1. What makes a person vulnerable to propaganda?
2. How can multiple propaganda mediums work together to convey a message?
3. How effective were Nazi propaganda messages in reaching their intended audiences?
In addressing these questions, we tried to look at each activity we did on the trip from varying perspectives. In doing so, our questions were all answered one way or another in our previous posts.
First of all, it became apparent to me that it is very easy to be vulnerable to propaganda. As I described in my last post, people constantly try to seek evidence in their lives. Therefore when they see films such as The Triumph of the Will or The Eternal Jew, they will want to believe them. If the public is uncertain or ignorant about a topic, they look for evidence like these films to gain a better understanding. In addition, censorship makes people very vulnerable to propaganda. Essentially, censoring the types of things that people can view is propaganda in itself because it causes the aforementioned ignorance and uncertainty. Media censorship tends to cut people off from knowing the truth and instead fills in the gaps with altered versions of the truth. Also, when media is limited, people only have few places they can go to get accurate information. This makes it easier for people to fall victim to propaganda simply because they do not know as much. Through our experiences with the multiple broadcasting centers such as BBC, Sky, and Deutsche Welle, we learned that having multiple sources of information is important. The more informed people are, the less vulnerable they are.
This idea leads into our second question, "How can multiple propaganda mediums work together to convey a message?" Multiple propaganda mediums are important to offer a variety of different platforms for people to view them. Having messages portrayed through posters, books, films, and more allow them to reach larger audiences. We saw on our Berlin walking tour how posters and books really emphasized Nazi ideals of purity. Also, we saw in the German Documentation Museum how films and books could have the same message but be displayed in entirely different ways. Yet, all of these mediums work together because they can all offer something different. For example, books and posters are tangible and rely on words and still pictures. Meanwhile TV and film utilize audio and moving pictures. In all, they all work differently and work well in combination with one another to portray messages.
Lastly, to address our final question, I would say that Nazi propaganda messages were definitely very effective in reaching their intended audiences. Hundreds of people would go to see each movie premier as they were released. Also, books such as Mein Kampf circulated worldwide. The Nazi ideals that needed to be portrayed were done so efficiently and effectively. The messages proceeded to brainwash children and adults alike with their anti-Semitic and Hitler-praising ideals.
So, as you can see, all of our questions were addressed during this course. The strong communication focus of the class related well to our theme of propaganda. In addition, the strong communication focus always kept me very engaged in the material. Just like Jordyn, I'm not huge into history either. I've often found it to be a dull subject to learn in the classroom. But being able to see history where it happened and as it relates to communication kept me interested throughout the course. I loved getting to visit new places while concurrently learning new information. I think one of my favorite parts of this trip was just maneuvering the cities on our own. I felt extremely free having an entire city to just roam around in. Since I had never previously been to Germany or the Czech Republic, entering cities in which I didn't know the primary language was strange to me. It made me very hesitant to travel around in them. For example, Berlin was our first stop on the trip that didn't speak English as the primary language. Thus, I was nervous to use the underground system because of all of the German stop names and signs. As the trip went on, I gained confidence in my abilities. However, if I had the chance, I would love to try my hand at Berlin undergrounds again. I feel that if we I used them more often, I could have discovered an entirely new outlook on Berlin.
In going along with this, I would also love to explore the German language more. Since our world is becoming increasingly connected in language, I spoke English everywhere on the trip. However, I would love to know German so as to experience the real German culture more. Regardless though, I am glad I got to speak English on this trip because it made communicating with everyone from bus drivers to waitresses easier. But even if I didn't get to speak or understand the language at all, I know I still would have had an amazing time. The places we went and people we were with were incredible. I wouldn't have traded this experience for the world.
-Chelsea Weber
This idea leads into our second question, "How can multiple propaganda mediums work together to convey a message?" Multiple propaganda mediums are important to offer a variety of different platforms for people to view them. Having messages portrayed through posters, books, films, and more allow them to reach larger audiences. We saw on our Berlin walking tour how posters and books really emphasized Nazi ideals of purity. Also, we saw in the German Documentation Museum how films and books could have the same message but be displayed in entirely different ways. Yet, all of these mediums work together because they can all offer something different. For example, books and posters are tangible and rely on words and still pictures. Meanwhile TV and film utilize audio and moving pictures. In all, they all work differently and work well in combination with one another to portray messages.
Lastly, to address our final question, I would say that Nazi propaganda messages were definitely very effective in reaching their intended audiences. Hundreds of people would go to see each movie premier as they were released. Also, books such as Mein Kampf circulated worldwide. The Nazi ideals that needed to be portrayed were done so efficiently and effectively. The messages proceeded to brainwash children and adults alike with their anti-Semitic and Hitler-praising ideals.
So, as you can see, all of our questions were addressed during this course. The strong communication focus of the class related well to our theme of propaganda. In addition, the strong communication focus always kept me very engaged in the material. Just like Jordyn, I'm not huge into history either. I've often found it to be a dull subject to learn in the classroom. But being able to see history where it happened and as it relates to communication kept me interested throughout the course. I loved getting to visit new places while concurrently learning new information. I think one of my favorite parts of this trip was just maneuvering the cities on our own. I felt extremely free having an entire city to just roam around in. Since I had never previously been to Germany or the Czech Republic, entering cities in which I didn't know the primary language was strange to me. It made me very hesitant to travel around in them. For example, Berlin was our first stop on the trip that didn't speak English as the primary language. Thus, I was nervous to use the underground system because of all of the German stop names and signs. As the trip went on, I gained confidence in my abilities. However, if I had the chance, I would love to try my hand at Berlin undergrounds again. I feel that if we I used them more often, I could have discovered an entirely new outlook on Berlin.
In going along with this, I would also love to explore the German language more. Since our world is becoming increasingly connected in language, I spoke English everywhere on the trip. However, I would love to know German so as to experience the real German culture more. Regardless though, I am glad I got to speak English on this trip because it made communicating with everyone from bus drivers to waitresses easier. But even if I didn't get to speak or understand the language at all, I know I still would have had an amazing time. The places we went and people we were with were incredible. I wouldn't have traded this experience for the world.
-Chelsea Weber
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