Power, Lies. and a Crippled Society

Power, Lies, and a Crippled Society: Propaganda in The Third Reich To create a fire, one needs only three ingredients: tinder, a spark, and a fan for the flames. In fact, anyone who has ever built a fire learns quickly that without the last ingredient, the other two are rendered useless. The fire that consumed Germany in the 1930s was no different. In this analogy, the tinder is the historic prejudices of Europe that many Germans happened to share, the spark Hitler himself, and the fan for the flames the propaganda machine. Throughout the 1930s, Nazis in Germany encountered numerous failures in their attempt to gain power and support. Not until Hitler appointed Joseph Goebbels– a young, angry propagandist– was the Third Reich successful in its seizure of political, social and economic control. Though Hitler manipulated previously established European prejudices, he was able to sway an entire nation’s will towards his vision by establishing a competently managed and ubiquitous propaganda machine and used it not only to assume power but also to wield power. This paper will trace the evolution w and the impact of this propaganda machine. First, it will outline the principles of propaganda. Second, it will provide a short biography of Joseph Goebbels, the chief architect of Nazi propaganda, and his instrumental role in the rise of Hitler. Third, it will illustrate the methods the Ministry of Propaganda used in following the principles of propaganda. Finally, it will provide an assessment of the impact of the propaganda in the development of Nazi Germany. What is Propaganda? In discussing the role of propaganda in the Third Reich, it is important to determine what propaganda actually is. It is not a commandment to believe a certain fact,