Analysis Essay of Nazi Propaganda

📌Category: Nazi Germany, War
📌Words: 1163
📌Pages: 5
📌Published: 09 June 2022

The Aryan race was a race created solely by Hitler in order to create a hierarchy in Germany. The idea of this master race originated with Charles Darwin's belief that only the fittest and strongest animals could survive in the wild. Herbert Spencer was the first to apply it to humans; however, Hitler applied it specifically to Germans. This led to what we now know as the Aryan race which Hitler described as people who are blue eyed, blonde, red cheeked, thin-nosed, and not included in his list of minorities.

The hierarchy in Germany wasn’t very complicated at all. It was Aryans, and then everybody else. Anybody who wasn’t an Aryan was viewed as inferior in Hitlers eyes. To him, however, the Jewish were the most inferior to him of all. He saw them as a threat as he believed all they wanted to do was to dominate Germany and then eventually, the world. Everyone who was inferior was categorised into a group known as “A-social.” This included all minorities - people of colour, the disabled, anyone of the LGBTQ+ community, and of course, the Jewish. Although HItler believed that Aryans were the master race, they did however end up losing the first world war. Hitler blamed this on the fact that they were “divided and weakened.” Because Hitler only saw Aryan men fit to serve in WW1, a lot of his men were dead by the time he needed them again and this made them vulnerable. Hitler believed that as well as being strong, being an Aryan was also about how willing you would be to risk yourself for your country.

 

As a result of many Aryan men being lost in the war, a lot of children were left without a father. Consequently, many women were left to raise their children by themselves. As so many men were killed in the war, Aryan couples were encouraged to produce larger families. However, families that weren’t Aryan were not encouraged at all, in fact they were strongly discouraged to get married and/or have kids. This was because Hitler didn’t see them as fit enough to raise and provide for a family of their own.

From the years 1921 to 1925, the idea named Lebensraum or living space was created. It was the idea that the Germans needed more “living space,” in order to survive. This belief originated when German geographer Friedrich Ratzel came up with a theory that in order for all species to develop and survive, they would need a certain amount of space. He believed that the surroundings in which you found yourself largely influenced the way you developed and your ability to do so. This meant that if Germany had a larger area of land to live in, they would be stronger and better than if they had not expanded. Hitler really wanted a big, strong, community and this meant he’d do anything to make it happen.

The Nazi police used terror and fear to control Germany by arresting people before they committed crimes. They did this by creating lists of people who had the potential to be “Enemies of the State.” These lists were given to the Gestapo, a branch of the SS. Sadly, the Gestapo were not only given these lists, but also given permission to punish these people however they would wish. The police chiefs were Heinrich Himmler, Reichfueher SS and chief of German police. Reinhard Heydrich, Himmler's right hand man, was the chief of Gestapo. If they became aware of someone on their list, the Gestapo would go to their houses and give them three minutes to pack a bag and take them to a cell where they were locked up anywhere from weeks to months. From there they were told to sign an “Order for Protective Custody,” or Form D-11. By signing this form, they were agreeing to being locked up. However, it was really fear of the Gestapo that drove them to sign it. Without even as much as a trial, they were forcefully taken to concentration camps, where the Gestapo would decide when and if they could leave. Concentration camps were led by the “Death Head Units,” because they were Hitlers number ones, and were known for doing anything for him including risking their lives.

The “Death Head Units,” had the majority of control over how the concentration camps were run and what punishments were given if people didn’t follow the rules. In fact, someone reported to the British Foreign Police in 1939 that the “Death Head Units,” would “Make us work 16 hours per day, Sundays and weekdays alike. During these hours it was forbidden to drink, even in the hottest weather. The food itself was not bad, but quite insufficient. Weak coffee at dawn and half a litre of soup at midday; bread allowance for the whole day was 250 grams.” While he was there, the number of Jewish prisoners doubled, and the little sustenance they had was halved. 480 of the “Death Head Units,” were outside and served small amounts of water to the prisoners. As they got more people at the concentration camps, the water supply completely stopped. As punishment for breaking one of the many rules, rulebreakers got hit 25 times by two different workers. Jewish people however got hit up to 60 times.

The consequences of going against Nazi policies were horrific. While on a bus, a businessman named Otto Bauer was heard saying that in Germany there were only two options: to kill Hitler, or to be killed by him. He was later beheaded for causing discontent and unrest. Erich Deibel was reported drawing a communist symbol along with the words “Hail Freedom! Workers! Help Russia! Strike! Up with the Communist Party!” Erich was executed for accused sabotage and treason. Those who broke the rules were faced with interrogation, torture, prison, and even sometimes, death. By doing this the Nazis rather successfully stopped freedom of speech and expression. If someone didn’t go along with Nazi policies, they had no choice but to face the consequences.

Propaganda and censorship worked hand in hand throughout the Nazis’ reign. Propaganda was used to promote Nazi ideas and censorship was used to stop anti-Nazi ideas from spreading. As an example, propaganda was used to promote Aryan families and therefore, a large percentage of Germans started to believe that being Aryan was the only right way to be. On the other hand, an example of censorship was how Hitler insisted that any information about Germany losing WW1 was removed from all history books and books were burned if they promoted anti-Nazi beliefs and ideas. Propaganda and censorship was used to take control of communication and expression of the social and cultural aspects of all German people. Hitler did a lot to limit Germany's freedom of thought and their overall creativity. He did this mainly using propaganda. For example, Hitler and the Nazi Party promoted the use of small, cheap radios that were given out to every German family. Yes, they had all the normal capabilities of a normal radio, but the catch was that everything was Nazi related. From the music to the news that was talked about, everything was somehow related to how amazing the Nazi party was as well as promoting Nazi beliefs like Aryan supremacy, praising Hitler, and so on. As well as radios, he used posters, films, newspapers, theatres, and music to promote Nazi beliefs into the minds of Germans. But he didn’t use just these to control the minds of Germans, he also used education.

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