Transcript File

German/Nazi Propaganda Posters
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Posters were an important propaganda tool.
The imagery helped “plant” suggestions in
people’s minds.
You are about to see EIGHT classic posters from the
Nazi era. Work in pairs to see if you can spot the things
they are trying to suggest.
HINT: Nothing was ever put in the posters by
accident. Everything carried a message.
Slide #1
[The Eternal Jew: grand political
exhibition at the German
Museum in Munich beginning
November 8, 1937]
Slide #2
'Your Own KdFCar' poster, 1939 ©
Slide #3
“The seed of peace,
not dragon's teeth”
cartoon of Hitler,
from the magazine
Kladderadatsch, 22
March 1936 ©
Slide #4
German Students Fight for
Hitler and Nation
Slide #5
This poster probably
dates to the mid1930's.
The text: "Support the
assistance program
for mothers and
children."
Slide #6
"[If] You need
advice or help,
turn to your
'local group.”
Slide #7
I'm not sure of the
date on this poster,
but it's probably
from the mid to late
1930's.
The caption: "We
build body and
soul."
Slide #8
The text: "Long
live Germany!."
after 1936 (?)
OK – go to work!
In groups, try to “find”
what messages are
being conveyed.
The Crusader w/ cross –
based in the belief that Christ
would return to earth for a
1000 year period. (the white
saint?)
The connection of
the Nazi soldier
and the Crusader
Multi-headed red snakes – stars of
David, Protocols of Zion,
KDP=Christian Democratic Party,
SDP=Social Democratic Party,
RF=Republican Front?
Nazi propaganda often portrayed
WWII as a war for Christianity.
Arm around
Nazi soldier
The Multi-headed dragon is
a well-known image from
Christianity – St. George
and the Dragon (good v.
evil/Satanic forces).
The white countryside with a
cross on its side – Nazism
found its roots in the
peasantry/agriculture
Crusader = St. Michael slaying the 3-headed
dragon (direct/saintly connection to God ???)
The soldier (uniform - authority,
Swastika on belt) “draped” in the robe
w/ the Swastika (powerful symbol)
Your turn…
Look for all the blatant and subtle messages.
Eternal Jew
He is hunched
over – suggests
Jews are not
normal (demonic
in appearance –
“spawn of the
devil; killers of
Christ)
The hand is begging
for money – Jews
were accused of
greed (money lenders
w/ extortionist interest
rates)
There is a hammer and
sickle on a map of the
western part of the
USSR – suggests a
link between Jews and
Communism *
He is holding a
whip. He is a
‘slave-driver’
The print type is somewhat
hieroglyphic, occult, and
satanic-looking (Hebraic
form of German – implying
Jewish control of Germany)
* There is some debate what is in his hand...some have said land, others have said a heart (look at the shape)...in
other words taking the heart out of good loyal Germans.
The poster for the 'Eternal Jew' exhibition, 1937 ©
Your Own Car
The woman is blond
haired and dressed
conservatively. This
is a typical Nazi
view of women (no
make up/natural
look – white teeth)
The VW beetle was
designed by Otto
Porsche & Hitler
The mountains
suggest a link
between Germans
and the rural ideal
(also symbolize
the pure Nordic
roots of Nazism)
Nazi policies are
associated with
wealth and a
good lifestyle
'Your Own KdF-Car' poster, 1939 ©
They are
obviously
happy with
this lifestyle
The seed of peace not dragon’s teeth
There is an
angel. This
suggests that
German
greatness is a
positive thing
and not a
threat
Hitler is walking on
a map of Europe,
eastward
The imagery is
quite deliberate. It
is based on a
parable in the Bible
in which a man
sows seeds.
Suggests a link
between Hitler and
God
Hitler = Jesus
“The seed of peace, not dragon's teeth” cartoon of Hitler, from the magazine Kladderadatsch, 22 March 1936 ©
The archangel Gabriel – announcing a new order?
