Nazi Propaganda

Throughout German history propaganda has been imminent. As Germany was in preparation for and carried out World War II, propaganda was implemented in a variety of forms. This occurrence was necessary to the Germans for several reasons but to primarily serve four main Nazi agendas consisting of the ideology of unified national community, racial purity, the glorification of the German military and public hatred of foreign enemies. Various forms of media including posters, newspapers, radio and film were employed by Nazi Germany to assist in their aim for their messages to be successfully communicated to the German public in an effort of indoctrinating them to conform to such ideologies.

The first aim of Nazi Germany propagandists was the want to attain pure devotion to Germany through the introduction of national community. This community of the people was to replace the divided party system and class barriers of the Weimar republic and in effect offer the prospect of national unity to the people of Germany. Propaganda was instilled to convince that ideological correctness must be put before self interest. In fact Vasey comments “what we call obedience was understood and experienced by Germans as faithfulness, loyalty and willingness to sacrifice for the community.”   This Nazi totalitarianism propaganda aimed at making the people believe that they owe it to Germany to conform to such ideas of creating a national community and perfect race with no one being exempt from the obligation to devote one’s life to Germany. Nationalism was a German phenomenon that “paved the way for Hitler’s anti-Semitic propaganda.”

The Nazi regime also strived to encourage and instil the idea of a need for racial purity throughout the German population. Through racial teaching and propaganda they preached an ongoing hatred of not only Jews, Communists and Social Democrats but also German Alcoholics, those with genetic diseases, Illness or physical malformations. Hitler proclaimed...