Propaganda
...da was very important to Hitler’s political plans even before he became the dictator. Propaganda must be directed toward the emotions of the masses, and only to a very limited extent toward the so-called intellect. Therefore, all propaganda has to limit itself to a very few points and repeat them like slogans until even the very last man is able to understand what you want him to understand1. Prior to Nazi control in January of 1933 the Nazi party used propaganda in order to persuade people by using scapegoats for the result of the First World War. Hitler and the Nazis made people believe that the Jewish community was responsible for all of Germany’s economic problems. With Nazi propaganda Hitler was able to become dictator of Germany, where he continued to use propaganda by creating a department of propaganda which was to be headed by Joseph Goebbels. Joseph Goebbels was a well-educated man from Germany that was assigned, by Hitler, to create a propaganda program for the Nazis. Goebbels’ duty was to change the way Germans thought and lived. He had to use propaganda to instil the main elements of the ideology and to change the patterns of traditional behavior. Goebbels began his campaign against the Jews by holding rallies, where he told the German people that by getting rid of the Jews; Germany would at the same time be getting rid of its economic troubles. In addition, Goebbels also controlled the radio. Goebbels had pro Nazi commercials, Nazi shows, and played speeches by Adolf Hitler. Goebbels would also address the nation with war updates,where he would always speak truthfully. The public knew he controlled the media since he would report military losses and other military setbacks. The use of propaganda in World War II however was not limited to the Nazis. The United States also used propaganda in order to gain support and raise awareness about the war. The use of propaganda in the United States was heavily debated upon. Government officials argued about how to use propaganda and where the propaganda should be used. Many people in the government believed the U.S. should have been truthful with their information to the public. Some in the government thought civilians should be lied to. While other government officials believed they should be told the truth only about certain insignificant facts while holding back other information. In the end the government did end up stretching some truths, but discovered that the key to American Propaganda was through Franklin Roosevelt. Roosevelt’s first use of propaganda to get support from the public was immediately after Pearl Harbor. “Roosevelt’s own powerful phrase in response to the Pearl Harbor attack- “This is a day that will live in infamy” – instantly changed attitudes from peace to violence. Thanks to the president’s manipulative genius, Americans readily accepted the need to fight with every means at hand including propa...