Successes of Nazi Propaganda 1933-1936

Successes of Nazi Propaganda 1933-1936

By the early years of the 1930’s the Nazi party had emerged as the most powerful and dominating political party in Germany. More commonly known as the Nationalist Socialist German Workers Party, or NSDAP, they assumed control of the German state in January of 1933, when President Paul Von Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler, leader of the Nazi party as Chancellor, at the head of a coalition government, made up from the Nazi and German Nationalist People’s Parties. Shortly following his appointment, on The 27th of February, arsonists burned down the Reichstag building where the German government was housed. Although the decisive origins of the fire were unclear, in a swift propaganda movement, Hitler and members of the coalition government placed the blame on the Communists, creating panic and hysteria among the public, and cracked down on party opposition. Hitler claimed that the Communists were attempting to seize power; in doing so, he exploited Hindenburg’s approval to issue an emergency decree – the communist party was banned as a result. The impact of propaganda and terror on pre existing fears of a communist takeover had convinced many of Germanys citizens that Hitler’s prompt action had save them all from Bolshevism . This showed in the March 5th election results, where the Nazi’s won more than 44 percent of the total cast votes , enabling the party to continue its coalition government with the German National Peoples party.

As the Nazi Party consolidated their political power and erased opposition, so too did it begin the process of creating a state propaganda apparatus to allow them to expedite the implementation of new party policies . Founded on the 13th of March 1933, Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, headed by Joseph Goebbels, became key in the role of enforcing Nazi doctrine on the people, as well as for controlling the press and culture of Nazi Germany. Over the following months, the Ministry organized book burnings in Berlin and...

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