Josef Geobbels (Minister of Propaganda and National

Enlightenment)

In 1929, Hitler chose Josef Goebbels as his Minister of Propaganda because Hitler had strong beliefs in Propaganda and knew it could be successful to persuade the German Nation. Goebbels

developed extremely successful campaigns using simple slogans and images which reoccurred over again in order to win public

support for the Nazi party. Once the Nazis came to power Goebbels developed the Nazi’s use of propaganda to even greater effect. He arranged large political military meetings and marches

to build support. 

The essence of propaganda consists in winning people over to

an idea so sincerely, so vitally, that in the end they succumb to it

utterly and can never escape from it."

Propaganda Poster PicturesBeat the Fascists, Civil War, Class Struggle

'One People, One Nation, One Leader!' poster of Hitler,

The poster for the 'Eternal Jews'

German, Long live Germany!

What is propaganda ?Propaganda is the art of persuading others to believe your own

views are correct and to believe your 'side of the story' . Propaganda is mostly biased and used by political organisations to deliberately mislead a population into believing your beliefs. Propaganda is used largely during periods of war to encourage

hatred towards the enemy and promote nationalism.

What Goebbels did ?• One of the first things that Goebbels did was to establish the Reich

Chamber of Culture. This new organisation was established to deal with all aspects of culture. It was sub-divided into seven departments that dealt with literature, news, radio, theatre, music, visual arts, cinema, the media, the arts and literature. Each department issued instructions as to the themes and styles that were acceptable and unacceptable to be produced. In all areas the only material that was allowed to be produced was that which promoted Nazi ideals.

• The Reich Broadcasting Company had been founded in 1925 and was a network of nine German radio channels. In 1933 the company was nationalised and came under the control of Joseph Goebbels.

• Goebbels saw that radio had a great potential for spreading the Nazi’s message. Loudspeakers were installed in factories and public places and the Nazi’s made it a priority to produce an inexpensive radio receiver.

• Two of the many films produced that helped to get the Nazis message to the people were Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will and The Eternal Jew, a racist attack on the Jewish population.

What Goebbels did Continued…

• The People’s Receiver 301, named after the date Hitler became Chancellor (30th January), was produced in August 1933 costing 76 Reichmarks. A cheaper version costing just 35 Reichmarks was later produced and radio ownership rose from 4 – 16 million households. Both radio sets were configured to only receive Nazi radio broadcasts but in case people were tempted to listen to other stations the Nazi’s made listening to foreign radio stations a criminal offence.

• Once the Nazis came to power Goebbels developed the Nazi’s use of propaganda to even greater effect. He organised large political military ‘rallies’ to build support. They included having largely displayed banners and marching bands. Using his own skills of debating Hitler appealed to the loyalty of the German people.

Why Goebbels & Propaganda were effective ?

• The propaganda used by the Nazi’s was effective due to people being fed up after the Great Depression and having no positive change such as low employment. Hitler saw Propaganda as a way of receiving political support in a and argued that it was a way of conveying a message to the bulk of the German people, not to intellectuals.

• Much of Hitler's popularity after coming to power rested on his achievements in foreign policy. A recurring theme in Nazi propaganda before 1939 was that Hitler was a man of peace, but one who was determined to recover German territories 'lost'.

• Hitler did not win the Government votes before 1933, and therefore in order to receive support Hitler made sure he informed his supporters on how correct their choice was with supporting the Nazi’s. Those who opposed the Nazi Party had to be convinced that it was pointless continuing with their opposition. The fact that Goebbels had so much power shows how important Hitler thought it was to ensure that the people were won over or intimidated into accepting Nazi rule.  

Our Own propaganda poster

DESTROY DIE JUDEN

KOSTENLOSE DEUTSCHLAND

‘’ Destroy the Jews. Free Germany’’