completion of most of Hitler’s objectives during his leadership. It is difficult to imagine Germany’s actions during the war without looking a Goebbels. He definitely changed the outcome of World War II by implementing public enlightenment policies to drive Germans against the Jews and other minorities as well as to encourage the German population to fight the Allies. Goebbels involvement in the war as Hitler’s most intimate allies made him one of the most important figures during the war, especially when discussing...
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...Sonn Eidem Eng 669 World Film: Germany Prof. Macanear Sept. 2014 German National Cinema: Nazi Propaganda Films German propaganda films were used by the Nazi party and Adolf Hitler in order to convey a message to the citizens of Germany. The messages would vary depending upon what Hitler and his party wanted to tell the people of Germany at that particular time. If it was pre-war propaganda it was Hitler on his rise to power. If it was wartime propaganda it was to keep Germany unite in their fight against the enemy and to keep them inspired with hope and promises of victory. "One of the most philosophically fascinating uses of cinema, is a vehicle for propaganda. Granted all mass media-books, television, music, newspaper, radio and nowadays the internet - can be used for propaganda, that is, as tools for getting a message broadly accepted in a target audience. But, it has been argued that film-as opposed to literature, the plastic arts, music and the other performing arts-has a unique power as a tool for propaganda" (Jason203). "The films of a nation reflect its mentality in a more direct way than other artistic films because films are never the product of an individual and the films address themselves and appeal to the anonymous multitude" (Kraucer, 5). This is why Hitler and the Nazi party decided to use film as a method for spreading their ideology. Film allowed them to reach the masses in a way that other mediums just couldn't do. Plus...
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...The creation of a nazi mass movement In july 1932 the nazi gained 13,745,000 votes and their voters represented 37.3% of the electorate, making hitlers party the largest in the Reichstag. The results of the elections 1928-32 showed the changes in political parties. It was clear that the Nazis made gains from parties with a middle class/protestant identity. Catholic, communist and social democrat parties were able to withstand the Nazi advances. Geography and denomination Nazi support was higher in the North and east of the country and lower in the south and west. Across the North German plain from east Prussia to Schleswig Holstein, the Nazis gained their best results and reflects the significance of religion and degree of urbanisation. The areas with significant numbers of catholics, was were the Nazis gained the less support but the more protestant regions was were they gained more support, and didn’t do so well in large industrial areas but did well in rural areas. The Nazis did the worst in the west catholic areas such as Cologne. And it was at its highest in areas such as Pomerania. Class Nazi voters reflected the rural/urban division in terms of their social groupings. They gained the most support from peasants and farmers, the mittlestand (lower and middle class shop keepers), established ,idle class- teachers and white collar workers. High proportion of the middle class supported the party, but although the working class did join the Nazis in smaller proportions...
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...TOPIC: NAZI GERMANY Propaganda, terror and coercion underpinned the creation and maintenance of the Nazi state. Consider this in the period 1933-1939. The adage that perception is often stronger than reality has never been truer than in the Nazi state of 1933-1939, where image played a colossal role in the anti-semitic and Hitler myth propaganda of Joseph Goebbels. Image manufactured the fearful aura of the Gestapo as well as the ubiquitous representation of the law, both of which created and cemented acquiescence amongst the German population. It was through the creation of perception in Nazi society that propaganda, terror and coercion underpinned the creation and maintenance of the Nazi state. Any attempt to gauge the success of Nazi propaganda in the creation and maintenance of the Nazi state is somewhat difficult, as German society during 1933-1939 was so heavily influenced by terror and coercion that reported opinion did not necessarily reflect the true sentiment of the public. Nevertheless, it would be naïve to disregard the significant role that Nazi propaganda played in ensuring that the German public were unified in their support of the government. The most crucial objective of Nazi propaganda in the creation of the Nazi state was to create a new heightened national awareness. This was done through the creation of the Volksgemeinschaft (People’s Community), an institution that established cohesive community values. In order...
