What did the "Voice of the nation" Say?
The Nazi radio propaganda machine was intended to do one simple thing: build a broad and sturdy base of support for the Nazi regime. Under Goebbels, it did so by bombarding citizens with a constant array of three different sorts of messages. The first was the need to remove “class, sectional, regional, denominational and party political loyalties and replace them by the ideal of selfless service to a united ‘national community,’” or the Volksgemeinschaft.[1] Appealing to many because of the troubled German economy, this message also conveyed a strong sense of a need for racial purity, or the need to eradicate any that are unfit to belong to the national community—this was, importantly, centralized on the Jews and those that had sympathetic feelings towards the Jews.[2] The second message was to embody a strong and stern hatred to “enemies” both internal and external through a “madly heightened chauvinism and sense of Germanness.”[3] The last, and by far the most important of these messages, was to instill a strong trust in Hitler as the nation’s leader. Going far beyond a traditional respect for authority, in relaying this message, the propaganda intended to build almost a cult like following that placed an infallible and universal trust in Hitler that could not be shaken or stirred. These three pillars were believed to form the platform upon which the new German society, unified and ready to fight, would stand.
The Nazi Propaganda Agenda:
Goebbels’s “Total War” broadcast, shown in the video below, largely epitomizes these themes. Just after the Battle of Stalingrad, Goebbels intended to build broader support for the war and restore faith and trust in Hitler as the nation’s leader. But more importantly, the video shows us just how powerful a tool the radio could be. As Goebbels passionately cried for the people to “follow the Führer” and bring “total war on the West” and his message and the roar of the crowds reaction cascaded into living rooms, pubs, offices and schools, he virtually brought the entire German public into the Sportpalast arena in Berlin. Indeed, the radio allowed him to expand the Nazi message to every nook and cranny of Germany in passionate and fiery form, unifying the people and cementing their tie to the Führer and the Nazi regime. One can only imagine how the atmospheres in German communities compared to that of the Sportpalast arena on that fateful February day in 1943.
The Nazi Propaganda Agenda:
Goebbels’s “Total War” broadcast, shown in the video below, largely epitomizes these themes. Just after the Battle of Stalingrad, Goebbels intended to build broader support for the war and restore faith and trust in Hitler as the nation’s leader. But more importantly, the video shows us just how powerful a tool the radio could be. As Goebbels passionately cried for the people to “follow the Führer” and bring “total war on the West” and his message and the roar of the crowds reaction cascaded into living rooms, pubs, offices and schools, he virtually brought the entire German public into the Sportpalast arena in Berlin. Indeed, the radio allowed him to expand the Nazi message to every nook and cranny of Germany in passionate and fiery form, unifying the people and cementing their tie to the Führer and the Nazi regime. One can only imagine how the atmospheres in German communities compared to that of the Sportpalast arena on that fateful February day in 1943.
Joseph Goebbels giving his most famous speech, "Total War" on February 18th, 1943 to a large audience at the Sportspalast auditorium in Berlin. The speech was broadcasted to well over 20 million people on the radio and epitomizes the message and style of Nazi radio propaganda of the time. To see the full, hour and twenty minute speech see the link below [2].
Sources:
[1] David Welch, Nazi Propaganda: The Power and the Limitations, 183.
[2] David Welch, “Nazi Propaganda and the Volksgemeinschaft: Constructing a People’s Community,” Journal of Contemporary History 39, no. 2 (April 1, 2004): 217.
[3] Welch, Nazi Propaganda, 183.
Photo and Video Credits:
[1]: Image provided to Wikimedia by German Federal Archives: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Bundesarchiv_Bild_119-2406-01%2C_Berlin-Lustgarten%2C_Rede_Joseph_Goebbels.jpg
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PrOQqorDmY
[1] David Welch, Nazi Propaganda: The Power and the Limitations, 183.
[2] David Welch, “Nazi Propaganda and the Volksgemeinschaft: Constructing a People’s Community,” Journal of Contemporary History 39, no. 2 (April 1, 2004): 217.
[3] Welch, Nazi Propaganda, 183.
Photo and Video Credits:
[1]: Image provided to Wikimedia by German Federal Archives: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Bundesarchiv_Bild_119-2406-01%2C_Berlin-Lustgarten%2C_Rede_Joseph_Goebbels.jpg
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PrOQqorDmY