German Propaganda Posters

• Posters were an important propaganda tool

• The imagery can help to plant suggestions in people’s heads

You are about to see some classic posters from the Nazi era. See if you can spot the things they are trying to suggest. HINT: Nothing was ever put in the posters by accident. Everything carries a message.

Definition of Propaganda

• Propaganda is a type of message aimed at influencing the opinions or behavior of people. Instead impartially providing information, propaganda is often deliberately misleading.

Types of propaganda include• Books• Pamphlets• Posters• Radio messages• Political campaigns• Movies• TV programs• Commercials

Eternal Jews

The hand is begging for money – Jews were accused of greed

He is holding a whip. He is a ‘slave-driver’

There is a hammer and sickle on a map of Germany – suggests a link between Jews and Communism

He is hunched over – suggests Jews are not normal

The poster for the 'Eternal Jews' exhibition, 1937 ©

Your Own Car

'Your Own KdF-Car' poster, 1939 ©

The woman is blond haired and dressed conservatively. This is a typical Nazi view of women

They are obviously happy with this lifestyle

The mountains suggest a link between Germans and the rural ideal

Nazi policies are associated with wealth and a good lifestyle

The seed of peace not dragon’s teeth

'The seed of peace, not dragon's teeth' cartoon of Hitler, from the magazine Kladderadatsch, 22 March 1936 ©

There is an angel. This suggests that German greatness is a positive thing and not a threat

The imagery is quite deliberate. It is based on a parable in the bible in which a man sows seeds. Suggests a link between Hitler and God

The following posters represent only a tiny portion of the thousands of

posters produced by the Nazi party during the 1930s and 1940s.

However, they do represent some of the ideas the Nazis were trying to impress upon the German people.

Identify the techniques these posters use to make the audience think and

feel in certain ways.

“Long live Germany!”

This poster probably comes from the mid-1930's.

The caption: "Hitler is building. Help him. Buy German goods."

This poster promoted education. The caption: "Adolf Hitler's youth attends community schools.“

Mid 1930s.

The text of this 1940 poster reads: "Youth Serves the Führer. All 10-year-olds into the Hitler Youth."

Membership in the Hitler Youth had become mandatory in 1936.

"One People, One Reich, One Führer."

This 1940 poster advertises the worst of the Nazi anti-

Semitic films, "The Eternal Jew."

The caption: "The Jew: The inciter of war, the prolonger of

war." This poster was released in late 1943 or early 1944

Title: LoyaltyCaption:

The sword will not be sheathed. The Stürmer stands as ever

In battle for the people and the fatherland. It fights the Jews because it loves the people.

November 1935

The cartoon shows a photograph of a Jew captioned "Satan." Streicher regularly used the old religious argument that the Jews were in league

with the Devil.

The Poisonous Mushroom by Julius Streicher. The cruel children’s book was often taught in schools.

Money Is The God Of The Jews: "The God of the Jews is money. To earn money, he commits the greatest crimes. He will not rest until he can sit on a

huge money sack, until he has become the king of money."*

Money

• In 1939 this bill was issued showing the Aryan ideal woman holding Eidelweiss

Back of bill

Landscape with a lumberjack and a sower.