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. It is often said that nothing brings people together like a common enemy, and the Nazi’s knew this. The Jew and the communist would become this collective punching bag. The Nazi’s were convinced of an international conspiracy to “exterminate— that is, to kill— all the German people.” The Jews were …show more content…
According to Welch, “The public’s reaction to anti-Semitic films reveals that propaganda had considerable success in persuading the population that a Jewish ‘problem’ existed, but equally that there was a limit to their tolerance of the type of virulently anti-Semitic propaganda to be found in films like Der Ewige Jude and publications like Der Stuermer.” Even after years of Nazi propaganda, even Goebbels wasn’t convinced that “such propaganda had persuaded Germans to condone open violence against
“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 (The National World War Museum). The German Nazi dictator utilized his power over the people using propaganda, eventually creating a sense of hatred towards Jews. After World War 1, the punishments of the League of Nations caused Germany to suffer. The Nazi party came to blame the Jews in order to have a nation-wide “scapegoat”. This hatred and prejudice towards Jews is known as anti-semitism. According to the Breman Museum, “the Nazi Party was one of the first political movements to take full advantage of mass communications technologies: radio, recorded sound, film, and the printed word” (The Breman Museum). By publishing books, releasing movies and holding campaigns against Jews, antisemitism came to grow quickly, spreading all across Germany. The Nazi Party often referred to the notion of a “People’s Community” where all of Germany was “racially pure” (Issuu). They would show images of ‘pure’, blond workers, labouring to build a new society. This appealed greatly to people who were demoralized during Germany’s defeat in World War 1 and the economic depression of the 1920’s and 1930’s. Hitler, along with Joseph Goebbels, used developed propaganda methods in order to suppress the Jews and spread anti semitism.
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.
men in any way. “Once some SS men pushed our sound van into a ditch;
Introductory Paragraph: Propaganda is a tool of influence that Adolph Hitler used to abuse the German population by brainwashing them and completely deteriorating an entire race. How does one person get the beliefs of an entire country? Hitler put Joseph Goebbels in charge of the propaganda movement. Goebbels controlled every element of propaganda, there were many varieties of Nazi Propaganda. Propaganda was also being used as a tool to gain the support of the German population for the war, and supporting their government. The Jew’s were the targeted race and were completely pulverized by the Nazi’s. Hitler not only tried to destroy an entire race, he gained complete control of an entire country.
After World War I, there was a spiritual void left within the people of Germany. The outcome of the war had ripped the German society along the class lines causing great stress and tension among the people. The people of Germany had believed all along that they were winning the war, and therefore the news of surrender came as a great shock to them. To make things worse, the peace treaty established placed the entire fault of the war on Germany and left them responsible for paying for the costs of the war for all who were involved. This sparked a conflict between the middle and working classes in society. Then, the depression followed, creating even more unhappiness among the people. With all of this unhappiness because of the class divisions and the depression, the Nazi...
It has long been disputed that Leni Riefenstahl's 'Triumph of The Will,' is neither art or propaganda. Whether it is one, the other, or perhaps both at once, the film's acclaimed cinematography, known and respected worldwide, was the vehicle in which Hitler became Germany's God. Regardless of Leni's personal or impersonal associations with the Nazi Party, Triumph of The Will undoubtedly played a vital role in persuading a nation. Set in the bountiful city of Nuremberg, Triumph of The Will encapsulates the 1934 Nazi Party Rally. Hitler's former appointment in 1933 saw the abolishment of democracy and the guaranteed rights of German citizens. In order to actualise his complete control at such an extraordinary time, it was essential for Hitler
The Nazi propaganda film, Triumph of the Will, is an excellent propaganda film that has many images that are meant to inspire, encourage, and invigorate the German people to be reborn. The film was made in 1934 during the rise of Adolf Hitler as the fuhrer of Nazi Germany. Hitler rose from the rank of a corporal in the German army to an inmate in a German jail. Hitler, once released, used fascist propaganda to promote the Nazi party. The propaganda promised to restore Germany as an economic leader in Europe while improving the lives of the German citizen. This pretense of a better life for German people won Hitler the dictatorship of Germany. Triumph of the Will is a good example of how propaganda entices the masses into
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.
