PROPAGANDA Flashcards
WHAT percentage of German households had a radio by 1939?
70%
WHEN did all German radio stations fall under the control of the Propaganda Ministry?
1934
HOW did the Nazis use radio?
- Hitler talked directly to the German people in speeches
- The cheap sale of radios was encouraged by Goebbels
- Radio workers were purged on racial/political grounds.
Approximately HOW MANY people were involved in the 1937 Nuremberg rally?
100,000 people
HOW did the Nazis use parades/spectacles?
- The theatrical element was used to grab attention
- Noncompliance could result in being labelled ‘politically unreliable’
- Parades were used as visual proof that the people supported Nazism
HOW MANY daily Nazi newspapers were there in 1933?
27
HOW did the Decree for the Protection of the People and the State (Reichstag Fire Decree) affect newspapers?
Socialist and communist newspapers were closed down
HOW did the Nazis use newspapers?
- They bought up newspapers to use for propaganda
- News agencies (which provided the press with information) were merged into one state-controlled organisation
- All newspapers became bland and conformist
HOW MANY feature films were produced in Germany under the Nazis?
Over 1,000
By HOW MUCH did cinema attendance increase under the Nazis?
It quadrupled
WHAT were some common themes of Nazi films?
- The glorification of leadership
- The idea of ‘blood and soil’ (relationship between race and land)
- Demonising Jewish people and communists
HOW did the Nazis use film?
- Reinforced prejudices through subliminal messages
- Goebbels had to approve every film made in Germany after 1933
- Most American films were banned
- Pacifist films were banned
HOW MANY books were burnt by students in Berlin 1933?
20,000
WHEN/with WHO was propaganda most effective?
- With young people who had less strongly formed opinions
- When their ideas overlapped with existing views (e.g. the elite already believed in order and were anti-democratic, and the middle class already hated communism)
WHEN was propaganda less effective?
When it challenged deeply held beliefs like religion
WHY must judgements on the effectiveness of propaganda always be tentative?
Official reports or plebiscites can’t be regarded as true evidence as nothing was free under the Nazis.
WHO came up with the idea of the Hitler Myth and WHEN?
Ian Kershaw (1987) in his book of the same name
WHAT was the Hitler Myth?
It presented Hitler as unlike other politicians, as a ‘man of the people,’ and as the man solely responsible for all major successes of the government (and fixing all Germany’s problems from 1933)
WHY was the Hitler Myth so effective?
Many of Hitler’s ‘strengths’ and popularity stemmed from a reaction to the weaknesses of Weimar and the German people’s emotional need for a strong (authoritarian) government.
WHAT was the reality of Hitler, compared to the myth?
- Hitler wasn’t very involved in decision-making in reality
- He also did not work hard and his officials often had great difficulty in getting him to make decisions
WHAT were the successful effects of the Hitler Myth?
- Hitler had great personal popularity by the late 1930s
- The German people were brought together under him
- Minor party leaders could take the blame for the system’s failings, rather than Hitler
WHAT were the failures of the Hitler Myth?
- The personalised system led to the decline of the Third Reich as all Hitler’s ideas were made into law, even when they were morally wrong
- Hitler started to believe the myth himself, moving away from being a calculating opportunist
- The myth couldn’t continue after the military failures of the 1940s
WHEN was the Propaganda Ministry set up?
1933
WHAT was the Reich Chamber of Culture?
An organisation in charge of press, radio, film, literature, theatre, music, and fine art. All involved in cultural activities had to be a member of the Chamber.
WHAT organisation controlled the arts in Nazi Germany?
The Reich Chamber of Culture
WHAT was the ‘people’s receiver’?
A subsidised basic radio that only had one station and a limited range
WHAT were 2 major art exhibitions in Munich 1937?
The Exhibition of Great German Art and The Exhibition of Degenerate Art (the Exhibition of Degenerate Art had over 3 times more attendees than the opposite exhibition)
HOW did the Nazis use architecture?
- Lasting materials were used to represent the Thousand Year Reich
- Nazi architecture was used to show authority over the people, and the unity of the people who had built them
- Traditional materials were popular
