Controlling and influencing attitudes Flashcards
In Hitler’s totalitarian state, how did the Nazi party influence attitudes of the German republic?
They used:
-Propaganda (the use of information in newspapers, posters, radio, and film to put ideas into people’s minds and therefore shape attitudes.)
- Censorship (Forbidding information or ideas that didn’t suit the Nazi party, banning things that give people ideas the Nazi party didn’t want them to have, eg any newspapers, pictures, radio stations, or films that didn’t suit them, in order to control attitudes.)
- Controlling cultures and arts so that only ideas they liked were portrayed in them.
Who was the key person in Nazi efforts to control influence and attitudes, how did he do it, and what was his aim?
-Goebbels played a central role as Nazi Minister of Enlightenment and Propaganda between 1933-1945.
What were his methods?
-Public burning of books by Jewish writers or others who disagreed with Nazi views.
-Radio producers, playwrights, filmmakers, and newspapers were told what to say.
-Newspapers opposing Nazi Germany were closed.
-Only radios that couldn’t receive a foreign signal were made.
Goebbels’s aim was to so deeply bury Nazi attitudes in his propaganda that people didn’t even know their attitudes were being changed.
How did the Nazis use the press to influence and control attitudes in Germany?
Newspapers flourished in Nazi Germany, but they had to provide views with which the ministry agreed, or else face the consequences.
-Journalists were sometimes told they could not publish. Censorship.
-Given regular briefing, containing information the government was willing to release or sometimes specific instructions on what to write. Propaganda.
Every newspaper was a Nazi newspaper.
How did the Nazi Party use radios to influence and control attitudes in Germany?
- All radio stations under Nazi control since 1933.
- Hitler and other Nazi officials made frequent broadcasts.
- Cheap, mass-produced radios were made and Hitler’s speeches and other Nazi propaganda played on loudspeakers in factories, cafes, schools, and on the street.
- Radios were designed with short-range as to not pick up foreign signals.
- Entertainment program controlled Nazi beleifs.
What percentage of German homes had radios by 1939?
70%
How did the Nazi party use Rallies to influence and control attitudes in Germany?
Huge rallies and military parades were held, projecting power and strength that would make germans proud of their country or fill them with the terror of the strength of the Nazi party, depending on their viewpoint.
They were exciting and colorful, meant to attract young people.
What mass Nazi rally happened annually and how many supporters attended in 1934?
The Nuremberg, it was attended by 20,000 people in 1934.
How did the Nazi Party use sports to influence attitudes and increase support for the Nazi Party?
By Nazifying sport.
- Covering sports stadiums with Nazi symbols, linking enthusiasm for sports to enthusiasm for Nazism.
- Insisting all teams, including foreign teams, make the Nazi salute during the German national anthem, so sports stars appeared to be respecting the nazis.
- Hailing sports victories as victories of Nazi ideal - eg. string to be the best.
How did the Nazis use the 1936 berlin Olympics to show Nazi Germany in a good light?
- Built the largest stadium in the world, could hold 110,000, decked with Nazi symbols.
- Well-organized events to demonstrate nazi efficiency.
- Germany won 33 medals - more than any other country, hailed as a success of Nazism.
- Element of censorship - any press printed about the Olympics before the official press report was “AT their own risk” of whoever printed/wrote it.
What was the role of the Chamber of Culture? Who set it up and when?
Make sure cultural activities in Germany were consistent with Nazi ideals.
- Banned cultural activity that disagreed with Nazi ideals
- Promoted activity that agreed with nazi ideals.
Nazi cultural activity ideals:
-Grand, classical architecture, huge buildings to show strength and power of Nazis and to intimidate.
-Listen to traditional German composers
-promote romantic ideas about Germany’s past, such as country life and strong families
-Promote nazi ideals like loyalty, struggle, self-sacrifice, and discipline.
How did the Nazis control the views and attitudes in art?
All painters and sculptors in Germany were required to apply to be members of the Chamber of visual art.
- 42,000 artists were accepted.
- Any artist who refused membership or had it taken away was banned from teaching, producing, or selling art.
- Art competitions were held with large prizes for winners to encourage the kind of art nazis wanted.
How many paintings and sculptures were removed from art galleries in 1936?
12,000, including Picasso, Cezanne, and Van Gough.
Which types of music were censored in Nazi Germany?
- Jazz music was banned - seen as the work of black people.
- the work of Mendelssohn was banned because he was partly Jewish.
How were censored in order to control attitudes and ideas in Nazi Germany?
- No books were published without the approval of The Chamber of Culture.
- Existing books containing ideas Nazis disliked were censored. 2500 writers banned.
- Millions of books with ideas Nazi disliked were taken from libraries and universities and burned on huge, public bonfires. In May 1933, 20,000 books by Jewish, communist, and anti-Nazi authors were burned by students.
How did the Nazis make sure that films supported Nazi ideas?
- Films shown in cinemas were preceded by a 45-minute official newsreel publicizing Germany’s achievements.
- All film plots had to be approved by Goevvels before the film was made.
- Nazi party made 1,300 films - for entertainment with underlying Nazi politics.
