Walter Benjamin’s essay The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, published well into the Nazis’ tenure in Germany describes fascism in its epilogue as “the introduction of aesthetics into political life.” For this purpose, it is important to understand the denotative meaning of “aesthetics.” The Oxford Dictionary defines aesthetics as “a set of principles concerned with the appreciation of beauty.” Additionally, it can also refer to “a set of principles underlying the work of a particular artist or artistic movement.” Adolf Hitler and the Nazis established this “aesthetic” in Nazi Germany through multiple means: They created a clearly defined ideal of what was beautiful in appearance and what was degenerate, they had a clearly …show more content…
Nothing is fictionalized for the screen, nothing dramatized. Leni Riefenstahl literally transforms a very real event into a work of art, broadcast across Germany and the world to show the visual power of the Nazi regime. The rally itself is truly a work of art. Carefully choreographed, with 700,000 supporters present beside thousands of flags and Nazi standards, soldiers dressed exactly alike, with Albert Speer’s Cathedral of Light shining over all of them. To me, that Nuremberg Rally and its permanent preservation in Triumph des Willens represents, well, the triumph of the Nazi …show more content…
A desire to be beautiful and right in the Third Reich’s eyes while simultaneously rejecting all that was degenerate and different bound Germans together. Symbols of racial superiority and history, as well as a small, easily seen and grasped palate of colors carefully chosen by a shrewd and well-run propaganda ministry and culture police to work together with the Nazis’ social aesthetics, made it easier for Germans to come together and form a new Germany, one that would last for 1,000
Hitler blamed the Jews for the evils of the world. He believed a democracy would lead to communism. Therefore, in Hitler’s eyes, a dictatorship was the only way to save Germany from the threats of communism and Jewish treason. The Program of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party was the instrument for the Nazis to convince the German people to put Hitler into power. Point one of the document states, “We demand the union of all Germans in a great Germany on the basis of the principle of self-determination of all peoples.” 1 This point explicates the Nazi proposition that Germany will only contain German citizens and also, that these citizens would display his or her self-determination towards Germany to the fullest.
Prior to the Nazi takeover of Germany, the nation had been suffering deeply. An economic depression, large-scale unemployment, and the shame of losing World War I had put Germany in a dark place. The Nazi’s were incredibly aware of this, and their propaganda at the time reflected a need to reunite the German people. Propaganda appealed to national pride, and putting ones country before themselves. Of course, a strong united people needed a leader that was just as strong, and the “myth of Hitler” would create that leader. Slogans like “One People, one Fuhrer, one Reich!” promoted national unity, and a Wochenspruch from February 1938 states, “The greatest of all sacrifices is to give one’s life to preserve the existence of the community.” Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will comes from this time period and helps form the mythological image of Hitler. Propaganda also focused on the good the Nazi party was doing. It discussed how well the Nazi welfare system was working, newsreels showed happy German people enjoying the benefits of the Nazi regime.
In the years between 1933 and 1945, Germany was engulfed by the rise of a powerful new regime and the eventual spoils of war. During this period, Hitler's quest for racial purification turned Germany not only at odds with itself, but with the rest of the world. Photography as an art and as a business became a regulated and potent force in the fight for Aryan domination, Nazi influence, and anti-Semitism. Whether such images were used to promote Nazi ideology, document the Holocaust, or scare Germany's citizens into accepting their own changing country, the effect of this photography provides enormous insight into the true stories and lives of the people most affected by Hitler's racism. In fact, this photography has become so widespread in our understanding and teaching of the Holocaust that often other factors involved in the Nazi's racial policy have been undervalued in our history textbooks-especially the attempt by Nazi Germany to establish the Nordic Aryans as a master race through the Lebensborn experiment, a breeding and adoption program designed to eliminate racial imperfections.
During the Holocaust, around six million Jews were murdered due to Hitler’s plan to rid Germany of “heterogeneous people” in Germany, as stated in the novel, Life and Death in the Third Reich by Peter Fritzsche. Shortly following a period of suffering, Hitler began leading Germany in 1930 to start the period of his rule, the Third Reich. Over time, his power and support from the country increased until he had full control over his people. Starting from saying “Heil Hitler!” the people of the German empire were cleverly forced into following Hitler through terror and threat. He had a group of leaders, the SS, who were Nazis that willingly took any task given, including the mass murder of millions of Jews due to his belief that they were enemies to Germany. German citizens were talked into participating or believing in the most extreme of things, like violent pogroms, deportations, attacks, and executions. Through the novel’s perspicacity of the Third Reich, readers can see how Hitler’s reign was a controversial time period summed up by courage, extremity, and most important of all, loyalty.
