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.