The text that I choose to help further my research on Nazi propganda and its influence on World War two was, Nazi Propaganda, by Z.A.B. Zeman. What draws me specifically to this text was the usage of photos. In one of the photos, on page 98 it says, “Juden sind hier nicht erwunscht” which means that ‘Jews are not wanted here.’ Right across from the sign there is a statue of Jesus on the Cross. This photo shows that the Nazi’s built a hatred towards Jewish people and the Nazi’s forbid them from doing certain activities. This sign was just one of the many signs throughout Europe that forbid Jews from participating in normal daily activities. Additionally, since this photo was taken in 1935 it also shows how Nazi propaganda was building up over a 10 year-long period which lasted until the end of the war (1945).
When I began first reading this book, I learned a lot more about Hitler and how much power he had when he first came into power. Over time, by being in charge he was able to gain more influence on the Nazi party and other European countries as well. After reading this book the first time, I started picking up on some of the smaller details such as how Hitler was a failure when it came to speaking on the radio in comparison to President Roosevelt who was famous for his fireside chats (Zeman, 53). Adding onto that, I was fascinated that when Germany and the Nazi party wanted to expand their propaganda program abroad, Hitler was able to do so. He knew that 27 million Germans were living in other European countries such as, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Rumania, Yugoslavia, Poland, and Russia. By having this knowledge, Hitler knew that by having Germans in nearby countries, this would help the Nazi party influence these abroad countries and turn these places into what would be in the best interest for the Nazi party, such as concentration camps and ghettos. Additionally, these abroad countries were eager to become a part of the Nazi party.
I at first encountered this book when I saw that the novel, Persuasive Images: Posters of War and Nazi Propaganda Speeches would not be able to ship until next week and I needed another book that would have photos of Nazi Germany during World War two. I specifically searched in the library for World War 2 Propaganda and I found this book, Nazi Propaganda and it was written by, Z.A.B. Zeman. Overall, when I found this book I knew right away from looking at it that it would help expand upon my research of Nazi propaganda and how propaganda impacted the war. Additionally, I found that the titles of each chapter were going to touch upon some of the points that I wanted my research to cover.
One passage that resonated with me was one week after the Germans occupied Poland. Hitler talked about propaganda on the 8th of September 1938, saying that, “Propaganda is an important instrument of the Leadership for forwarding and strengthening the will to victory and for destroying the enemies’ morale and will to victory.” I picked this quote out because before I read this book I always perceived propaganda as being a picture or cartoon about an individual fighting on behalf of their country in the hopes of making their country a safer place. I never thought of propaganda as being something that would destroy the enemies morale. Propaganda destroys the enemies will because in the Nazi’s opinion the enemy was living within Germany and among other European nations as well. When the Nazi’s sent a message saying that the Jews were different and that they were not human beings; this inevitably destroyed many Jews morales about themselves and about the culture that they were living in. Additionally, propaganda gives the Nazi’s more authority and permission to be ruthless and violent towards the Jews because they were not considered to be equal as people, but instead, they were seen as inferior in comparison to the Germans.