Nazi Propaganda

In the fall, it was clear to us that the Nazi's had a very bizarre way of projecting their propaganda to the public. However, the extent to how powerful and thought out their propaganda was, we have learned, is quite scary. We found out that everyone was vulnerable to Nazi propaganda. The Nazi's made all their propaganda something that was targeted to one individual or another, whether framing ones opinion about a concentration camp or becoming supporters of the Nazi party. Throughout the past week we visited the Nuremberg rally grounds. In this location we have seen many different styles of propaganda, that we are not use to today, within the Nazi party.

Nuremberg was the heart of where you see most of Nazi propaganda. Nuremberg was known as the Nazi city because of all the propaganda and rallies that took place there. It was four square miles that lined up with the sun so that the sun would always shine on Hitler-- projecting a positive image of Hitler himself. Something else we learned was that the Nazi's liked to do everything big. For example, big structures of buildings just for the big screen-- so it would catch the attention of their audience. One example of this is the WWI memorial in Nuremberg, also known as the Luitpold Arena. This building served as a location for mass parades and assembles, it was able to assemble 150,000 people before Hitler in the Arena. This building was added onto to create a large impact on the public. The Nazi party made a large granite pathway to make the building stand out. This created a large image for not only the people in attendance before him but also for television-- which made the public view Hitler as a ruling power. At the other end of the arena was a grandstand with a speaker's platform and three tall swastika banners. The tall banners were used on many of their buildings. Not only did they stand out because of their size but they stood out because they were everywhere. This propaganda technique created a lasting image of the Nazi party in the publics mind. 

In addition, the Congress Hall, which was never finished (because the Nazi's lost the war) and is the largest remaining monumental National Soviet building in Germany, has a self-supporting roof and was to stretch over the interior court where 50,000 people were meant to assemble. This building is very unique because the entrance of to the Congress Hall faced the sun-- which meant that whenever Hitler would walk out the entrance the sun would always shine on him. This propaganda technique was very influential for people watching him on television because people would see how much he stuck out on the screen due to the spot light from the sun.

The thing we realized was that the Nazi's had a different way of doing things compared to what we are used to today. Their buildings and the location of their buildings were not in any way ideal, it was essentially all just to look good for the cameras-- in order to affect a larger audience. People are going to be more attracted to something big, bold and lit up versus something small and dull. This is something the Nazi's knew and took advantage of. They knew what attracted people and were able to capture their audience through their bizarre propaganda skills. Their propaganda is what made them gain the power they did.

It is scary to think that persuasion through propaganda lead to such a mark in history and how easy it is to fall for the propaganda we see around us.

-Jordyn Jaffe