Propaganda: Hitler's Path to Power Essay

After Germany’s humiliating defeat in World War I, Germans had little faith in their government, and in the early 1930s following the stock market crash in New York, Germany was economically struggling . Millions of people were out of work due to the world wide catastrophe making it an opportune time for Hitler and the Nazis to rise into power. Hitler, who was a powerful and spellbinding speaker, attracted Germans desperate for change. He promised to make Germany a better country and promised the disenchanted, a better life. Nazis appealed especially to the youth, unemployed, and members of the lower to middle class. Hitler’s rise to power seemed instantaneous. Before the economic depression, Nazis were virtually unknown, winning less than 3 percent of the vote to the Reichstag, which was the German Parliament. However, in the 1924 elections, the Nazis won a whopping 33 percent of the votes which was more than any other party. In January of 1933, Hitler was appointed Chancellor, the head of German Government . The Germans were convinced that they had found a savior for the Nation. The timing of his rise made it very easy for Hitler to gain power in a democratic government because people were hopeless and wanted a fast solution to the deficit. He promised things like a stronger economy, prosperity, and anything that they desired . He focused on first getting noticed and then grew from there. He didn’t say anything but what the people wanted to hear. Getting the people of Germany to trust him was how he started to gain so much control. Unfortunately, Hitler’s charm and persuasion was not the sole reason why Hitler gained so much power in a democratic

For Hitler, the communication gap and differences within the government deterred his followers from creating a solid opposition to his power. Mommsen stated, “The movement’s energies had to become totally absorbed in internal ‘disputes over areas of competency…’” (171). Another advantage Hitler had when dealing with people was his charisma. He was “uniquely talented in being able to change the minds” of officials who started to doubt the Hitler’s wisdom. Hitler had a habit of tirelessly trying to convince nonbelievers by persuasion. His behavior had people feeling that he was determined and had a sense of purpose. Along with Goebbels as Propaganda Minister, Hitler had the “fate of the nation” in him and Germany had never seen a leader like him (165). Hitler had “come to symbolize the unity and substance of the nation” (167). When complaints arose about the party and the Nazi regime, Hitler was exempt from them and citizens thought that if he only knew what was happening, then he would change it.

"Propaganda attempts to force a doctrine on the whole people... Propaganda works on the general public from the standpoint of an idea and makes them ripe for the victory of this idea." These words of Adolf Hitler are taken from his book Mien Kampf (My Struggle) published in 1926. Propaganda was an elaborate and essential tool used extensively by Hitler and the Nazi's during their terrorizing reign of Germany and throughout Europe. Not only was it used to promote and endorse the party and its leader's extreme anti-Semitic values, but also to mask the horrifying truths of what was to become known as the Holocaust.

After eliminating the previous government, he discovered that he could tap into basic human nature. Human nature, namely herd mentality, can be used as a foundation because of its natural occurrence. (Jowett 42). Humans will always inevitably revert back to their basic nature. Therefore, basing his efforts on such a stable foundation provided him an anchor. Not only that, but he could easily and efficiently persuade a large group of people, knowing that once he had enough support the other citizens would follow suit. In time, societal standards grew to accommodate the new Nazi mindset. Whether people supported these news ideals or not, many lacked the audacity to revolt against the government and demand change (“Causes” 1). Hitler silenced opposing views through societal pressure; people’s need to conform prohibited them from harboring different ideals, which would cause them to stand out. The citizens of Germany were left with the choice to conform or to stand up against the government. Many people ended up conforming, therefore lending Hitler the power and support he needed to further his

Brutal secret police forces: Hitler’s Gestapo terrorized Nazi Germany for 13 years, acting as the main tool of oppressing dissent against the Nazi regime. Its main purpose was to hunt down those considered a threat to Nazi Germany. These included Jews, Communists, Jehovah Witnesses, homosexuals – basically anyone who was thought to challenge the hegemony of the Nazi Party within Germany, or anyone who was suspected of treachery to Hitler, for example, anyone who told jokes about Hitler or even celebrated the birthday of Wilhelm II as this was seen as evidence of someone sympathetic to monarchism and not National Socialism. The Gestapo had the full power of arrest, interrogation and incarceration of anyone. Since the moment it was founded, this secret force quickly gained its reputation for efficiency and brutality as their method is exactly like the Thought Police in 1984 - using terror and torture to achieve their ends. The Gestapo’s greatest weapon was the fear that it created among all human beings in

70 Million. 3%. 6 Years. All these numbers have one thing in common, World War 2. It is horrendous to think that 70 million people’s lives can end in 6 years. Still, this number could be far more drastic had it not been for a number of things. Propaganda was one such thing. It was used to: implementing rations, swaying moods, or even in some cases controlling opinions. This was utilized by both the axis and allied powers throughout the war.

