After watching the most recent Tarantino film (related to World War II), I came to realise about the value of propaganda during the nazi domination. What would have been of Hitler’s intentions without the support of the people? Absolutely nothing. So it was really clever of him to start a propaganda program in order to accomplish his ideals. For such matters, it was Joseph Goebbels who was named as the Reich Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. Undoubtly, Goebbels made an extraordinary work. I am no pro-nazi and I am nowhere near of supporting their “perfect breeding” and “pure race” thoughts. It goes the completely opposite way for me: I deeply regret that humanity had to experience such difficult, savage, and violent times under the nazi regime. But it is also up to me to recognize the “good” (if it can possibly fit the word’s sense) strategies they had.
Please, read carefully Goebbels’ title: Reich Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. Could their intentions have been even clearer? Nazis were looking forward to “open” their country’s eyes to what they believe it was “right”, achieve to go back to the pure origins of their nation.
Goebbels successfully used the media to reach Germans. Cinema was one of the tools used, for it was a media that received massive attention. Both Hitler and Goebbels agreed that by repeating over and over again their ideas through every possible mean, they would eventually get inside the people’s mind and make them be of the same opinion. They exerted complete control over cinema by revising and approving each movie (which obviously had to go along with the nazi model) to be displayed on any screen that was on a nazi occupied area. Needless to say, the films had a very high heroic content, they supported the war, emphasized the “glory” of being German and their superiority.
So how weak are we? Where does the power of government over the population ends? To what did this/could this control lead? Is this happening nowadays, how and where?
For more information:
http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=488115
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Goebbels
http://www.quintadimension.com/televicio/index.php?id=184
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/propaganda_in_nazi_germany.htm