The Nazi flag
is prominently
displayed.
Blonde hair,
athletic, fit,
strong, good
looking
This young man
is blonde haired
and welldressed.
This is a typical
Nazi view of
young men
A sense of
power is
conveyed.
The word,
“Kampft”struggle or fight.
The word
“VOLK” (folk)
(people) is
used.
All students were forced
to join the Hitler Youth –
Boy Scouts declared a
Jewish plot.
German Students Fight for Hitler and Nation
Nazi party
Symbol (NJ =
National Socialist
Jugend – youth
movement)
Role of the woman
is to be a mother
(blonde, strong,
bear children)
Farming in
background –
church in
background
Hitler pointed out
that unemployment
in 1933 was
equivalent to the
number of women
who came into the
workforce since 1914.
Average family size
was supposed to have
4 children. Peasants
were the backbone
of society.
Sun = halo
It promotes the Nazi charitable organization
(the NSV). The text: "Support the assistance
program for mothers and children."
The caption loosely translates as, "The National
Socialist Party will save the people's
community. The people's community will then
turn to you and the party." Posters of this type
illustrate the disconnect between the party
rhetoric and the reality of party policy.
The “strong” eagle (power) –
almost a “wing of an angel”
(protecting this family)
The Aryan Family (white, blonde,
blue-eyed, happy) (farm family)
The idea of a "Volksgemeinschaft," a community of the
people, had a very powerful, very idealistic appeal,
comparable to the idealistic appeal that some
communist groups were attempting to make at the
same time.
The analogy is suggested by the use of the word
"Volksgenossen," literally "comrades," a term widely
used by the Soviet Communist Party at the time.
The slogan on the poster reads "[If] You need advice or help, turn to your 'local group.” In other
words, the suggestion is "We are here to help."
Strong/fit youth
(blonde, blue-eyed)
– the future of
Germany
Conveys the message of
Germany being united
The goal of the Reich Labor
Force was to train and teach
through regimented exercise,
work and sports (train young
men for the military).
It promotes the Nazi labor
service, for which men were
expected to volunteer. The
caption: "We build body and
soul."
after 1936
This poster makes a direct
Christological comparison.
Just as a dove descended on
Christ when he was
baptized by John the
Baptist, so what looks to be
an eagle hovers against the
light of heaven over an
idealized Hitler. The text:
"Long live Germany!."
A strong, numerous,
and united Germany –
power granted from
God.
Oak leaf border = symbol of strength
and longevity in Nazi iconography
Sun = halo
The End
"If you tell a lie big enough and
keep repeating it people will
eventually come to believe it."
-- Joseph Goebbels
Nazi Propaganda Minister
“We have made the Reich by
propaganda.”
~
Joseph Goebbels (1897-1945)
German politician, minister of propaganda, member of Hitler’s cabinet council
Two propaganda versions of Adolf Hitler show the German dictator from opposite viewpoints. A
pro-Hitler poster, left, portrays him as a heroic warrior crowned with a halo of light. An anti-Hitler
cartoon, right, pictures him as a ridiculous, loudmouthed tyrant. (U.S. Army Center of Military History; National
Archives, Collection U.S. Office of War Information)
Propaganda
today?
Red Meat and Red Faces
Newsweek, June 27, 1988
@. 1984 SCOTT. FORESMAN & COMPANY
Courtesy Fleming Companies
Fleming, which has distributed the posters to IGA, Thriftway, Piggly Wiggly,
United Super and hundreds of other supermarkets across the country, says that
the striking resemblance is only coincidence. “We’re not trying to send out any
subliminal Nazi messages,” says spokesperson Cheryl Hudak.
Comments/Questions???
Mark L. Lagergren
Central High School
531 Morse Street
Norwood Young America, MN 55368
[email protected]
952.467.7100
Thanks everyone – I have enjoyed meeting
you and learning w/ you!
Stay in touch!
M. Lagergren