Controlling and Influencing Attitudes Flashcards
Describe Goebbels’ Role in Propaganda
-In 1933, Hitler made Goebbels the Minister of People’s Enlightenment and Propaganda.
-In this role, Goebbels co-ordinated Nazi policy towards the media, sport, culture and the Arts, so that attitudes which Nazis opposed were censored and attitudes they supported were promoted.
-Hitler had a simplistic view of propaganda. For him, it was just a matter of constantly repeating the Nazi message.
-For Goebbels, it was more complex. He wanted Nazi attitudes to be so deeply buried in his propaganda that people did not even know their attitudes were being changed.
Describe Nazi Use of the Press
-Newspapers flourished under the Nazis- but they had to provide views with which the Ministry agreed, or face the consequences.
-Journalists were sometimes told what they could not publish- censorship.
-They were also given regular briefings, containing the information the government were willing to release and they were sometimes given direct instructions what to write- propaganda.
-Any newspapers which opposed Nazi views were closed down. 1,6000 newspapers were closed down in 1935 alone. This meant that there was no real free press in Germany.
Describe Nazi Use of the Radio
-Goebbels had already started to use the power of the radio in Nazi election campaigns. After 1933, he censored radio stations and used them to broadcast Nazi propaganda.
-All radio stations were put under Nazi control. Hitler and other Nazi officials made frequent broadcasts.
-All radios had to be designed to have a short range, so that they could not pick up foreign stations.
-Cheap mass produced radios were sold to the public. they were also placed in cafes, factories and schools. Speakers were even placed in the street.
-By 1939, 70% of German homes had a radio- more than anywhere else in Europe.
Describe Nazi Use of Rallies
-Goebbels had used mass rallies and parades in the election campaign for the Nazis.
-After 1933, he had all the resources of Germany at his disposal. He made Nazi rallies and parades bigger and more frequent.
-A mass rally was held each year at Nuremburg, to create a sense of German unity and advertise the strength of the Nazi Party.
-At the 1934 Nuremburg rally, the stadium had a giant eagle with a 100-foot wing-spread as well as thousands of swastika banners.
-It was surrounded by 130 ant-aircraft searchlights with a range of 25,000 feet, shining light into the sky and forming a wall of light around a crowd of 200,000 party supporters waving 20,000 flags.
Describe Nazi Use of Sport
-Sports stadiums were covered with Nazi symbols, linking enthusiasm for sport with enthusiasm for Nazism.
-It was insisted that all teams, including visiting teams from abroad, make the Nazi straight-armed salute during the German national anthem.
-This was so that sports stars could be seen paying respect to the Nazi state.
-Sports victories were hailed as Nazi victories, such as striving to be the best.
Describe the Berlin Olympics in 1936
-The Nazis built an Olympic stadium which could hold 100,00 people- the largest stadium in the world. It was decked out with swastikas and other Nazi symbols.
-All the events were well organised to demonstrate Nazi efficiency. Germany won 33 medals- more than any other country. Goebbels hailed this as a success for Nazism.
-The games were filmed by one of Germany’s leading film directors, Leni Riefenstahl. She released two films in 1938, both of which were used for Nazi propaganda.
-The Reich Press Chamber issued an order that if the press printed any information about the Olympics before the official press report, it was ‘at their own risk’.
Describe Nazi Attitudes Towards Culture and the Arts
-The Nazis had strong objections to many modern aspects of modern culture that had emerged during the Weimar Republic.
-They favoured cultural activities which stressed romantic ideas about Germany’s past, such as country life and strong families.
-They also preferred culture which presented Nazi ideals, like loyalty, struggle, self sacrifice and discipline.
Describe Nazi Control Over Culture and the Arts
-In September 1933, they set up the Reich Chamber of Culture, which covered art and architecture, literature, music, theatre and film. It was overseen by Goebbels and the Ministry of Propaganda.
-Its role was to make sure that cultural activities in Germany were consistent with Nazi ideas. they called this idea of consistency Gleichschaltung.
-The Chamber of Culture banned cultural activity with which they disagreed and promoted culture which fitted Nazi beliefs.
Describe the Control of Art in Nazi Germany
-Under the chamber of Culture, the Nazis set up the Reich Chamber of Visual Arts. All painters and sculptors in Germany were required to apply to be a member.
-42,000 members were accepted. Any artists who were refused membership or had their membership taken away were forbidden to teach, produce or sell art.
-The Gestapo made surprise visits to artists’ studios to check that Chamber of Fine Arts rules were not broken.
Describe the Promotion of Nazi Artwork
-In 1936, over 12,000 paintings and sculptures were removed from art galleries. The pieces of art included work by famous artists such as Picasso, Cezanne and Van Gogh.
-To encourage the kind of art which the Nazis did approve of, art competitions were held, with large prizes for the winners.
-The Greater German Art Exhibition, including 900 exhibits was held in 1936.
Describe Nazi Attitudes Towards Architecture
-The Nazis dislike the modernist and futuristic architecture of the Weimar Republic. They wanted buildings which made Nazi Germany seem more powerful.
-Albert Speer became a personal favourite of Hitler and designed many of Nazi Germany’s major buildings.
-He designed the parade ground for Nazi rallies in Nuremburg in 1934.
-he also designed the new Chancellery in berlin in 1938.
Describe Architecture in Nazi Germany
-Albert Speers designed many buildings in Nazi Germany. he used design features which shaped people’s impressions of Germany and the Nazi Party.
-Many buildings were huge so that that size gave the impression of power and permanence.
-Buildings used features from Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece, such as domes, arches an pillars, so that the buildings seemed grand and historic.
-They were decorated with massive Nazi flags. This was partly for artistic effect, but it was also so that powerful impact of the buildings reflected on the Nazi Party.
Describe Literature in Nazi Germany
-No new books could be published without approval from the Chamber of Culture.
-Existing books containing views which the Nazis didn’t like were censored. 2,500 writers were officially banned.
-Millions of books were taken from universities and public libraries and burned on huge, public bonfires.
-In May 1933, students in Berlin burned 20,000 books written by Jews, communists and anti-Nazi authors, destroying books by Sigmund Freud and Albert Einstein, amongst others.
Describe Nazi Control Over Film
-Goebbels exerted control over the German film industry and tried to make sure that films supported Nazi ideas. ]
-With audiences of over 250 million in 1933, cinemas were useful for getting Nazi views across.
-Films shown in cinemas were preceded by a 45 minute official newsreel, publicising Germany’s achievements.
-All film makers had to send plot details of every new film to Goebbels for approval.
Describe Films Created by the Nazis
-The Nazi Party made its own films for general release. In total, they made about 1,300 films.
-Some Nazi films were for entertainment but had underlying political messages such as Hitlerjunge Quex (1933) in which a young member of the Nazi Party is killed by communists.
-Some Nazi films were more obvious propaganda. Goebbels had a propaganda cartoon made for cinemas, with a leading character, Hansi the canary, based on Mickey Mouse.
-Hansi had a lick of hair across his forehead, just like Hitler. In the film, Hansi is pestered by villainous black crows with stereotypical Jewish features.