Triumph of the Will is a propaganda film, directed by Leni Riefenstahl, thats purpose is to promote the idea that under Hitler’s leadership, Germany will once again rise to power. This film was commissioned by Hitler. This film was a staged documentary, meaning that scenes were planned ahead of time. The film is set in Nuremberg, Germany twenty years after WWI. The cameras take different angles in attempt to convince viewers to believe what they are seeing. At one point in the film there is even a camera moving up and down an elevator, giving a beautiful view of Hitler and the massive crowd in front of him. Each member of the crowd hailed and enthusiastically applauded him. Throughout the movie, the camera focuses on the faces of the Germans. They all appear joyful and happy. The film even focuses on the faces of children. The children are all hailing and supporting Hitler, even though they have little, if any knowledge of what he is doing. The film attempts to imprint in the viewer’s minds that Hitler will bring Germany to power. The film also cuts to clips of Hitler and Rudolf Hess delivering speeches to massive crowds frequently. It also shows soldiers precisely goose stepping in order, during the parades. It is amazing how they are able to turn the corners, and probably a lot of work went into the preparation of these routine. This film outlines Hitler’s power and attempts to persuade the viewers that Germany will once again rise to power. It is a powerful propaganda film.
Joseph Goebbels is one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century due to his abilities to persuade the German nation to support Hitler’s Nazi Party and its anti-Semitic values. In 1930, before Hitler’s come to power, Goebbels wrote and disseminated a Nazi propaganda pamphlet meant to persuade the reader to support socialism, hate capitalism, and completely eliminate the Jewish presence in Germany. (Lualdi)
It has been readily admitted that propaganda has little to do with the truth. Why then is it so convincing? Why does the demagogic appeal of propaganda triumph over reason and truth? The answer is that the power of our emotions and our prejudices clouds our reasoning; and even more, propaganda uses our emotions against us by manipulating them. We are shown what the propagandist wants us to see; we feel what the propagandist wants us to feel. And in that way, propaganda becomes a tool for exploiting the masses, for shaping public opinion and turning ordinary people into supporters, participants and onlookers of genocide. Both Triumph of the Will and Jud Suess function effectively as propaganda of the Nazi regime, though the films' specific goals and techniques are quite different.
Adolf Hitler came to power on February 28, 1933 (Rossel). He rose to power using inflammatory speeches and inspiring hope for the defeated Germans. He constructed a system to empower the German people and allow them to thrive in the period after the Great Depression (Noakes). Using keen acumen and decisive moves, he was able to turn Germany into a war machine bent on the creation of an Aryan utopian society, at the cost of all inferior races, especially the Jews ("The Period between 1933 and 1939"). At this time Germany was a defeated country. They had recently had numerous humiliating defeats in WWI, and the Germans no longer had the pride they once had celebrated (Laurita). Augmented by the fact that the Great Depression had ravaged the country and left many in a state of penury and impoverished, the Germans were desperate. As well, Germany was currently a country without any source of stability without a generally supported constitution. When Hitler promised a utopian society filled with hope and where the Germans would be exalted as the superior race, the Germans listened and obeyed his every word (Noakes). Hitler fed on the desperation and hopelessness of these German people to make a society driven by fear; this state of pity allowed Hitler to convince the Germans that he could provide a better future.
leni Riefenstahl’s work in Olympia was compelling and very interesting to hear about her story. After seeing the movie and watching the documentary about her and her life I find it all very fascinating. First off, I thought it was such juxtaposition that a woman directed the first sports documentary. I find this funny because the sports industry today is such a man’s business. To have a woman be the person to pave the way for sports broadcasting is amazing. Next her story about her start with the Nazis is also very interesting and I loved that she always defended her work. She said how she felt and stood to her beliefs. She didn’t apologize of cave because she felt what she did wasn’t harming anyone. To me personally after watching this movie
The Weimar Republic era in Germany took place from 1919-1933 and was considered the Golden Age of German cinema. It was a time of free expression and open thinking for artists, and eventually pushed many of them to leave the country and explore their talents outside of Germany. Famous director Fritz Lang and screen writer Billy Wilder were two of many exiles, migrating toward freedom and eventually ending their journey in Hollywood. Nazi Germany, also known as the Third Reich, was a period in German history from 1933 to 1945, when the country was governed by a dictatorship under the control of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. In 1933 Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor and the Nazis systematically began to take control over Germany by removing
In Nazi Germany, the Nazis used a variety of methods as a way of controlling the people of Germany and making sure that they would not rebel. In this essay, I will explain the main reasons they were able to control the people, including Terror, Propaganda and Censorship, Education and Hitler Youth Groups, and Party Beliefs and Promises. At the end, I will decide if ‘terror’ was the most important reason, and if not, what it was.