Hitler’s extreme sense of nationalism and his perception that great nations are identified by their military power and their cultural contributions must have weighed heavily on his mind when he considered the state of the Germanic people throughout history. Hitler thought highly of the classical civilizations of Rome and Greece, especially their architectural and artistic contributions to society, yet his own people had few comparable achievements, either artistically or in terms of conquest, which the Romans had also done effectively. Rectifying this, at least for Hitler, required military and political action that dwarfed Germany’s best efforts even during the First World War. Additionally, upon the establishment of a powerful new German empire, Hitler wanted “to create a German culture state where the arts were supreme and where he could construct his buildings, hold art shows, stage operas, encourage artists and promote the music, painting and sculpture he loved.” (Spotts, 9) Hitler’s main aspiration was to create a neo-classical state that would be the dominant power in a new world order; one which placed heavy emphasis on culture, race and the spatial needs of the German people. These ambitions resulted in German rearmament, expansion and the mass murder and internment of Jews, “gypsies,” Slavs and other “inferior” races and peoples.
It wasnt long before the chancellor of Germany was dead, and Hitler had successfully obtained power of the county he suposively loved so much. RIght off the bat Hitler started inforcing his racist laws upon the country, also releasing a list of undesirables that were not wanting within the boundries of Germany. The German population had fallen into his subducing will for power and superiority and followed in his footsteps to start hating the people that had brought them to the level they were at after the first World War. The undesirables life in Germany was horiable, and got worse everyday. The nig...
After Germany lost World War I, it was in a national state of humiliation. Their economy was in the drain, and they had their hands full paying for the reparations from the war. Then a man named Adolf Hitler rose to the position of Chancellor and realized his potential to inspire people to follow. Hitler promised the people of Germany a new age; an age of prosperity with the country back as a superpower in Europe. Hitler had a vision, and this vision was that not only the country be dominant in a political sense, but that his ‘perfect race’, the ‘Aryans,’ would be dominant in a cultural sense. His steps to achieving his goal came in the form of the Holocaust. The most well known victims of the Holocaust were of course, the Jews. However, approximately 11 million people were killed in the holocaust, and of those, there were only 6 million Jews killed. The other 5 million people were the Gypsies, Pols, Political Dissidents, Handicapped, Jehovah’s witnesses, Homosexuals and even those of African-German descent. Those who were believed to be enemies of the state were sent to camps where they were worked or starved to death.
...er of dividing and attacking his enemies one by one. He would win over people with tempting promises. In conclusion Racism,National pride and peer pressure played a major role in the German peoples participation in or indifference’s towards the state-sponsored genocide and murders in Germany.
The film Triumph of the Will (Triumph des Willens, Leni Riefenstahl, Germany, 1935)1 is perhaps the more blatant of the two propaganda films discussed in this essay. It is not so much a film in the modern sense as it is a careful collection of Hitler and Nazi Party members captured in all their nationalistic glory.There is no story, no plot, just one overriding theme that each and every shot contributes to.
The treatment of women during the Nazi’s regime is a clear indication of the fascist approach that the Nazis were trying to push upon the country. The Nazis, and predominantly Hitler, believed that women should first and foremost take on the roles of a mother and wife above all else. This ideal is based on the words of Dr Goebbels “The mission of women is to be beautiful and to b...
Adolf Hitler (the Führer or leader of the Nazi party) “believed that a person's characteristics, attitudes, abilities, and behavior were determined by his or her so-called racial make-up.” He thought that those “inherited characteristics (did not only affect) outward appearance and physical structure”, but also determined a person’s physical, emotional/social, and mental state. Besides these ideas, the Nazi’s believed tha...
The “German” nation, before it even became known as Germany, had undergone a period of transition from its inherited culture as a result of the French invasion and the Napoleonic wars. There was a sense that the German cultur...
I believe "Triumph of the Will" and "Olympia" had different purposes. "Triumph of the Will" was intended as Nazi propaganda and to show the power of the Nazis. Its purpose was to show the world the strength that the Nazi regime had and that it was ready and we'll more than willing to fight for their beliefs. Evidence of this is found in the film all of the shots of the troops march marching the solutes with the guns the arm salutes to Hitler. Those are examples of the power and authority that Hitler had. The films were directed towards the leaders of other countries that they were ready to fight and to prove the power that the Nazis had. "Olympia" was intended for all viewers, not just a specific group.
They made the Germans seem more important, courageous and stronger then the Jews so that it would appeal to non-Jews and make them be on board with what was happening and turn them on the Jews. They believed Aryan was the superior race, which is basically the opposite of a Jew. (An Introductory History of the Holocaust) Aryan’s were fair skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes. The Jews have olive skin, dark brown eyes, and dark brown hair. The hate got worse wi...
In the early 1930s, the country of Germany had developed a strong sense of nationalism that would soon become a critical factor for the future of the country. A major political figure by the name of Adolf Hitler emerged and began to inspire the German people. Citizens of every social class were entranced by his promises of a prosperous future (Study.com). Soon after, the formation of the “National Socialist Party” or “Nazi Party” occurred. Hitler’s speeches were designed to move and captivate the hundreds of thousands that would actively attend his rallies. He was able to capture so much affection and respect from the majority of the German people by stating “What we must fight for is to safeguard the existence and reproduction of our race and our people, the sustenance of our children and the purity of our blood, the freedom and independence of the fatherland, so that our people may mature for the fulfillment of the mission