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...Essay Topic: “Up to 1939, why did many Germans support Hitler and his Nazi dictatorship? “ In modern day history, Hitler is widely viewed as one of the world’s worst political leaders as his racial, fascist and totalitarian actions directly contributed to the outbreak of World War II which posed detrimental consequences on the entire world. From a second-hand analytical view, Hitler is perceived as an epitome of evil and the world still continues to battle the effects of the election of such a monstrous leader by German citizens. However, it is evident that the reasons why Germans supported Hitler and his Nazi dictatorship up to 1939 can be justified. Thus, as a result of his many favorable leadership qualities and characteristics (his excellent oratorical skills together with his promises to the German people, organization of the Nazi party and his intense propaganda), the Great Economic Depression of 1929 after the Collapse of Wall Street, the ineptitude of the Weimar Constitution, and ultimately the fear of communism, Germans continued to support Hitler up to 1939. By 1939, Adolf Hitler had become a very inspirational and charismatic leader as his great skill in public speaking had won over the loyalty and support of many German nationals. Hitler filled German people with a sense of hope that had been long lost for a very long time. Hitler attempted to please all aspects of life as he promised exactly what each group wanted. He promised to pay farmers higher prices for...
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...How effective was Nazi propaganda 1933-1938? One of the main tools of Hitler’s rising Nazi regime was the scrupulous propaganda which enabled the Nazi party to keep the German people in check and under their control, exposing them to only what they saw necessary and vital for Nazi prosper. This helped raise the ideal race that the Nazis strived so wholeheartedly to create. But, how can we determine whether it was effective? To do this, we must look at the various techniques that were used by the ministry of propaganda, and to what extent they worked and helped the Nazi prosper. However, we can only speculate. We will never fully know statistics about how effective Nazi propaganda was, since there was no market research, very few non-Gestapo conducted opinion polls to look at, and even if there were many others, the information would not be accurate and the opinions affected. If there had been polls conducted, the results would have shown exactly what Goebbels and Hitler wanted people to think - this was achieved by making sure that only certain things were safe to think - and more importantly safe to say. Hitler was able to gain more and more followers and appeal to the people due to the severe state of the German economy and the critical state of the people that had no savings, no assets and practically no food. The Versailles treaty had simply been a recipe for destruction for the Weimar Republic and the crisis was the last straw leading to its demise. Hitler was the only...
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...David Guy Professor Adams English 102 January 30, 2013 Free Speech Since the birth of this great nation, free speech has been among the key facets that hold it together. The founding fathers felt the need to restrict the government’s power by sharing that power with the people through the passing of the First Amendment. This amendment states that the government can pass no law limiting the freedom of speech or press (“Freedom of Speech”). After all, if it hadn’t been for religious persecution, the pilgrims would not have left England to found a new nation. As Americans, we can express our opposition of the government’s actions and goals without repercussion. One form of free speech, elections, allows us to cast a vote for the candidate we see best fit to have a roll in our government. The idea of free speech suggests an equal partnership between government and citizen rather than an oppressive relationship seen in Communist countries like China and Cuba. Countries like these have developed using Communist methods, and for the most part relinquishing free speech rights from their citizens. Free speech guarantees the absence of tyranny and provides the most beneficial relationship between government and citizen. In the early 1620s, the first pilgrims came to the New World seeking religious freedom, but they ironically did not implement that idea into their culture. They had been denied the right to free speech in England because they held different beliefs than the Church...
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...Holocaust was the systematic killing of European Jews by the Nazis before and during World War II. When Hitler came into power, Germany turned into a totalitarian government, “The Nazis, who came to power in Germany in January 1933, believed that Germans were “racially superior” and that the Jews, deemed “inferior,” were an alien threat to the so-called German racial community” ("Introduction to the Holocaust." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Council. Web. 20 Mar. 2016). Hitler’s goal for Germany was to create the perfect Aryan race. The Nazis accepted that it was their duty to exterminate the Jews. Hitler’s twisted notion brainwashed German citizens into thinking that it was fine if other people...
