From their rise to power to the murder of 6 million European Jews in the Holocaust, the Nazis relied on a powerful weapon: propaganda. Propaganda is biased information designed to shape public opinion and behavior. Adolf Hitler and other Nazi leaders were skilled propagandists who used many techniques to spread their messages. The Nazis relied upon propaganda to create a society where only Germans they considered racially pure belonged. Jews and other groups were excluded.
After Hitler became chancellor in 1933, the Nazis started to take control of the media. They shut down independent newspapers and seized authority over radio, film, newsreels, theater and music productions. Soon, the Nazis controlled almost all media accessible to the German population. And used this power to spread propaganda in different ways.
They utilized symbols like the swastika to promote political allegiance, nationalism and Nazi ideology. Hitler designed the Nazi flag in 1920 and transformed it into the trademark of the Nazi Party. It became a part of everyday life and a potent political tool.
They used slogans that simplified their messages to just a few memorable words or phrases, like calling Jews the scourge of humanity or recruiting children to join the Hitler Youth. The Nazis updated their propaganda strategies to improve effectiveness and appeal to a wider range of people.
Beginning in the 1920s, radio emerged as a worldwide sensation. For the first time, people could listen to news and entertainment in their homes. The Nazis quickly recognized the power of this new medium. They commissioned a low-cost radio called The People's Receiver, allowing millions more Germans to buy radios and listen from their own homes.
Under Nazi rule, all German films would become subject to censorship and control. They produced films to demonize Jews by comparing them to rats and drawing on other negative stereotypes while also portraying the supposedly ideal pure German.
The Nazis used all of these propaganda techniques to exclude, demonize and isolate Jewish people. They showed the world how dangerous propaganda could be in the hands of experts.
