Propaganda

The nazi's made use of a variety of methods to enforce their will on the people of Germany. One of these methods was aggressive use of the media for their own political means - propaganda.

Propaganda is a means of advertising a political idea. In the case of the NSDAP in its early days this took the form of posters, public meetings / speeches and a conscious decision to present the party in a particular manner.

Posters: Click on these thumbnails to see larger versions of these examples of early Nazi Propaganda.

"Citizens! Do not believe that the Germany of misfortune and misery, the nation of corruption and usury, the land of Jewish corruption, can be saved by parties that claim to stand on a foundation of facts. Never!"

This poster advertised a speech that Hitler was due to make in May 1920.

Another early example of a Nazi poster, again inviting people to attend a speech by Adolf Hitler in Munich. The choice of colours here is deliberate. Red was believed to 'arouse the opponents' of National Socialism - and of course, is highly visible and therefore attracts more attention.

This poster dates from 1921.

Following the failure of the Munich Putsch it is noticeable that the design of the Propaganda posters alters quite radically. Early posters such as these are largely text based, make use of rhetoric and entice the passer by through use of striking background colours and carefully chosen slogans. Later examples of Propaganda Posters tend to be image based, portraying the strength of National Socialism, portraying Germany as the Fatherland etc.

Use of Film

The Nazi's commissioned many propaganda films. Amongst the best known are the Triumph of the Will and The Eternal Jew. Propaganda filsm allowed the Nazi's to portray positive images of their policies and to deliberately misinform the population about things.

Below is an example of Propaganda footage shot in the Second World War. It is hosted on an external site, youtube.com

Essential Revision