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...the holocaust. They were utterly tricked/ fooled into becoming moraless monsters, seekers without the ability to see, and hopelessly hoping for a better nation. A. “All propaganda has to be popular and has to accommodate itself to the comprehension of the least intelligent of those whom it seeks to reach”-Adolf Hitler B. “All news is lies and all propaganda is disguised as news.”-Willi Munzenberg 1. aAn information/idea put out in order to persuade a certain group of people to behave in a certain manner/ bias is propaganda. 2. Hitler needed a way for everyone in Germany to in gulp, and develop his thinking on the Jewish race, thus leading to the mass production of Nazi propaganda throughout the German population. C. “No human race is superior; no religious faith is inferior. All collective judgments are wrong. Only racists make them.”- (Elie Wiesel, 1928-2016) 1. Holocaust is a word referring to a genocide, or massive slaughter of something/someone. know the word holocaust...
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...Sanjida Afrin Morality of Massacres and Genocide Prof. Harman Salton 2nd March, 2016 Nazi Memorandum The Holocaust was an extreme incident of genocide as defined by the UN Genocide Convention that took place in the 20th century in Germany as a religious, political and economical manifesto targeting an ethnic, national or racial group such as the Jews. The plot of this heinous genocide however started back in the 1930 before the WWII when Hitler and the Nazis started spreading propagandas to wipe out Jews from Germany. This memo will give a critical overview on the purposes behind the holocaust, how propaganda were used to conduct such extreme genocide and the role played by the Nazis and the Germans, followed by a brief comparison between the genocide in different countries and the Holocaust. When we start talking about Holocaust, one of the basic terms to use is “Anti-Semitism” which refers to hatred against the Jews. Even though factual evidences hold Hitler’s strong hatred towards the Jewish population as a major reason behind the holocaust, it is still a debatable issue. One of the most interesting facts that come to attention is the wide support of many of the educated German elites in the Nazi propaganda. This might be result of the flourishing economic conditions of the Jews in the then Germany. The Jews were open to modern education, they flourished in business and basically not as much affected as the Germans after the WWI. This might have led to economic and political...
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...Part 1 - Weimar Germany 1918-1929 1) The Treaty of Versailles ▪ Kaiser abdicates November 9th 1918, Armistice (cease-fire) signed November 11th ▪ Treaty of Versailles signed June 1919 ▪ It is a DIKTAT – something forced on to Germany. Allies say that they will carry on the war if Germans do not sign. ▪ For many Germans the defeat in WW1, national humiliation, the Treaty of Versailles, the Weimar constitution & democracy are all linked – helps explain why democracy is weak in Germany ▪ Terms of the Treaty – ▪ Germany has to pay REPARATIONS (fixed in 1921 as £6600 million) ▪ Germany loses all its COLONIES (overseas parts of their empire) ▪ German army limited to 100,000 men with no air force & a small navy with only 6 battleships and no submarines ▪ 13% of Germany is now transferred to neighbouring countries as the map is redrawn ▪ Germany loses land to France (Alsace-Lorraine), Belgium, Poland (Posen & West Prussia) & Denmark ▪ 15% of German coal mines are lost in map changes ▪ Many Germans blame the defeat in the war on “the stab in the back” (DOLCHSTOSS) – i.e. the Socialists / Communists / Jews betrayed Germany & the army was never defeated. This myth makes it harder to accept the Treaty ▪ Treaty weakened democracy in Germany and the German economy ▪ Friedrich Ebert appointed Chancellor in October 1918 2) The Weimar Constitution ▪ A National Assembly was elected to write this new constitution ▪ It met in Weimar because Berlin was...
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...Nazi State and Population The Nazi state set out to achieve a population that comes together as a community under certain rules and regulations. In 1935, Nazism was on the rise and working towards unifying Germany. A movie was released called, Triumph of the Will, which demonstrated Hitler’s ideal nation. This was one of the first sound movies created and was used to illustrate a new Germany and the power of Nazism. This movie depicted Hitler’s beliefs of an ideal nation. Also during this time, the Nazis established a set of laws called Nuremberg Laws. These were created to set rules and regulations for all of those who wanted to be apart of the Reich. The Nuremburg laws were the first standards set for individuals to figure out if they were apart of the Nazi nation or not. By using a new creation of film to reach a broad audience and publishing Nazi expectations through law, Triumph of the Will and the Nuremberg Laws both reflect Nazi efforts to shape it’s nation through the use of propaganda and national symbols, creating a welfare program with security of jobs, and identifying what it is to be a Jew. One way the Nazi party sought to bring together Germany as a community was through the use of propaganda and national symbols. The movie, Triumph of the Will, had a great deal of propaganda incorporated in it. It showed hatred of communists through the use of the color red. There were also a variety of images related to religion throughout the movie such as: burning torches...
