The Nazis were not preaching about a specific cause to the whole world. They hand picked speakers and topics according to their audience. Their aim was to produce the best results, however mundane this seems, their tactics are very clever. If they gain enough support, eventually they can do whatever they want. They can use as much propaganda and give the people what they want to hear because ultimately, with enough membership and power the party can do whatever t0 further their own agenda.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Party Propaganda
The Nazis changed their targets and their propaganda around those who were interested. I find the group's strategies for winning people's support very interesting. They could not have prevented failure any better. By molding their speeches and speakers around those who listened it is only logical that those in need of change and desperate for success would find their propaganda appealing. In this town, Northeim, as in other places during the Great Depression, the people needed a way out of their suffering. Begining as a normal quiet place where political chaos was unusual, the environment changed as the times worsened. Allen explains that the Nazis changed their targets and the content of propaganda. "Though there would be a continued attempt to win workers, and though antisemitism would not be abandoned, the new emphasis would be on groups that were responding to nazism and on propaganda themes that produced results." (Allen 29) What better a system can there be?
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I agree with this post. As mentioned in my post above, Hitler uses various support-building strategies to reach out to different classes of people. Hitler exploited the fears of the bourgeoisie and their impatience with the democratic process of the Weimar Republic during the financial crisis, as the democratic processes seemed to be ineffective. In addition to winning over the lower class, he also gave the workers no other choice but to acquiesce to the NSDAP's beliefs in the counter revolution. Hitler did this by taking over or destroying all community organizations that could provide any form of resistance or resentment towards Hitler and the NSDAP. By eliminating most possibilities of resistance towards the Nazi movement, along with Hitler's manipulative and persuasive rhetoric, Nazism was successfully spread throughout Germany.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to the fluidity of various support-building strategies, the transformation of the NSDAP from a simple, radical far-right party to a "leader party" was critical to the spread of Nazism throughout Germany. That the party had an undeniable face, personality, and core made it so attractive to many Germans. Hitler was and still is inseparably attached to the goals and values of Nazism. He knew that his "stupid masses", would relate and stand behind a "relatable" figurehead much more than his incredibly vague ideas. I think that the special-interest speakers were revolutionary for gaining support during this time, but that the undeniable incorporation of man & philosophy was Hitler's greatest feat regarding Nazi propagation.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with this post. I think it is very interesting how the Nazis basically took ideas and things that people were already feeling, and then intensified them through their speeches, newsletters, and political rhetoric. Hitler and the Nazis believed they could manipulate the German people however they wanted and unfortunately, they were very right. Nazism spread like wildfire throughout Germany because people were vulnerable and all too willing to trust in a group that they felt oould genuinely make their lives better. It seems that most people did not stop to really look at the Nazi party and what was going on behind the scenes.
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