ROLE OF PROMINENT FIGURES IN THE NAZI STATE

Question 1

what was the role and position of Hitler

Answer 1

Leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) → Absolute centre of the entire Nazi system.
Chancellor of Germany 1933 →
2 August 1934 → Hitler combined Presidency & Chancellorship = Fuhrer of Germany (absolute power)

Question 2

one of hitler’s greatest successes was the hitler myth. what is this?

Answer 2

Saviour of Germany
Created by Goebbels
Kershaw contends that Hitler’s political flair & charisma were public perceptions rather than inherent traits
Hitler’s oratory/rhetoric propelled him into the public spotlight → sold to the minds that craved the idea & reinforced this through propaganda

Question 3

what was the intentionalist vs functionalist historian view of hitler

Answer 3

Intentionalist historian view: from 1933+ Hitler wielded extensive power, both within NSDAP & over German nation → Karl Dietrich Bracher (German) describes Hitler as the “master of the Third Reich”

Functionalist historian view: saw Hitler as a ‘lazy dictator’ who possessed absolute power but deficient in energy to use it much. Nazi transformation (1930s) was the work of others ‘working towards the Fuhrer’ → Ian Kershaw

Question 4

hitler’s oratory appealed to the masses & gained the support of many. list some of these

Answer 4

Industrialists supported Hitler (preventing communist revolution)
Farmers responded to Nazi promises to save their homesteads
Hitler’s extreme nationalism resonated w many audiences (eg young Germans who wished to restore Germany’s lost territories from ToV & military might)
NP’s anti-semitism appealed to right-wing radicals → incited hatred and fostered a climate of indifference

Question 5

what is Hitler’s quote ab propaganda

Answer 5

“Propaganda is truly a terrible weapon in the hands of an expert” (Hitler 1924)

Question 6

what is the role and position of Josef Goebbels

Answer 6

1928 propaganda director - Began formulating the strategy to craft the Hitler Myth

1933 Reichsminister for Propaganda & Public Enlightenment → dissemination of Nazi conceptions, promoting foreign policy achievments, & preventing criticism of Hitler/NP

His Reich Chamber of Culture regulated press, radio, films, theater, literature, music and the arts

Question 7

what was joseph goebbels’ greatest success/tool?

Answer 7

propaganda

Question 8

how did goebbels’ propagate hitler & why was it successful

Answer 8

Created & sustained the ‘Fuhrer myth’
This cult of personality fostered loyalty & respect for Hitler as Fuhrer → later proved to be one of the greatest successes of the propaganda ministry throughout the Third Reich & one of Hitler’s greatest advantages

Question 9

2 quotes by goebbels about propaganda

Answer 9

Propaganda was “our sharpest weapon in conquering the state” (Goebbels at Nuremberg 1934)
“Propaganda made the third reich”

Question 10

what were some opppressive strategies by goebbels

Answer 10

control over culture & the mass media to disseminate the NSDAP’s messages that furthered Hitler’s political, racial & territorial goals
Shut down hundreds of opposition newspapers
Enabled by 1933 editorial law
May 1933: instrumental in the burning of “unGerman” books at the Opera House in Berlin
“The era of extreme Jewish intellectualism is at an end” (Goebbels)

Question 11

what was the appeal to the state thru goebbel’s propaganda messages?

Answer 11

ideal of the ‘Volksgemeinschaft’ (people’s community) → a union of all “Aryan” Germans
Provoked mass appeal
Nazi propagandists contributed to the success of the regime’s policies of exclusion by publicly identifying the unwanted or undesirable groups, inciting hatred and cultivating indifference

Question 12

what were the main forms of propaganda

Answer 12

radio to reach ordinary Germans, an inexpensive people’s radio (Volksempfanger) - Reached 70% of German households by 1939
Made movies of Hitler’s speeches and stage
Arranged massive audiences and mass rallies using Nazi symbolism
Flew Hitler all over Germany to give his famous speeches at multiple rallies across the country

Question 13

Name 4 prominent successes by goebbels

Answer 13

1. riotous demonstrations that succeeded in having the American anti-war film ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ banned in Germany
2. 1932: the Nazi Party won 37.3% (230 seats) → majority party. The party’s rise from obscurity to prominence was an unparalleled feat assisted greatly by its propaganda campaign
3. Successful in pushing forward Hitler’s anti-semitic agenda & social darwinism → propaganda was instrumental in altering the public’s perspective. Posters, newspapers etc served to dehumanise Jews & construct a superiority complex → deemed an ‘alien’ race or undesirable compared to the racially pure Aryan
4. Creating & sustaining Hitler’s cult of personality = the German people remained loyal to Hitler after they had lost faith in the gov & proved to be one of the greatest propaganda successes

Question 14

failures by goebbels

Answer 14

• After Dec 1941: became increasingly difficult for people to believe what he was saying; speeches were boring and repetitive
• Radio addresses popularly called “Little Clubfoot’s Fairytale Hour”
• Propaganda began to lose its effectiveness later in war (1940s) due to inaccuracies
• The fall of Stalingrad & defeat for the Wehrmacht in Feb 1943 = Goebbels’ propaganda lost a great deal of respect & credibility