HISTORY IGCSE CONTENT - 20TH CENTURY OPTION - DEPTH STUDY GERMANY: THE NAZI REGIME - THE NAZI USE OF CULTURE AND MASS MEDIA

1. DEPTH STUDY
GERMANY
THE NAZI REGIME
NAZIS USE OF CULTURE
AND MASS MEDIA
3

2. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY – MR. D
INTRODUCTION
In 1933, Goebbels was appointed Minister for Propaganda and
Enlightenment.
His job was to convince the Germans of the benefits of Nazi rule.
Everything that was seen or heard was consistent with Nazi policy and
ideals.
Goebbels aimed to make every aspect of German culture and every
form of communication dedicated to the task of producing loyal Nazis
and followers of Adolf Hitler.

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4. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY – MR. D
ART AND ARCHITECTURE
Goebbels disapproved of the entire
artistic vision of the Weimar
Republic which was considered
“degenerate”.
Art galleries were forced to remove
expressionist paintings and
sculptures and replace them with
exhibits illustrating the qualities of
the master Aryan-race.
Nazis favoured public architecture
which was classical in style, stone-
built, and emphasised the authority
of the state.Nude statues of the ideal female and male bodies, installed in the streets of Berlin on the occasion of the 1936
Summer Olympics. Berlin won the bid in April 1931, two years before the NSDAP came to power. It was the last
time ever that the International Olympic Committee gathered to vote in a city bidding as the host.

5. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY – MR. D
In a speech at the Great German Art Exhibition in Munich Hitler said in 1939:
“The first goal of our new German creation of art has surely been achieved.
Analogous to the recovering of architectural art which began here in Munich, here also
started the purification in the sphere of painting and sculpture, that maybe had been
even more devastated. The whole swindle of a decadent or pathological trend-art has
been swept away. A decent common level has been reached. And this means a lot.
Only out of this can the truly creative genius arise."
Great Exhibition of German Art
catalogue cover, 1937 (left) and
Entartete Kunst (Degenerate
Art) exhibition, catalogue cover,
1937 (right)

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Opening of the Entartete Kunst exhibition at the Schulausstellungsgebaude, Hamburg, 1938

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Adolf Hitler and Adolf Ziegler inspect the installation by Willrich and Hansen of the Degenerate Art Exhibition in Munich, 1937

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Hitler and Ziegler judging the Great German Art Exhibition, 1937

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Arno Breker, Decathlon Athlete (Zehnkämpfer), 1936, bronze
"No picture gets mercy," Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbel scribbled in his journal on
January 13, 1938. It was a scathing sentence with disastrous consequences.

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Die Partei, Arno Breker's statue
representing the spirit of the
Nazi Party

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A Nazi St George killing the dragon
(flyleaf of a book about heraldry)
Water-lilies by the Nazi painter Ludwig Dettmann

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Arno Breker sculpting a bust of Albert Speer, the Reich armaments minister

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DEGENERATE ART
Hitler saw modern art, such as abstract art, as ‘degenerate’ and over 6,500
works of art were removed from display across Germany.
Hitler encouraged ‘Aryan art’, which showed the physical and military power
of Germany and the Aryan race.

15. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY – MR. D
MUSIC
The classical music of Beethoven, Bruckner
and Wagner was particularly favoured.
Jewish composers such as Mendelssohn and
Mahler were blacklisted.
Military-style music was very acceptable.
Some popular music, especially folk song, was
encouraged.
Jazz music was banned, as it was considered
inferior “black” music.
Richard Wagner

16. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY – MR. D
MUSIC
The Nazi regime accrued power in 1933, and musicologists were
directed to rewrite the history of German music in order to
accommodate Nazi mythology and ideology.
Richard Wagner and Hans Pfitzner were now seen as composers who
conceptualized a united order (Volksgemeinschaft) where music was an
index of the German community.
In a time of disintegration, Wagner and Pfitzner wanted to revitalize the
country through music. In a book written about Hans Pfitzner and
Wagner, published in Regensburg in 1939 followed not only the birth of
contemporary musical parties, but also of political parties in Germany.

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LITERATURE
Books were censored and libraries and bookshops had to remove the
output of Jewish and communist authors from their stock.
In May 1933, Goebbels supported a public book burning event when
students in Berlin threw 20,000 books (considered un-German and
Jewish), on to a huge bonfire.
Books about war heroes, the achievements of Hitler and the importance
of the family were encouraged.

18. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY – MR. Dhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHzM1gXaiVo
On May 10, 1933, German students under the Nazi regime burned tens of thousands of books nationwide. These book
burnings marked the beginning of a period of extensive censorship and control of culture in Hitler's escalating reign of terror.
In this short film, a Holocaust survivor, an Iranian author, an American literary critic, and two Museum historians discuss the
Nazi book burnings and why totalitarian regimes often target culture, particularly literature.

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LITERATURE
The Reich Chamber of Literature was under the jurisdiction of
Goebbels's Ministry of Propaganda and Popular Enlightenment.
According to Grunberger,
"At the beginning of the war this department supervised no less than
2,500 publishing houses, 23,000 bookshops, 3,000 authors, 50
national literary prizes, 20,000 new books issued annually, and a total
of 1 million titles constituting the available book market.“
Germany was Europe's biggest producer of books—in terms both of
total annual production and the number of individual new titles
appearing each year.

20. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY – MR. D
LITERATURE
The first National Socialist literature commission, set itself the goal of
eradicating the literature of the ‘System Period’, as Weimar was
contemptuously called, and of propagating volkisch-nationalist
literature in the Nazis state.
Literature was recognized early on as an essential political tool in
Third Reich as virtually 100 percent of the German population was
literate.
"The most widely-read-or displayed-book of the period was Hitler's
Mein Kampf, a collection (according to Lion Feuchtwanger) of 164,000
offences against German grammar and syntax; by 1940, it was, with 6
million copies sold, the solitary front-runner in the German best-seller
list, some 5 million copies ahead of Rainer Maria Rilke and others."

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THEATRE AND CINEMA
Goebbels realised that the German public wanted to be entertained
at affordable prices.
Films and plays were sometimes based on historical themes so
audiences could draw parallels with the Third Reich such as The Great
King (1942), starring Otto Gebuhr, which depicted the life of Frederick
the Great.
Propaganda films vilified the Jews (Jew Suss, 1940), attacked the
as brutal imperialists (My life for Ireland, 1941) and celebrated the
wonders of the Nazi regime (The triumph of the will, 1935).
Admission to cinemas was only possible at the beginning of the
programme so the audiences were unable to miss the official newsreels
that broadcast the Nazi message.

22. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY – MR. Dhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qyjlYDHq6M
THE GREAT KING – 1942 – BATTLE SCENE

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THE GREAT KING – 1942 – THE FUHRER PRINZIP
The Great King ( Der große König) was a 1942 German drama film
directed by Veit Harlan and starring Otto Gebühr. It depicts the life of
Frederick the Great, who ruled Prussia from 1740 to 1786.
It received the rare "Film of the Nation" distinction. It was part of a
popular cycle of "Prussian films".
The film is a depiction of the Führerprinzip (THE FUHRER
with the analogy to Adolf Hitler being so clear that Hitler sent a print to
Benito Mussolini. This principle state the fundamental basis of political
authority in the governmental structures of the Third Reich. This
principle can be understood to mean that "the Führer's word is above
all written law" and that governmental policies, decisions, and
ought to work toward the realization of this end.

24. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY – MR. Dhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTy1tUi1IlA
Prof. Jordan Peterson Analyses Nazi Propaganda Film “The Eternal Jew”
(Der Ewige Jude, 1940)

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THE ETERNAL JEW – 1940 – NAZI PROPAGANDA
The Eternal Jew is a 1940 antisemitic Nazi propaganda film, presented
as a documentary. The film's initial German title is Der ewige Jude, the
German term for the character of the "Wandering Jew" in medieval
folklore.
Hitler and Goebbels believed that film was a vital tool for molding
public opinion. The Nazis first established a film department in 1930
and Goebbels had taken a personal interest in the use of film to
promote the Nazi philosophy and agenda.
Goebbels ordered each film studio to make an antisemitic film. In
case of The Eternal Jew, Hitler preferred films such as The Eternal Jew
which presented the Nazi antisemitic agenda openly and directly;
however Goebbels disliked the crudeness of such straightforward
approaches, preferring the much more subtle approach.

26. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY – MR. Dhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taNZijSeBe0
MY LIFE FOR IRELAND – 1941 – NAZI PROPAGANDA
AGAINST BRITISH IMPERIALISM

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MY LIFE FOR IRELAND – 1941 – NAZI PROPAGANDA
My Life for Ireland is a Nazi propaganda movie from 1941 directed by
Max W. Kimmich, telling a story of Irish heroism and martyrdom over
two generations of British occupation.
The movie was produced for Nazi-occupied Europe with the intent of
challenging pro-British allegiances. This film contributed to the era of
anti-British film. In this film, the British are depicted as brutal and
unscrupulous oppressors but no match for the Irish. The anti-British
atmosphere of the film, however, can be judged from the opening
sequence, which depicts a meeting of Irish revolutionaries:
ASSEMBLY: We must build new roads/LEADER: With what shall we build new
roads?/ASSEMBLY: With the bones of our enemy!/LEADER: And who is our
enemy?/ASSEMBLY: England!

28. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY – MR. Dhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7hJVaTW45M
TRIUMPH OF THE WILL – 1935 – THE POWER OF
NAZI PROPAGANDA

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THE TRIUMPH OF THE WILL - 1935 – NAZI PROPAGANDA
“Triumph of the will” is a 1935 Nazi propaganda film directed,
produced, edited, and co-written by Leni Riefenstahl.
It chronicles the 1934 Nazi Party Congress in Nuremberg, which was
attended by more than 700,000 Nazi supporters. The film contains
excerpts from speeches given by Nazi leaders at the Congress, including
Adolf Hitler, Rudolf Hess and Julius Streicher, with footage of massed
Sturmabteilung (SA) and Schutzstaffel (SS) troops and public reaction.
Hitler commissioned the film and served as an unofficial executive
producer; his name appears in the opening titles. The film's overriding
theme is the return of Germany as a great power, with Hitler as the
leader who will bring glory to the nation. Charlie Chaplin's satire The
Great Dictator (1940) was inspired by Triumph of the Will. The Star Wars
sequence of Starship Troopers is a direct reference to the film.

30. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY – MR. Dhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvHo1DFR_Ic

31. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY – MR. D
NEWSPAPERS
All newspapers and magazines were brought under Nazi control,
Jewish and anti-Nazi publications were closed down.
Editors had to attend a daily press briefing where they were told what
to print. Newspapers could only print stories favourable to and
approved by the Nazis. Daily briefings were held for editors to tell them
what to print and where to place articles in their newspapers.
Jewish journalists were banned. Editors had to join the Nazi Party or be
dismissed. By 1935, 1,600 newspapers were closed. By 1939, 69% of
newspapers were directly owned by the Nazis.
See the Readings section in your OneNote accounts.

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Hitler quote:
“The receptivity of the great masses is very limited,
their intelligence is small, but their power of
forgetting is enormous. In consequence of these
facts, all effective propaganda must be limited to a
very few points and must harp on these slogans
the last member of the public understands what
want him to understand by your slogan.”

33. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY – MR. D
GLEICHSHALTUNG
The newspapers had to spread the same message as everything else –
Gleichshaltung – the coordination of the whole of Nazi German society
so that it acted and thought the same.
Therefore people could only read the news as it was presented to them
by the government.
On October 4th 1933 the Reich Press Law stated that all journalism
had to be “racially clean”. Any Jew who owned a newspaper was
pressurised into selling out. If any Jewish owner refused to do this, the
government banned the production of his newspaper for a few days that
could then become weeks and months.
By using this tactic, the Nazis hoped to bankrupt Jewish newspaper
owners.

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35. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY – MR. D
VOLKISHER BEOBACHTER
‘Vőlkischer Beobachter’ translated as ‘Racial Observer’.
It was the main Nazi daily newspaper and it was used to peddle whatever
Goebbels wanted.
It was anti-Semite, anti-Communist, anti-liberal and completely fawning
towards Hitler.
During World War Two, the German public only read about the ‘good
news’ as nothing bad was allowed to be reported.
See the Readings section in your OneNote accounts.

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37. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY – MR. D
DER ANGRIFF
‘Der Angriff’ translated as ‘The Assault’ and it was a newspaper founded
by Goebbels in 1927 and became effectively his property.
Its subtitle was ‘For the Oppressed against the Oppressors’.
The right hand column of the front page was reserved for the personal
comments of Goebbels that were signed off ‘Dr G’.
There were many libel actions against ‘Der Angriff’ but none were
successful.
It never had the circulation of ‘Vőlkischer Beobachter’ and became simply
a tool to voice the opinions of Goebbels.

