Personal Project

2014

History is not just about the dates, it’s also very much about different

points of view.

Big Idea:

How did the Nazi’s use propaganda to effectively silence and/or turn the masses against the

Jewish population?

Line of Inquiry:

World War II• There is no single cause for WWII. However being

shortly after the First World War, tensions were high.

• The main combatants were the Axis nations (Nazi Germany, Facist Italy, Imperial Japan and their smaller allies) and the Allied nations, led by Britain (and its Commonwealth nations, e.g Australia), the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States of America.

• The Allies were the victors. This brought about major leaps in technology and laid the groundwork for social changes including the end of European colonialism, the civil rights movement in the United States, and the modern women’s rights movement, as well as the programs for exploring outer space.

• The war wasn't just about powers claiming land however, it was also about a certain country's attempt to wipe out a race.

Introduction• In WWII the Nazis attempted to wipe out

the Jewish population using any means necessary. If they weren't killed they were sent to work as slaves for the Nazi’s.

• They used propaganda of many different forms to turn or silence the masses against the Jewish population. They used speeches, posters radio broadcasts as well as many other forms. Not only the Jews were targets of the propaganda and the Nazi's abuse however, any race or culture deemed "subhuman" by the Germans, were just as vulnerable to the German's abuse and discrimination.

Types of Propaganda• Nazi Propaganda was used in lots of different

areas of the media. Nazis used the radio, cinema, speeches, events and visuals.

• The leaders were great public speakers, hence they used their verbal abilities through radios effectively. They were even better when it came to public speaking. Nazis held a lot of events which included large or smaller gatherings, where they could express their ideals easier to the public.

• Brochures or pamphlets were used as-well, as they were really successful in spreading the Nazis words in large quantities with rapidity.

• Controlling the schools, the Nazis also took the opportunity of educating the children with distorted images of the Jews.

Example #1 - Poster• This poster is a type of propaganda that was used

during World War II to persuade the German population to go against the Jewish population.

• This poster shows Jewish stereotypes that reinforce anxieties about the modern developments in political and economic life.

• It was used to expose the ‘Jewish-Bolshevik’ conspiracy and cause violence against the Jewish community. It did this by showing a Jew wearing a kaftan, which is a overdress that reaches the ankle. As well as this the Jew is holding some coins in one hand and a whip in the other with a map under his arm.

• This represents that Nazi Germany wanted the masses to know how to identify a Jew to make them a subject of ridicule and abuse. This was one of the contributing factors that lead to the merciless genocide of the Jewish population. It made them outcasts and easy targets for the Nazi military.

~ More Propaganda ~

Josef Goebbels• Hitler established a Reich Ministry of Public

Enlightenment and Propaganda which was led by Joseph Goebbels. It was to ensure that the Nazi message was successfully communicated through art, music, theatre, films, books, radio, educational materials, and the press was the Ministry's aim.

• Josef Goebbels was the minister of public enlightenment and propaganda. By blaming the jews for the economic and social problems of Germany and even the world, he created a negative image of the Jewish people. Goebbels advanced the Nazi’s use of propaganda to even greater effect once the Nazis came to power.

• He arranged large political military gatherings to build further assistance. Using his own skills of oratory, Hitler appealed to the patriotism of the German people. Goebbels sought to Nazify the whole of German culture. The promotion of Nazi racial policy was at the very centre of Goebbels’s message.

[Minister of Public Enlightenment & Propaganda]

Portrait of Josef Goebbels

Example #2 - Article• A weekly newspaper called Das Reich in

1940 was started by Goebbels. Occasionally he'd write the lead article each week, in which he took special pride. This article displays that he was more than able to produce vehement attacks on the Jews.

• This article is dated 16 November 1941. All Jews in Germany had recently been required to wear the yellow star in public, when the Holocaust was beginning. Goebbels made it clear that the future of the Jews in Germany was over in this article. Anyone that felt sorry to the Jews would be punished. This article, like most of Goebbels’s lead articles, was read over the radio. Article: http://www.vanguardnewsnetwork.com/v1/goebbels.htm

How Effective was the Propaganda?

