Nazi Propaganda

(Nazi Propaganda. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/troye/4080347321/)

(Nazi Propaganda. Retrieved from http://www.chdhu.org/collections.asp)



Throughout Hitler’s reign, the Nazi’s were known for their use of propaganda posters. These posters aimed to influence public opinion, and were used to obtain and maintain power, as well as introduce and implement Nazi policies. No one has mastered the use of propaganda like the Nazi’s, and it is because of their use of it that the word propaganda has the negative connotations that it does.

The first poster is a propaganda poster directed to the French. In it, the Germans encourage the people to trust, or have confidence in, the German soldier. As a whole, the poster presents a calm, relaxed, and joyful experience. With his helmet attached to his waistband and a big smile on his face, the Nazi soldier is relaxed and appears to be enjoying himself. His head is tilted up slightly, as if he is envisioning greater things yet to come. The point of this poster is to invoke trust in the German soldiers, and therefore, uses children to show the compassion of the soldier.  There are three children with the soldier, two standing next to him and one in his arms. In their faces we can see a change as the trust develops. The first child, standing next to the soldier and further back, appears hesitant and timid. In her face we see the unease and caution initially present. The second child, also standing next to the soldier but more in the foreground, is less hesitant. In her, we see more trust and less resistance as well as a level of curiosity. Finally, we see the third child in the soldier’s arms. This child is eating a treat, completely happy and comfortable in the arms of the soldier. Also, note the color of the background. It is yellow, typically considered a color of happiness.

The second poster is a page from a German magazine. Here, we see the Nazi mentality fully exposed. The viewer’s eye focuses directly in on the larger character at the top. This character represents the Jewish community, noted by the Star of David on his hat. The line of the poster leads down, and as we follow it, we see the Jew consuming Stalin, who is consuming Uncle Sam, who is consuming a representation of Great Britain. During WWII, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States were the three largest countries hostile towards Germany. This poster represents this hostility to Germany and blames the Jews as the source of it. This is depicted by the larger Jewish man at the beginning of the line. The Nazi’s blamed the Jews for everything bad in the world, and this poster shows the extent of their disillusionment.

These two posters show how well the Nazi’s used propaganda, their agenda, and their skill in manipulating the truth. They depict themselves as honest and trustworthy, while blaming the Jews for the world’s problems. Through the use of posters like these, they were successful in turning whole nations against the Jewish population and rallying support for their cause.



"I Cannot Forget" by Alexander Kimel

I   C A N N O T   F O R G E T

THE ACTION IN THE GHETTO OF ROHATYN, MARCH 1942.
        by Alexander Kimel- Holocaust Survivor.

     Do I want to remember?
The peaceful ghetto, before the raid:
     Children shaking like leaves in the wind.
Mothers searching for a piece of bread.
     Shadows, on swollen legs, moving with fear.
No, I don't want to remember, but how can I forget?

     Do I want to remember, the creation of hell?
The shouts of the Raiders, enjoying the hunt.
     Cries of the wounded, begging for life.
Faces of mothers carved with pain.
     Hiding Children, dripping with fear.
No, I don't want to remember, but how can I forget?

     Do I want to remember, my fearful return?
Families vanished in the midst of the day.
     The mass grave steaming with vapor of blood.
Mothers searching for children in vain.
     The pain of the ghetto, cuts like a knife.
No, I don't want to remember, but how can I forget?

     Do I want to remember, the wailing of the night?
The doors kicked ajar, ripped feathers floating the air.
     The night scented with snow-melting blood.
While the compassionate moon, is showing the way.
     For the faceless shadows, searching for kin.
No, I don't want to remember, but I cannot forget.

     Do I want to remember this world upside down?
Where the departed are blessed with an instant death.
     While the living condemned to a short wretched life,
And a long tortuous journey into unnamed place,
     Converting Living Souls, into ashes and gas.
No.  I Have to Remember and Never Let You Forget.

               Alexander Kimel was a poet and Holocaust survivor. His poems included works on the atrocities committed in the death camps as well as inspirational poems portraying his belief in mankind regardless of the horrid acts they commit. Whether his poems are uplifting or full of despair, they all reflect his need ensure the unspeakable acts committed during the Holocaust are not forgotten.