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...The Nazis became Germany’s largest party by 1932 due to their excellent use of propaganda. How far do you agree with this view? Nazi propaganda was very successful due to two main reasons; it was simple and direct, and it appealed to the majority of Germans. Unlike the other parties, the Nazi’s didn’t appeal to just one type of political group. One of the clearest signs of this is in their name, the Nationalist Socialist German Worker’s Party, appealing to the spectrum of political opinions. Many political parties fail at this because it is quite difficult to please everyone as many of the policies clash, but due to certain events, the Nazis succeeded in this. Their propaganda was important, especially during the Great Depression, when the German people were eager to listen to anyone who showed they could bring prosperity back to their nation. Propaganda included media devices such as cinema and theatre, as well as posters and street slogans to ensure people were aware of Adolf Hitler’s message that he was able to restore Germany to the world power they once were. Nazi propaganda was lead by Josef Goebbels. However, there were many other factors that contributed to the Nazi party domination in the Reichstag. Between 1924 and 1929, the Nazi party was losing votes, from a miserable 7% in 1924 to a pathetic 2.6% in 1928. The main reasons for this were that Germany was engaging in a period of prosperity, economically, politically and socially. American banks were loaning millions...
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...the main component to sustain control, whilst David Crew and Dick Geary believe it was propaganda that made it possible. However, there are other factors that are supported, for instance, contextual condition was backed by Ralph Flenly and Hans Rothfels and the people’s consent, as A.J.P. Taylor proposes, was the imperative constituent. Most historians have the same problem evaluating as they have different definitions for people’s consent. “Silent opposition” is the term used for the people who passively opposed. Dick Geary proposed, “Consent can only be measured in situations in which individuals can choose between real alternatives.” and opposition till death was not a real alternative. Therefore, “silent opposition” does not count for people’s consent. This hugely undermines the role of people’s consent in maintaining the regime as the most people were not actively involved in Nazi action despite its “overwhelming success” [1]. In the first interpretation, Flenly emphasized that although the German people were well-educated, they were blindfolded from the truth of what was really going on. The Nazis did make the German people more literate, for example, scheme of the People’s libraries where every parish of over 500 inhabitants was to have its own library allowed people to have access to books and further education[2]. However, strict Nazi censorships control and brainwashing propaganda “produced a full rather than a wise man”. The German public were persuaded into believing...
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...The Author Guida Diehl was the founder and leader of the Newland Movement, which pre-dated the Nazi Party by at least six years. She came from a nationalist and anti-Semitic family, and only joined the Nazi Party in August 1930. Following the advice of Adolf Stocker, who hated Jews and supported the emancipation of unmarried women, she attended social-work school and later worked as a teacher of social work in Frankfurt. Diehl constantly preached a spiritualist, quasi-Christian, and nationalist message, that went against the postwar values of Americanism, materialism, and mammonism, which threatened to overpower Volk, God, and fatherland. Diehl wholly supported National Socialist goals, the Nazi’s anti-communism and anti-Semitism, and was particularly concerned with stemming the tide of moral ‘filth’ including the campaign to legalize abortion. Diehl was installed as ‘cultural advisor’ in the Nazi Party, but by 1936 had lost any appreciable political influence or organizational role. The Document in its Historical Context The title of the document undergoing analysis is, “A New Type of Woman”, and “Principles of the National Socialist Women’s Organizations” (the document), both from the book ‘Die deutsche Frau und der National Sozialismus (The German Woman and National Socialism), and published in 1932. “A New Type of Woman”, as written by Guida Diehl, outlines what characteristics a German woman should possess, and what type of woman she should aspire to become....
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