Nazi Propaganda & Censorship (AQA GCSE History)

How did Nazi Propaganda Impact Nazi Germany - Summary

The Nazis - championed by Joseph Goebbels - used propaganda and censorship to control and influence the attitudes of the German people.

Control over the distribution of information enabled the Nazis to communicate their beliefs and ideas to society. In the 1930s, newspapers and radio were the two main forms of media outlets, which the Nazis quickly pounced upon to distribute information.

Demonstrating to the German people the power and strength of the Nazi regime was very important. Rallies such as that at Nuremberg in 1934 were opportunities to present the unity and organisation of this new Nazi-led Germany in contrast to the disorganised and helpless Weimar Republic.

What is propaganda?

• Propaganda is information or ideas that are spread by a political group or government

  • Propaganda aims to influence people’s opinions

• The Nazi government focused a lot of time and money on propaganda

  • If people, especially young people, listened to propaganda, they would support the Nazi regime for life

• Joseph Goebbels was in charge of Nazi propaganda

  • His official title was Minister for People’s Enlightenment and Propaganda

• Nazi propaganda has three key messages to portray

1. Jewish people are the enemy of the state

2. Support key Nazi policies, such as the Second World War

3. The Nazi Party will restore Germany's pride and wealth

Propaganda in Nazi Germany

• The Nazis used a variety of propaganda methods to ensure that all German people were reached

Newspapers

• Journalists were briefed on what they could and could not publish

• Control of newspapers allowed the Nazis to spread their messages to the public:

  • they controlled most newspapers by 1939, compared to 3% in 1933

  • around 1,600 newspapers were closed down in 1935

• Der Völkischer Beobachte (The People’s Observer) was the official newspaper of the Nazi Party and was published daily:

  • it reached 1.1 million people by 1941

Radio 

• Radios were an increasingly popular tool to communicate political messages:

  • Goebbels had relied on radio during the pivotal election years of 1932 and 1933

• After 1933, Goebbels censored most radio stations. The stations were used to spread Nazi beliefs and messaging

The Volksempfänger (The People’s Receiver)

Films

• Every film had to be approved by the Nazi government

• Famous Nazi films include:

  • Triumph of the Will (1935)

    • Directed by Leni Riefenstahl 

    • Presented the strength and power of the Nazi Party at the Nuremberg rallies

  • The Eternal Jew (1940)

    • Directed by Fritz Hippler

    • Contained several anti-Semitic messages and stereotypes

Books, theatre and music

• Writers of books, plays or songs had to praise Hitler and the Nazi Party

• To be published or released, they had to be approved by the Nazi government

Public events

Rallies

• The Nazi Party had used rallies throughout the 1920s and early 1930s

• The declaration of Hitler as Führer in 1934 allowed him to merge the identity of the Nazi Party with that of Germany:

  • rallies became more frequent and created a sense of unity

  • used to advertise the strength of the German Army, the rallies were held despite the military restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles

• Nuremberg is a city in the centre of Germany and was chosen to host annual rallies from 1933-38

Arenas

• Hitler’s favourite architect was Albert Speer

  • He designed the ground where the Nuremberg Rally took place

    • For example, 152 searchlights were used as pillars of light around the audience, known as the Cathedral of Light

What is censorship?

• Censorship is when the government controls what people see, hear, watch or read

• In 1933, the Nazi government introduced strict censorship laws. The Nazis felt this was necessary because:

  • propaganda was a long-term strategy to change opinions

    • In the short term, the government needed to stop anti-Nazi ideas from spreading

  • to establish their power, they needed the public to be restricted by or fearful of the government

Censorship in Nazi Germany

• Every form of media was highly censored by the Nazi government

  • The government-controlled all newspapers and radio stations

  • Every book, film, song and play had to go through the government before it could be released

    • This allowed the government to either remove information or stop it from being made public

  • Even jokes were subjected to censorship

    • Telling an anti-Hitler joke was punishable by death