Power of Propaganda

About This Lesson

In the previous lesson, students were introduced to the Nazis’ idea of a “national community” shaped according to their racial ideals, and the way the Nazis used laws to define and then separate those who belonged to the “national community” from those who did not. In this lesson, students will consider the nature of propaganda and analyze how the Nazis used media to influence the thoughts, feelings, and actions of individuals in Germany. While the Nazis used propaganda as a tool to try to condition the German public to accept, if not actively support, all of their goals (including rearmament and war), this lesson focuses specifically on how they used propaganda to establish “in” groups and “out” groups in German society and cultivate their ideal “national community.” After carefully analyzing several propaganda images created by the Nazis, students will consider the ways in which this material influenced individuals, and they will be encouraged to consider how the effects of propaganda are more complicated than simple brainwashing.

Essential Question

How can learning about the choices people made during past episodes of injustice, mass violence, or genocide help guide our choices today?

Guiding Questions

• How did the Nazis use propaganda to influence individuals’ attitudes and actions and to cultivate public support for their idea of a “national community”?
• How do explicit and implicit messages in the media (including television, the internet, film, radio, etc.) influence people’s beliefs, feelings, and actions? 

Learning Objectives

• Students will analyze several examples of Nazi propaganda to determine how it communicated powerful messages about who should be included in and who should be excluded from German society.
• Students will recognize that the effects of propaganda are more complex than simple brainwashing, and that Hitler succeeded because many German people shared some of the beliefs that were transmitted through Nazi propaganda.

Lesson Plan

Day 1

Activity 1: Introduce the Concept of Propaganda

Explain to students that in this lesson, they will continue to examine the Nazis’ efforts to shape the German “national community” according to their racial ideals. This meant privileging “Aryans” and discriminating against those of so-called inferior races, such as Jews. In the last lesson, students looked at how the Nazis used laws to accomplish this goal. In this lesson, they will look at the way the Nazis used propaganda—through radio, the press, feature films and newsreels, theater, music, art exhibits, books, the school curriculum, sports, and more—to influence the beliefs, feelings, and actions of individuals to help further this goal.  

Begin by having students reflect on the power of media to persuade. Ask them to respond to the following question in their journals:
Do you think people are generally skeptical? Or are they too willing to believe what they learn on the internet, see on television, or hear from politicians or celebrities? How do you decide whether or not to believe what you see and hear?
You might have students discuss their responses using the Think, Pair, Share strategy, or briefly hear a few students’ thoughts as a whole group.  

Then tell students that when governments or politicians use media to persuade people, we often call that propaganda. In the Lesson 12 reading Shaping Public Opinion, students learned about how Hitler established the Bureau of Propaganda and Public Enlightenment in 1933 and appointed Joseph Goebbels as its leader. It is worth reviewing or reminding students of that reading and then establishing a definition for propaganda. Provide students with the following definition:

Propaganda: Information that is intended to persuade an audience to accept a particular idea or cause, often by using biased material or by stirring up emotions.

Activity 2: Analyze “The Eternal Jew” Poster

Tell students that in the activities that follow today and in the next class, they will analyze specific propaganda images used by the Nazis. If you haven’t already, take a moment to pause and set the tone for viewing the images by asking students to revisit the stereotype concept maps they created (or the one the class created together) as part of Lesson 3: Stereotypes and “Single Stories” (see Notes to Teacher).

Then guide students through the Crop It strategy to analyze a propaganda image together as a whole class. Post or project the image The Eternal Jew and tell students that this is a poster representing a museum exhibit in Germany in 1937 and 1938 that was titled “The Eternal Jew.”

Give students a few moments to simply observe the image. Then lead them through the series of instructions below, selecting one or two students to approach the image, use their cropping tool to respond to each prompt, and explain their choice. Move through the prompts one at a time, calling on different students for each prompt to allow for an array of ideas to be contributed. Use the following prompts:

• Identify a part of the image that first caught your eye.
• Identify a part of the image that raises a question for you.
• Identify a part of the image that is designed to make you feel rather than think.
• Identify a part of the image that is designed to make certain individuals feel included in or excluded from the German “national community.” 

