Culture in the Third Reich Flashcards

Propaganda in Nazi Germany

Propaganda: Organized spreading of information to promote government views and influence behavior.
Nazis used propaganda to:
- Maintain population contentment.
- Gain support for policies.
- Indoctrinate people with their worldview (Weltanshauung) to create committed members of the national community (volksgemeinschaft).
Effective propaganda is subtle and permeates all aspects of life.
Key principles of Nazi propaganda (Goebbels, Hitler):
- Simplify complex ideas for the masses.
- Tailor messages to specific groups.
- Use easily understood language.
- Reduce messages to essential concepts with stereotyped formulas.
- Constant repetition for instilling ideas.
- Emphasize stark contrasts (black and white).

Policy of coordination (gleichschaltung): Aligning all institutions with National Socialism.
Methods of control:
- Direct ownership.
- Controlling media personnel.
- Directing media content.
- Prosecuting non-conformists.
Radio and film were easier to control than the press initially.
Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda (RMVP):
- Established in March 1933 under Goebbels.
- Aimed to unite the nation behind the national revolution.
- Controlled education, theater, cinema, literature, press, and radio.
Reich Chamber of Culture:
- Established to control all cultural activities.
- Composed of sub-chambers for press, radio, film, literature, theater, music, and fine arts.
- Membership was compulsory.
- Aimed to promote German culture and exercised control through licensing, closures, and expulsions.

Press:
- Controlled through compulsory membership in coordinating bodies (Reich Press Chamber).
- Editors held responsible for government directive infringements.
- State-controlled Press Agency provided content.
- Jewish, communist, and socialist newspapers were dismissed.
- Nazi party's publishing house (Eher Verlag) took over most of the press.
Radio:
- "Spiritual weapon of the totalitarian state" (Goebbels).
- Mass-produced affordable "People’s receiver".
- Communal loudspeakers.
- Transmitted Hitler’s speeches, with mandatory listening.
Film:
- State-controlled film companies.
- RMVP financed films and later nationalized them under Ufi.
- Reich Film Chamber regulated content.
- Goebbels approved all films.
- Films classified and funded based on political and artistic value.
- Entertainment films prioritized to maintain public support.

Arts served to transmit Nazi ideology and forge collective minds.
Nazi art characteristics:
- Clear, heroic, and direct.
- Idealized depictions of racially pure individuals.
- Controlled production and distribution.
Sculpture:
- Used to convey Nazi messages through vast statues on public buildings.
- Represented biologically pure Aryan race.
Architecture:
- Viewed as the most important artistic form of propaganda.
- Neo-classical, monumental style to demonstrate power and permanence.
Literature:
- Book burnings to cleanse Germany of un-German ideas.
- Authors promoted Nazi ideas or remained neutral.
Music:
- Reich Chamber of Music controlled production.
- Experimental music banned.
- Favored composers like Wagner, Strauss, and Bruckner.
- Jazz was banned.

Exhibition of the Great German Art: Showed the healthy instincts of the master race.
Exhibition of the Degenerate Art: Reflected the disruption of established values.

Culture was ruthlessly regulated to enhance authority and prevent undermining of power.
Nazi doctrine infiltrated all aspects of life through various cultural means.
The Nazis aimed to replace Weimar Republic culture with Aryan, Germanic culture.

Difficult to assess due to varying individual attitudes.
Distinguishing between propaganda's influence and fear of repression is challenging.
Strengthened overall support for Hitler but had mixed results with specific policies.
Less successful when opposing traditional loyalties (e.g., the Church).