Transcript The Use of Music as a Propaganda Tool by the Nazis

The Use of Music as a
Propaganda Tool by the Nazis
• Under the Nazi regime, all music produced
had to fit within certain standards defined as
"good" German music. Suppression of specific
artists and their works was common, yet
musicians were permitted limited artistic
freedom. The Nazis attempted to create a
balance between censorship and creativity in
music to appease the German people.
• This blend of art and politics led to a three-prong policy
regarding musicians and artists:
1. Loyal Nazi members who were talented musicians were
guaranteed a job.
2. Loyal Nazi members who were not talented musicians
were not guaranteed a job.
3. Any non-Jewish person who demonstrated a "genius" for
music and was a member of
the Reichsmusikkammer (Reich Music Chamber) was
permitted employment. This exception in policy
permitted musicians like conductor Wilhelm Furtwangler
and composer Richard Strauss to continue working.
• According to Hitler and Goebbels (Hitler's
second in command), the three master
composers that represented good German
music were Ludwig van Beethoven, Richard
Wagner, and Anton Bruckner. All three
composers lived prior to the 20th century.
The Use of Propaganda in Film
• Although used previously, the 1930s and 40s
are arguably the Golden Age of Propaganda in
Film.
– Largely attributable to the rise of fascist
dictatorships in Italy and Germany.
Nazi Film Propaganda
• Nazi control of the German film
industry is the most extreme
example of the use of propaganda
film.
• The Nazis created many
propaganda films, including:
– The Wandering Jew, which claimed
to be a documentary and depicted
the Jewish world as consisting of
greedy barbarians putting on a front
for civilized European society.
– During this time Leni Riefenstahl, a
filmmaker working in Nazi Germany
created one of the best-known
propaganda movies, Triumph of the
Will, a film commissioned
by Hitler to chronicle the 1934 Nazi
Party rally in Nuremberg.
American Film Propaganda
• In the United States during World War II,
President Franklin D. Roosevelt recognized that
the direct style of propaganda used by the
Nazis would not win over the American public.
• FDR pressured the industry into helping the
war effort by assigning a gov’t employee to
persuade the movie industry to "insert moralebuilding and citizenry arousing themes in its
films by all means possible.“
• Some examples of American propaganda films
include:
– Why We Fight (1942-5)
– The Great Dictator (1940), in which Charlie
Chaplin played a caricature of Hitler.