               In his poem, "I Cannot Forget", Alexander Kimel speaks of the raids that occurred in Ghetto of Rohatyn. In this poem, Kimel begs the question, “Do I want to remember?” The poem, as a whole, addresses the peace before a Nazi raid, the panic as it begins, the fear as it intensifies, the pain of lives lost, and the difficult acceptance that death may be better than living. The opening line of each stanza begins with “Do I want to remember . . . . . . ,” and ends these stanza’s with, “No, I don’t want to remember, but I cannot forget,” repeatedly asking himself the same question. This indicates a personal conflict within. Kimel is struggling with the desire to forget these years of fear, hunger, and pain. Yet he knows he cannot.

               In the beginning of the poem, Kimel speaks of the peace within the ghetto prior to the raid, and the reader is left with a sense of calm within themselves. However, as the poem progresses, and starts speaking of the panic, fear, and death within the raid, the level of emotion becomes stronger as well, leaving the reader with a real sense of the danger experienced by those living in the ghetto. As Kimel speaks of doors being kicked in, feathers flying, and mothers searching in vain for lost children, he paints scenes easily imagined by the reader with the use of a few simple words that spare no detail. Even at the end, with the realization that death is a blessing, the simplicity of his lines do not distract from the magnitude of that realization.

               In the last two stanza’s Kimel asks how he can forget, finally ending with the statement, “No. I Have to Remember and Never Let You Forget.” In this line, unlike the previous ones, almost every word is capitalized. This sets this line apart from the rest, showing its importance. Here, Kimel has resolved the conflict within himself. Throughout the poem, the reader watched his debate within, seeing the conflict come to life. Now, Kimel realizes, and accepts that, as a Holocaust survivor, he now bears the burden of remembering this event to ensure the world never forgets.

Works Cited

Kimel, Alexander. "I Cannot Forget." March 1942. Holocaust Understand & Prevention. Web.

            May 7, 2011 http://www.kimel.net/poetry.html

A71 Tank Patrol by Adolf Hitler

(Snyder's Treasures)

            Adolf Hitler is known throughout the world for the mass killings of Jewish and other peoples during World War II (WWII). A little less known is the fact that Hitler’s first ambition was to become an artist. Though he had some skill, it wasn’t enough to pursue this dream. Here, we see a little of his talent in his painting A71 Tank Patrol.

            Dated 1917, this painting depicts “a German tank followed by a partial squad of soldiers advancing through a war-torn town, with war-torn trees on each side of a heavily shelled road,” (Snyder). Hitler fought with Germany during World War I (WWI), when this watercolor was painted, and this watercolor most likely portrays a scene he encountered.

            The eye is immediately drawn to the WWI German Panzer tank on the bottom left. The soldiers surrounding the tank appear casual but cautious. They don’t expect to run into trouble but are ready to return fire if necessary. The road they are travelling is clear, allowing for easy passage. It’s obvious whatever battle had been is long over by the amount of destruction of the town and the minimal amount of debris on the road.

            The town itself is not much more than a large pile of rubble. One of the most noticeable signs of destruction is the trees. Blackened from gunfire, they stand limply among the rubble, not much more than twigs. These trees portray the sadness and loss of life, both human and in nature. To the left of the soldiers, the viewer see the remains of what used to be buildings, and the few that are still standing are not even intact. In the rubble there are bricks, large pieces of metal, frames of buildings, partial walls, and even a bicycle wheel. The bicycle wheel brings a level of humanity to the painting, adding to the sadness and despair. To the right of the soldiers there is an overturned tank, adding to the understanding of the level of destruction this town has seen.

             This painting depicts the destruction of an entire town, yet it lacks the depth of emotion typically seen in these scenes. This is due to the choice of paint. The pastel look of the watercolors softens the emotion of the painting. Given that the use of these watercolors was the choice of the artist, it suggests a disconnect between the artist and the true emotion of the scene. Knowing the artist was Hitler, and the atrocities he would commit in thirty years, this watercolor offers not only a depiction of war-torn town during WWI, but also an insight into the man who painted it.

Works Cited

Snyder’s Treasusres: Adolf Hitler Original Watercolor Artworks. 2009. Web. May 6, 2011.

< http://www.snyderstreasures.net/pages/hartworks.htm>