Controlling Thought: War Propaganda in Nazi Germany and Contemporary A

Controlling Thought: War Propaganda in Nazi Germany and Contemporary America The parallels between the propaganda tactics of contemporary America and Nazi Germany are too obvious to go undocumented. For the purposes of this paper, â€Å"propaganda† will be understood as any attempt of a government to control and/or change the attitudes of its citizens. From this liberal definition, I will analyze the relationship between Nazi Germany and contemporary America with respect to various methods of propagating government interests. As suggested by Hermann Goering, Minister of Economics and Commander-in-chief of the air force of Nazi Germany, the successful propaganda techniques will be compared with respect to denunciation of the peacemakers, glorification of patriotism, and instillation of fear. Also, deemphasizing the significance of the international community, glorifying military might, creating detention centers for the blamed, and devaluing the loss of life will be explained through the lens of propaganda. All of these methods were suc cessful in gaining wide-spread public support for aggressive military action in Nazi Germany and are successful also in contemporary America. There is a formula for effective war propaganda. Both the Nazi party and the Bush administration used and do use the same, successful, war propaganda techniques. Hitler did not start out as a successful propagandist. He admits to his early failures of effectively publicizing Nazi ideals in a favorable light. However, he did notice the advantages of successful propaganda early on. â€Å"Ever since I have been scrutinizing political events, I have taken a tremendous interest in propagandist activity.†[1] After learning about politi... ...ley, Lenoard. The Reich Marshal, A Biography of Hermann Goering. Doubleday & Company Inc., New York, 1974. Over, R.J. Goering The Iron Man. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, 1984. Office of the Press Secretary. â€Å"Homeland Security Presidential Directive - 3† The White House homepage. March 12, 2003. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/03/20020312-5.html Shore, Zachary. What Hitler Knew. Oxford University Press, New York, 2003. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] Hitler, Mein Kampf, Vol. 1, Chapter 6 [2] Hitler, Mein Kampf, Vol. 1, Chapter 6 [3] G.M. Gilbert, Nuremberg Diaries. [4] Office of the Press Secretary News Release [5] Overy, p231. [6] Hitler, Vol. 1, Chapter 6 [7] Shore, p85. [8] Churchill, p55. [9] Langer. [10] Lichtblau [11] Lichtblau Controlling Thought: War Propaganda in Nazi Germany and Contemporary A Controlling Thought: War Propaganda in Nazi Germany and Contemporary America The parallels between the propaganda tactics of contemporary America and Nazi Germany are too obvious to go undocumented. For the purposes of this paper, â€Å"propaganda† will be understood as any attempt of a government to control and/or change the attitudes of its citizens. From this liberal definition, I will analyze the relationship between Nazi Germany and contemporary America with respect to various methods of propagating government interests. As suggested by Hermann Goering, Minister of Economics and Commander-in-chief of the air force of Nazi Germany, the successful propaganda techniques will be compared with respect to denunciation of the peacemakers, glorification of patriotism, and instillation of fear. Also, deemphasizing the significance of the international community, glorifying military might, creating detention centers for the blamed, and devaluing the loss of life will be explained through the lens of propaganda. All of these methods were suc cessful in gaining wide-spread public support for aggressive military action in Nazi Germany and are successful also in contemporary America. There is a formula for effective war propaganda. Both the Nazi party and the Bush administration used and do use the same, successful, war propaganda techniques. Hitler did not start out as a successful propagandist. He admits to his early failures of effectively publicizing Nazi ideals in a favorable light. However, he did notice the advantages of successful propaganda early on. â€Å"Ever since I have been scrutinizing political events, I have taken a tremendous interest in propagandist activity.†[1] After learning about politi... ...ley, Lenoard. The Reich Marshal, A Biography of Hermann Goering. Doubleday & Company Inc., New York, 1974. Over, R.J. Goering The Iron Man. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, 1984. Office of the Press Secretary. â€Å"Homeland Security Presidential Directive - 3† The White House homepage. March 12, 2003. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/03/20020312-5.html Shore, Zachary. What Hitler Knew. Oxford University Press, New York, 2003. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] Hitler, Mein Kampf, Vol. 1, Chapter 6 [2] Hitler, Mein Kampf, Vol. 1, Chapter 6 [3] G.M. Gilbert, Nuremberg Diaries. [4] Office of the Press Secretary News Release [5] Overy, p231. [6] Hitler, Vol. 1, Chapter 6 [7] Shore, p85. [8] Churchill, p55. [9] Langer. [10] Lichtblau [11] Lichtblau