Propaganda in History

Propaganda: Controlling the Media

Purposes:To convince the public to fight. (It is necessary to fight.)

To show that action must be taken against an inferior race, the German Jews.

German Propaganda in WWII

Do your part: Workers need to work harder to produce more in order to beat the Allies.

Masculine strength inspires confidence.

“You are the Front!”

Many common materials, like paper, became scarce during war.

This poster is urging German citizens to conserve paper.

Conserve!

Spies are everywhere, and any gossip about the war effort will be heard.

This type of propaganda made citizens feel the reality of war and even feel threatened.

Spies are listening!

This poster encouraged worship of the German leader, Adolf Hitler.

Posters like this one, as well as different broadcasts, served to glorify Hitler as head of government.

“One People, One Reich, One Fuhrer!”

The film served to dehumanize Jews, comparing Jews to rats.

The thought was that if the German public could think of Jews as rats, then it would be easier to accept their Jewish friends being shipped off.

Nazi Film: The Eternal Jew

Young people were targeted at schools, and teachers used materials that reflected the aims of Hitler.

“The Poisonous Mushroom” (1938): a children’s book that’s underlying message is that Jews should be eliminated because they are dangerous and poisonous to society

German Youth

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckrk1iqYdfM&feature=fvst

What message or feeling does this video communicate?

How does the music contribute to that feeling?

How does the video portray Hitler?

Propaganda Video

How is propaganda used in the novel?

Propaganda in Among the Hidden

“Then they started running all that on TV about the Population Police, how the Population Police had ways of finding out everything, how they’d do anything to enforce the law.”

Luke glanced toward the hulking television in the living room. He wasn’t allowed to watch it. Was that why? (p.10)

Why Luke is kept secret:

“Don’t tell me your family believes that Government propaganda stuff,” she said. “They’ve spent so much money trying to convince people they can monitor all the TV’s and computers, you know they couldn’t have afforded to actually do it. I’ve been using our computer since I was three—and watching TV, too—and they’ve never caught me…” (p.68)

Don't Believe It!-Jen

“Well, besides passing the Population Law, the Government went on this big campaign to make women think it was something evil to get pregnant and have kids. They put posters up in all the cities, with things like, ‘Who’s the worst criminal?’ under a picture of a pregnant lady and, I don’t know, some tough-looking crooks. And then if you read the whole sign it’d tell you the woman was the worst of all. Another one”– Jen giggled— “it had a picture of a huge pregnant belly, with the label, ‘Ladies, do you want to look like this?’ And women aren’t allowed to go anywhere once they get pregnant. So now, my dad told me, there are so few babies being born that the population’s going to be cut in half.” (p.103-104)

"Big Campaign"

What’s the purpose of propaganda?How is the novel’s propaganda

similar to the German propaganda we saw?

How does propaganda show the power of language (and images)?

How does it show the importance of audience?

In Review…

http://library.thinkquest.org/C0111500/ww2/german/naziprop.htm

http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/holoprelude/nazprop.html

Sources