Controlling and influencing attitudes Flashcards
Goebbels and propaganda
1933 - Hitler made Goebbels the Minister of People’s Enlightenment and Propaganda.
He coordinated Nazi policy towards the media, sport, culture and the Arts, so that attitudes which Nazis opposed were censored and those which they supported were promoted by propaganda.
Nazi use of the media - The press
- journalists told what they could not publish (censorship)
- given regular briefings about what the govt wanted released; sometimes even instructed what to write (propaganda)
- any newspapers opposing Nazi views shut down
Nazi use of the media - Radio
- all radio stations put under Nazi control
- Hitler and other Nazi officials made frequent broadcasts
- cheap, mass-produced radios sold to the public (placed even in schools and streets)
Nazi use of rallies
Rallies had been used in previous election campaigns by the NSDAP, but now they had become bigger and more frequent since the entire resources of the German state could be used.
E.g. the Nuremberg Rally was an annual occasion to create a sense of German unity and advertise the strength of the Nazi Party.
Nazi use of sport
Goebbels influenced attitudes by ‘Nazifying’ sport:
- covering stadiums with Nazi symbols
- insisting that all teams make the Nazi straight-arm salute
Nazi use of sport - Berlin Olympics, 1936
Hitler used the Berlin Olympics in 1936 as an opportunity to show off the Nazi State:
- built the largest stadium in the world
- Germany won 33 medals (more than other countries)
- games filmed by leading film director, which was used as propaganda
Nazi control of culture and the Arts
Objected modern aspects of culture that had developed during the Weimar Republic. Instead favoured traditionality:
- romantic ideas of Germany’s past e.g. country life, strong family
- Nazi ideals e.g. loyalty, self-sacrifice, discipline
Sept 1933 - set up Reich Chamber of Culture, overseen by Goebbels; role was to make sure cultural activities were consistent with Nazi ideas.
Nazi control of culture and the Arts - Art in Nazi Germany
Reich Chamber of Visual Arts set up under Chamber of Culture. All painters and sculptors required to apply, and any who refused to apply or had their membership taken away were forbidden to produce, sell or teach art.
To encourage art approved by the NSDAP, competitions with large prizes were held.
Nazi control of culture and the Arts - Architecture in Nazi Germany
Disliked ‘modernist’ and ‘futuristic’ architecture of the Weimar Republic and wanted buildings to be ‘powerful’.
Albert Speer, Hitler’s favourite architect, built many Nazi buildings including parade ground in Nuremberg for Nazi rallies and new Chancellery in Berlin.
He used features like huge buildings to give the impression of power and permanence and Greek and Roman domes and arches.
Nazi control of culture and the Arts - Music in Nazi Germany
Some music was censored - jazz because it was the work of black people and Mendelssohn’s work because he was part Jewish
Some music was promoted - Wagner because his work told stories if heroic and powerful Germans of the past and Beethoven, Bach and traditional German folk music
Nazi control of culture and the Arts - Literature in Nazi Germany
- no new books to be published without the Chamber’s permission
- existing books which opposed Nazi views were censored
- Jewish books burnt by universities
Nazi control of culture and the Arts - Film in Nazi Germany
- all films in cinemas had a 45-min newsreel of every Nazi achievement
- all film-makers had to send plot details of new films to Goebbels for approval
- Nazi Party made its own films for propaganda, with underlying political messages
