Living under Nazi Propaganda Propaganda was very important to Hitler and the Nazis, because it helped them to
control what people knew and thought. Joseph Goebbels was appointed Minister for National Enlightenment and Propaganda. He was in charge of press, radio, cinema, theatre and art. Newspaper editors had to keep out of the papers ‘anything which is in any manner misleading to the public, tends to weaken the strength of the German Reich (Empire) … or offends the honour and dignity of Germany.’ Goebbels provided cheap radios – the People’s
Radio – so that people could listen to broadcasts of Hitler’s speeches. He also installed loudspeakers along streets to ensure that more people could hear the speeches. A cult of personality was developed around Hitler.
Hitler was glorified as the Führer, with posters all over Germany. Special festivals, such as Hitler’s birthday were introduced, and ‘Heil Hitler’ was used as a salute or greeting. Great rallies in Nuremberg – the Nuremberg Rallies – and torchlight parades were used as propaganda occasions. Even the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936 were used as a Nazi showcase.
A scene from Triumph of the Will, Riefenstahl’s film on the 1934 Nuremberg Rally
A mother and child listening to the People's Radio
2Consider how Nazi propaganda influenced life in Germany
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Leni Riefenstahl directing a cameraman filming the Nuremberg Rally