The mention of the name Adolf Hitler automatically recalls one of the most hate filled and destructive periods in the history of humanity. More people died in World War 2 than in any war ever fought, but it wasn't merely soldiers; innocent civilians were persecuted for nothing more than their views of the government or for their religion. The specific focus here will be to deal with Hitler's hatred of the Jews, and how it progressed in the years before the war. The other point to bring up from this time was the Nazi's use of propaganda to rally their people and deceive the foreign community from strongly intervening in their plans.

Hitler’s Persuasion; How Hitler Persuaded the Public Hitler had ideas to commit horrible acts of evil, but how did he convince the public to help him do those things? We need to understand this to prevent things like it from happening again. Hitler persuaded the public by gaining the power of dictator, brainwashing the public with speeches, and giving away copies of Mein Kampf to further influence the public. Because of his influence, Hitler was able to persuade and make loyal to him most of the people in Germany. Hitler gained power in a decade by becoming popular with the people.

Hitler used incredible strategy in all of his Propaganda pieces, he knew how to create a piece that would deface those he thought were his enemies. No matter who came under attack by Hitler a Propaganda piece would soon follow to destroy their public name, and to entice more people to want Hitler to lead. The Nazis used strategic propaganda for everyone during their regime, the Nazis' personalized the propaganda depending the areas or the workplaces the propaganda was ran in ("Third Reich"). With the strategic thinking of the Nazis' they became closer and closer to taking Germany. The last major unique tactic Hitler used to take control of Germany was taking out the opposition. Hitler took out the opposition in very unique ways. To ensure that Hitler became the leader of Germany in the future, while he was chancellor he arrested, tortured, murdered, and harassed all those who opposed his, and his party's beliefs. He did this to Jews, communists, rival politicians (Gogerly 47). Hitler's unique way of taking out the opposition worked very well, and of course strategically using unique tactics helped him gain control of the people, but unique tactics wasn't all that gained him control he also used strategical thinking to strengthen his power and to rule over all of Germany and an attempt for the

One may ask the question “How can one man turn a whole nation against their own people?” Hitler used propaganda to influence the German

By using this power, they would get people to do anything for them. The system of propaganda that Hitler used and that was effective was simply his words. Hitler made tons of speeches, but the most famous one was his speech at his trial for treason. In this speech Hitler gave his perspective on the events prior the trial. After this speech Hitler’s popularity grew tremendously, as his defense speeches were being printed in the newspapers.

After Hitler gained political power in Germany, he quickly put his grand plan into action. He used his control over the ever increasing Nazi party to declare a state of emergency in Germany. He then managed to force all non Nazis out of office, thus creating a one party dictatorship. The Nazi party had the ability to read mail, tap phones, and search homes without a warrant. He used this device to ban all those opposed to him from holding any sort of important position, and many were sent to jail. This action of Hitler created a fear in many of his critics, and they either fled Germany or did not publicly express their opposition. When the Nazis learned of even a possibility that someone may not agree with their beliefs or methods, they would either send that person to jail or create a miserable life for that person and his or her family.

Hitler’s rise to power had many contributing factors, these include his leadership skills which were displayed at an early age, his early interest in politics, and his strong political views and visions for the future of Germany. At the time of Hitler’s Reign over Germany he maintained control through fear and strong Propaganda. He used fear to maintain control because he did not want the German people to go against him, as well as this he used strong propaganda to show what he believed in and to convince the German people to follow him.

During his rule he perfected the use of propaganda in order to convince the people under his control that what was going on was right. He used his impressive speaking skills to convince people to conform to his new ideas, and he created new traditions such as the phrase “Heil Hitler” as his standard greeting. For Germany, Hitler seemed like a savior. Hitler used Germany’s deprivation for a strong leader to aid him in coming to power. He gave the German population a leader to look up to. During his reign, he used his power to make the desperate Germans believe the Jews caused most of these problems they were experiencing during this time. Due to their blind devotion to their chancellor, they were willing to accept this new idea wholeheartedly, and without question. This assisted Hitler in beginning to carry out his “Euthanasia Program”, a euphemism for the “Final Solution”, the extermination of the Jews, more formally known as the Holocaust.

Hitler needed a large number of followers and supporters to further his cause against the Jews, as well as numerous other groups of people. At first, he only had a small number of supporters which were scarcely beneficial to his plans. As stated in “The Nazi Rise to Power” in 1928 the Nazi party “received only 2.6 percent of the national vote” as opposed to 1924 when they “received 3 percent of the vote” (1). Even with the desperation of the German people, The Nazi party was still rapidly losing votes. They eventually turned to alternatives methods to combat the loss of support. Hitler enacted a large political purge, carried out by Himmler and the SS, in 1934. Along with the murder of many popular SA leaders, “the SS took the opportunity to