Propaganda

How was new technology used in propaganda?

• Germany had the largest radio audience in Europe.

• By 1939 they could broadcast to 16 million Germans.

• The ‘people’s radio’ was developed as a low cost radio to increase the number of people listening.

How was the media used in propaganda?

• Directors were employed by Hitler to create powerful propaganda films, e.g. Olympia. The cameras were used on a track in the audience to create a feeling of being present at the dramas. Hitler only featured sparingly to maintain the Hitler Myth.

• The DNB (State Press Agency) was set up to monitor news material and hold daily press conferences to manipulate information.

• The regime had its own papers, e.g. Der Angriff (Goebbels’ own paper).

• Enforced communal listening in factories, schools, shops etc. Loudspeakers were put in public places which played information, sentimental propaganda and light classical pieces.

When were the Olympics held in Germany?

1936

How was the Olympics used in propaganda?

• The anti-semitic programme was suspended.

• The games were held in an atmosphere of prosperity and political stability.

• They impressed other countries.

How were festival days and traditions used in propaganda?

• Holy days were replaced with festival days to commemorate days such as the Munich Putsch or the Seizure of Power.

• They aimed to cultivate a positive reaction to dictatorship by weaving ideas and symbols into popular routine.

• It marginalised traditional Christian practise and became so commonplace that it wasn’t even identified as propaganda but as a new social order.

How was Goebbels and the Hitler Myth involved in propaganda?

• He was head of the Ministry of Enlightenment and Propaganda.

• He masterminded all the propaganda.

• He Linked Hitler to success, e.g. economic improvement.

• Using Hitler sparingly to seem god-like.

• The heil Hitler salute.