The Use of Culture and the Mass Media (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE History)

How Did the Nazis Try to Influence German Culture? - Summary

Who was Joseph Goebbels?

• Goebbels was a loyal member of the Nazi Party

  • His work helped gain the Nazi Party election success by 1932

• As Minister for People’s Enlightenment and Propaganda, Goebbels was responsible for ensuring the Nazis controlled all areas of German life:

The Nazi Use of Media

Newspapers 

• The Nazis told journalists what they could and could not publish

• Control of newspapers allowed the Nazis to spread their messages to the public:

  • They controlled most newspapers by 1939, compared to 3% in 1933

  • Around 1,600 newspapers were closed down in 1935

• Der Völkischer Beobachter (The People’s Observer) was the official newspaper of the Nazi Party and was published daily:

  • It reached 1.1 million people by 1941

Radio 

• Radios were an increasingly popular tool to communicate political messages:

  • Goebbels had relied on radio during the election years of 1932 and 1933

• After 1933, Goebbels censored most radio stations. Nazi-controlled stations spread propaganda

  • The Nazis insisted that employers placed radios in workplaces

• The introduction of the Volksempfänger (The People’s Receiver) in 1933 was hugely important for several reasons:

The 1936 Berlin Olympics

• Hitler and Goebbels believed that success in sport was essential:

  • To “Strengthen the character of the German people”

  • To promote the Nazi belief that the Aryan race was superior

• The 1936 Berlin Olympics was an opportunity for Hitler to show the might of Nazi Germany:

• Jesse Owens angered Hitler and the Nazis by winning four gold medals and becoming the most successful athlete at the games

• Leni Riefenstahl directed the filmOlympia, which was released in 1938 and documented the events of the 1936 Berlin Olympics

Nazi Rallies

• The Nazi Party had used rallies throughout the 1920s and early 1930s

• The declaration of Hitler as Führer in 1934 allowed him to merge the identity of the Nazi Party with that of Germany:

  • Rallies became more frequent and created a sense of unity

    • They celebrated important occasions such as Hitler’s birthday

  • They were used to advertise the strength of the German army

    • This broke the military restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles

The Nuremberg Rallies 

• Nuremberg is a city in the centre of Germany and was chosen to host annual rallies from 1933 to 1938

• Hitler’s favourite architect, Albert Speer, designed the grounds where the rallies took place

• The 1934 Nuremberg rally had 200,000 in attendance:

  • 152 searchlights were used as pillars of light around the audience, known as the Cathedral of Light

  • Films like Triumph of the Will by Leni Riefenstahl presented the strength and power of the Nazi Party at the Nuremberg rallies

Nazi Control of Culture and Arts

• The Nazis objected to the Weimar Republic’s focus on modern art and culture

• They instead favoured romantic ideas about Germany’s past, the importance of family and strong values

• The Reich Chamber of Culture was set up in 1933 to make sure that all aspects of culture and the arts aligned with these Nazi beliefs

• Several Chambers formed the Reich Chamber of Culture:

Nazi Art

• All those involved in art were required to join the Reich Chamber of Creative Art:

  • Those who didn’t or couldn’t join were forbidden to teach, produce or sell art

  • Around 42,000 artists were accepted

• Art that did not conform with Nazi beliefs was removed:

  • Expressionist artwork produced by Picasso and Van Gogh was seen as too modern

  • In 1936, over 12,000 paintings and sculptures were removed from galleries

• Gestapo members would visit art studios to monitor the art being produced

• Artists were rewarded for producing art the Nazis did approve of:

  • The Greater German Art Exhibition featured 900 exhibits in 1936

Nazi Architecture

• The Nazis disliked the modern designs of the Bauhaus movement during the era of the Weimar Republic

• Hitler’s favourite architect was Albert Speer, who designed some of Nazi Germany’s most important buildings:

  • The Zeppelinfeld, the parade ground for the Nuremberg rallies

  • Helped to add to the design of the Berlin Olympic Stadium

• Many buildings were never completed because Nazi Germany was defeated in 1945

Nazi Music

• The Nazis promoted music that represented traditional aspects of German culture

  • Wagner, Beethovan and Bach were liked for their focus on folk music

• The Nazis censored music produced by Jewish composers

  • A monument dedicated to the composer Mendelssohn was removed in 1936

• Jazz music was disliked because it was associated with Black people

  • Many jazz artists at the time were also of Jewish origins

Nazi Literature

• The Chamber of Culture approved books before they were published

• The Nazis banned around 2,500 writers because they did not conform to Nazi beliefs:

  • Works by Einstein and Oppenheimer were banned because of their Jewish origins

  • Lenin's work was banned because it spoke about Communism, an ideology hated by the Nazis

• Nazis removed millions of books from libraries and universities and burned them on bonfires:

  • In May 1933, students in Berlin burned 20,000 books by anti-Nazi authors

  • Books from 34 cities in Germany were burned for being “unwanted”

  • Joseph Goebbels delivered a speech encouraging the burning of books to an audience of 40,000

Nazi Cinema

• The Nazis embraced the ‘modern’ and popular technology of film

• The Nazis had to approve all film plots and foreign films underwent censorship

• Newsreels showing Germany’s achievements were played before the start of films

• Films like Triumph of the Will by Leni Riefenstahl presented the strength and power of the Nazi Party

• Films like Hitlerjunge Quex were used to spread political messages about the threat of communism

• In total, the Nazi Party made 1,300 films