Transcript Totalitarianism

PURPOSE OF NAZI PROPAGANDA
MAKING A LEADER
Intense public desire for charismatic leaders offers fertile
ground for the use of propaganda. Through a carefully
orchestrated public image of Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler,
during the politically unstable Weimar period the Nazis
exploited this yearning to consolidate power and foster
national unity.
RALLYING THE NATION
Nazi propagandists appealed to popular desires for order by advertising the
party as a protest movement against the instability and ineffectiveness of the
"Weimar system." Indeed, from 1919 through the worldwide Depression that
began in 1929, no single German political party was able to establish a
parliamentary majority. Disagreements over economic policies, as well as the
growing opposition between political parties, prevented a workable coalition.
Instead, a succession of chancellors governed by presidential decree through
Article 48 of the Weimar constitution, established to preserve democracy in
times of unrest.
INDOCTRINATING THE YOUTH
From the 1920s onwards, the Nazi Party targeted German
youth as a special audience for its propaganda messages.
These messages emphasized that the Party was a
movement of youth: dynamic, resilient, forward-looking, and
hopeful. Millions of German young people were won over to
Nazism in the classroom and through extracurricular
activities.
DEFINING THE ENEMY
One crucial factor in creating a cohesive group is to define who is excluded
from membership. Nazi propagandists contributed to the regime's policies by
publicly identifying groups for exclusion, justifying their outsider status, and
inciting hatred or cultivating indifference. Nazi propaganda was crucial in
selling the myth of the "national community" to Germans who longed for unity,
national pride and greatness, and a break with the rigid social stratification of
the past. But a second, more sinister aspect of the Nazi myth was that not all
Germans were welcome in the new community. Propaganda helped to define
who would be excluded from the new society and justified measures against
the "outsiders."
WRITING THE NEWS
When Hitler came to power in 1933, Germany had a well-developed
communications infrastructure. Over 4,700 daily and weekly newspapers were
published annually in Germany, more newspapers than in any other
industrialized nation, with a total circulation of 25 million. Although Berlin was
the press capital, small town presses dominated newspaper circulation (81%
of all German newspapers were locally owned). Eight papers published in
larger cities, however, had established international reputations. Germany's
movie industry ranked among the world's largest, its films had won
international acclaim, and it had pioneered in the development of both radio
and television.
DECEIVING THE PUBLIC
propaganda served as an important tool to win over the majority of the German
public who had not supported Hitler and to push forward the Nazis' radical program,
which required the acquiescence, support, or participation of broad sectors of the
population. Combined with the use of terror to intimidate those who did not comply,
a new state propaganda apparatus headed by Joseph Goebbels sought to
manipulate and deceive the German population and the outside world. At each step
of the way, propagandists preached an appealing message of national unity and a
utopian future that resonated with millions of Germans and, simultaneously, waged
campaigns that facilitated the persecution of Jews and others excluded from the
Nazi vision of the "National Community."
DEFINITION
• Totalitarianism is a centralized system of government often involving a one-party state,
a dictator, and personality cult that exercises absolute authority over all aspects of life—
political, economic and social. Totalitarian regimes maintain power through control of
education and mass media, political repression, mass surveillance, and terror.
• Fascism is a totalitarian and right-wing nationalist ideology
MUSSOLINI ON FASCISM
Above all, Fascism believes neither in the
possibility nor in the usefulness of peace.
War alone brings out the best in people and
puts the stamp (mark) of nobility upon the
people who have the courage to face it.
Fascism attacks democratic ideals. Fascism
denies that the majority can rule human
societies. It insists that the inequality of men
is beneficial. Some men are greater than
others, and these men should rule.
• Life is permanent warfare—craving for a
heroic death—contempt for the weak
• Action is idealized over thought—
intellectuals and artists are suspicious
• Anti-modern (anti-Enlightenment): diversity
of thought and critical thinking is dangerous
• The leader voices the will of the people
(Cast doubt on legislatures as representing
the voice of the people)
MUSSOLINI CONTINUED
The Fascist State organizes the nation. It
takes away pointless or harmful freedoms,
and preserves those that are essential. It
cannot be the individual who decides what
freedoms matter, but only the State.
In it the tradition of ancient Rome, the Fascist
State seeks to create an empire. For
Fascism, the creation of an empire is a
demonstration of strength and health. Its
opposite, which is staying at home, is a sign
of weakness and corruption.
• The masses need a dictator—no rights.
• Disagreement is treason. Fear of
difference
• Nationalism-cult of tradition
• Male-oriented, disdain for women—
contempt for the “weak”
MUSSOLINI CONTINUED
If every age has its own doctrine, it is clear
from a thousand signs that the doctrine of the
current age is Fascism. The Italian people will
rise again after many centuries of
abandonment and neglect. The Italian people
will rise again to create a new Roman
Empire, and once again the Italian people will
lead the world.
• Social frustration (economic crisis or
political humiliation) is harnessed
• Obsession with a plot. National identity is
defined by its enemies
• Popular elitism
SOURCES
• Eco, U. (1955, June 22). Ur-Fascism. New York Review of Books. Retrieved from
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/1995/06/22/ur-fascism/
• Mussolini, B. (1932). Doctrine of Fascism.
• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Propaganda
Exhibit. https://www.ushmm.org/propaganda. Accessed on January 26, 2017.