• Nazi propaganda was indeed effective. The effects of propaganda resulted in widespread ridicule, violence, humiliation and prosecution of Jews.

• This drove them into poverty and despair and especially resulted in more hatred against them. After the holocaust, an estimated of 6 million jews were killed.

• Their properties, businesses, money in their bank accounts were all taken away from them. Their families were torn apart, Jews were displaced all over the world.

• There were serious long-term medical problems experienced by those who survived the concentration camps, suffering malnutrition, disease, and abuse.

~ The Nazi Party ~

Example #3 - Speech• Quoted from Adolf Hitler's 1939 speech to the

Reichstag of Jewish question, he states the 'threat' of Jews and other enemies of Germany intend to take over or destroy Nazi Germany. Therefore claiming that they must destroy this threat before they can do anything. However the Jews and others just didn't want to side with the Nazis and avoid the war. This didn't work out well as one of the major parts of the war was the Holocaust which involved mass murder against the Jewish population and other enemies of Nazi Germany.

• This means that Adolf Hitler was a brilliant crowd speaker and was easily able to motivate and persuade the population of Germany. It effectively motivated the population by the use of his words as well as how persuasive it was. The speech demonstrates that even though what was said about the Jews isn't true, through Adolf's speeches he was able to effectively turn the masses against the Jewish people.

"To the Jews and the other enemies of the State, however, it appeared to

be the last flicker of the national power of resistance. And they felt

that when it had disappeared, then they would be able to destroy not

only Germany but all Europe as well. Had the German Reich sunk into

Bolshevik chaos it would at that very moment have plunged the whole of Western civilisation into a crisis of

inconceivable magnitude. Only islanders with the most limited vision

can imagine that the Red plague would have stopped of its own

accord before the sacredness of the democratic idea or at the boundaries

of disinterested States."

Speech: http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/holoprelude/jewishquestion.html

Example #4 - Poster• This slogan emphasises the absolute control

of the Nazi party over all areas of the German society and its culture. With the churches the most notable exception, Hitler's words were absolute. This poster was used to show the Nazi party is superior and that they wanted to exclude the Jewish population as well as cause racism towards them.

• This was one of the most important themes running through Nazi propaganda. The phrase also displays how the Nazi’s exclude the Jewish population and other 'subhumans' that they were the superior ones.

• The slogan appeared on countless posters and publications; it was heard frequently on radio broadcasts and in speeches.

Translation: One person, one empire, one leader.

Conclusion• The Nazi's use of propaganda was indeed effective as it did effectively turn or silence the masses against

the Jewish population (Holocaust) as well as other ‘subhumans’ according to the Germans.

• A large variety of propaganda was used such as; radio, cinema, speeches, events, visuals, brochures and pamphlets that allowed the Nazi’s to successfully turn the German population against the Jew’s as well as other targets.

• World War II was fought from 1939 to 1945 and consisted of several main events.

• The main purpose of the war was not only about claiming land but attempts for countries such as the Nazi’s to wipe out a race, which is the Jewish population.

• The main combatants were the Axis nations and the Allied nations, which was led by the British. In the end, the Allied nations were the victors and from World War II it brought new innovations in technology as well as start social changes. These include the end of European colonialism, the civil rights movement in the United States and many more.

• Josef Goebbels created the negative image of the Jews and started the propaganda against the Jewish people.

• The propaganda used was effective as it caused humiliation and prosecution of Jews as well as drive them into poverty and despair, which was the main objective of the propaganda used by the Nazi’s.

• It made the Jewish population suffer and endure hardships with families being torn apart as well as being placed in concentration camps. Several types of propaganda was effectively used against the Jewish during World War II.

~ The End ~

Thanks for Listening…