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DER STURMER
Some individual Nazis were allowed to produce their own newspapers as
the party hierarchy had no doubts that they would not peddle the party
line.
Probably the most infamous was ‘Der Stűrmer’ by the anti-Semite
Julius Streicher who claimed that ‘Der Stűrmer’ was Hitler’s favourite
read.
Goebbels viewed the newspaper as little more than a ‘daily rag’ and
believed that it was more likely to harm the regime than present it in its
best light.
It is said that Hitler read each issue from cover to cover and any
protests that Goebbels might have made would have fallen on deaf ears.
Towards the end of World War Two, Goebbels had the opportunity to
ban ‘Der Stűrmer’ using the lack of paper as a reason.

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RADIO
All radio output was controlled by Goebbels’ Ministry through the Reich
Broadcasting Corporation. Goebbels saw radio as the most important
medium for propaganda. Listening to foreign stations was banned.
9 million radios were sold cheaply so that most Germans could afford
one and thus be indoctrinated. These “People’s Receivers” could only be
be tuned to the Nazi station. By 1939, 70 per cent of households owned
one of them.
Radio wardens were used to ensure people listened to major speeches
being broadcast. Radios were installed in cafes, bars, and factories,
while loudspeakers were positioned in the streets and other public
so that important announcements and Hitler’s speeches could be heard
by everyone.
See the Readings section in your OneNote accounts.

42. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY – MR. Dhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aD6zpu0H6d4

43. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY – MR. D
MASS RALLIES
There were mass rallies to show public support for Nazism which
involved music, speeches and demonstrations of German military
strength.
The biggest rally was the annual Nuremberg Rally held in August. It
lasted a week, with a different Nazi organisation being featured each day.
There were four specially-built stadia. The rallies were characterised by
order and discipline, marching, massive displays of flags and
rousing music (like the “Horst-Wessel-Lied” Nazi anthem) and the clever
use of modern technology (such as arc lamps to create atmosphere,
loudspeakers, car cavalcades and flypasts by planes).
Rallies were held at other times in the year as well, for example on
Hitler’s birthday.

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45. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY – MR. D
SPORT EVENTS
Sports events were held to allow people to be
either spectators or participants in mass activities.
The Strength Through Joy (KdF) movement
organised many of these.
Berlin hosted the Olympics of 1936, which the
Nazis used as an opportunity to showcase the
success of the regime and to demonstrate the
superiority of the Aryan race.
The victories of an African-American athlete from
the USA, Jesse Owens, infuriated the Nazi
leadership.

46. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY – MR. Dhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1inifMJ0xio

47. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY – MR. D
THE SCALE OF PROPAGANDA
The scale of the propaganda campaigns meant Hitler and the Nazi Party
were a constant presence in people’s lives.
The infamous swastika symbol appeared on every government uniform
and public building. Pictures of Hitler were displayed everywhere.
Mein Kampf became a best seller because people thought it was wise
to display their loyalty.
Germans had to greet each other with a ‘Heil Hitler’ raised arm salute.
Weekly Nazi newsreels, shown in cinemas before films, loudspeakers in
cafés and workplaces meant the Nazi message could not be avoided.
Over 50 of Hitler’s speeches were broadcast in 1933.In 1934, the
Malicious Gossip Act made anti-Nazi jokes punishable by fines or
imprisonment.

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PROPAGANDA AND CENSORSHIP
Propaganda helped reinforce existing beliefs but was less successful in
getting people to accept new ideas.
Propaganda and censorship meant culture became tiresome. The
range of music, films and books was very restricted. The quality of much
culture was also poor.
German young people were less influenced by American ideas than in
other European nations because of the Nazi ban on some foreign
culture.
Propaganda and censorship hid the worst excesses of the regime from
the public, which meant many Germans supported Hitler.
Some musicians, artists, actors and writers left Germany. Others
joined the Nazis’ cultural organisations.

49. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY – MR. D
GOEBBELS TECHNIQUES
Goebbels’ clever propaganda techniques included:
• use of emotive language (i.e. playing on emotions);
• a limited number of simple soundbites, hammered home by frequent
repetition;
• issues presented in black and white terms, and simplistic solutions offered;
• tailoring of propaganda to the concerns of key groups;
• providing scapegoats for problems, such as Jews and communists;
• heavy emphasis on symbolism, for example in flags, pennants and uniforms;
• modern means of communication, like loudspeakers, radio and cinema;
• big spectator spectacles, for example mass rallies and sports events.
The use of censorship led to Nazi ideas dominating the media and culture. Fear
of the Police State also meant opponents did not often put forward rival ideas.

50. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY – MR. D