Activity 3: “The Eternal Jew” Class Discussion

Remind students that propagandists meticulously pervaded all aspects of German society and used a wide range of forms of propaganda to serve particular purposes and convey specific messages. Students should assume that every detail has a purpose. Finish this activity by discussing the following questions with the class:

• What is the message the creator of this image is sending?
• What does the maker of this image want the viewer to feel?  
• What does the creator of this image want the viewer to do?

Day 2

Activity 1: Propaganda Warm-Up

Before introducing new examples of Nazi propaganda, spend a few minutes reviewing with students the key ideas from the previous day. Ask students to look back at their journal responses about the influence of media to see how their thinking might have changed as a result of analyzing the poster The Eternal Jew.

Alternatively, you might project the poster again and ask students to work with a partner to make a short list of strategies that the creator(s) of the image used to convey an intended message. You could solicit ideas from each pair and record a list on the board to reference later in the lesson.

Activity 2: Analyze Additional Nazi Propaganda Images

There are three additional examples of Nazi propaganda images for students to examine in this activity using the Crop It teaching strategy that you modeled the previous day. By analyzing a collection of such images, students can see that the Nazis created some propaganda that denigrated Jews and other so-called inferior races, while they created other propaganda that glorified “Aryans.” The goal of both approaches was to influence the beliefs, feelings, and actions of individuals in Germany about who should be included and excluded from the “national community.”

Divide students into groups of three or four to work together at analyzing these three images. Distribute the following images, and cropping tools, to each group.

• Nazi Recruitment Propaganda
• Hitler Youth Propaganda
• Antisemitic Children’s Book

Lead students through the same series of instructions for the Crop It strategy listed in Day 1. You might project the list of prompts on the board for each group to reference as students work, or copy and paste them onto a handout for each table.

Depending on the amount of time you have available, have each member of each group analyze a separate image, taking notes in response to each prompt and then sharing their observations with the other members of their group. Alternatively, if you have more time to devote to this activity, you might have every student work with the same image simultaneously, discussing their thinking in their groups along the way. If you choose the second strategy, consider passing out the images one at a time so that the groups don’t rush through the process.

After students have analyzed all of the images, lead a class discussion in which students describe the picture that this collection of propaganda paints of the “national community” the Nazis wished to create. Consider drawing from the following questions:

• Do you notice any themes or patterns in this group of propaganda images?
• Based on the images you have analyzed in this lesson, how do you think the Nazis used propaganda to define the identities of individuals and groups?
• Based on the images you have analyzed and what you have learned thus far in this unit about the rise of the Nazi Party and the Nazi Party’s platform, what can you conclude about the ideal “national community” the Nazis strove to foster? How did they use propaganda to further their goal of creating this ideal “national community”?

Activity 3: Consider the Impact of Propaganda

Now that students have seen and analyzed several examples of Nazi propaganda, ask them to think about the impact these forms of media might have had on the beliefs, feelings, and actions of the people who were exposed to them. It is common for students to conclude after studying propaganda that the Nazis succeeded at brainwashing the German population, but it is important to help them think carefully about this idea. The quotations in the reading The Impact of Propaganda, one from a woman who lived in the Netherlands during this period and another from a contemporary scholar, can help to complicate the idea of a brainwashed populace.  

Give students the reading The Impact of Propaganda. Read aloud Marion Pritchard’s reflection on viewing a film at the museum exhibit “The Eternal Jew” and ask students to respond to the questions in a class discussion or with a partner. Then read aloud scholar Daniel Goldhagen’s ideas about the limits of the power of propaganda and ask students to respond to the questions in a class discussion.

Activity 4: 3-2-1 Exit Ticket

On an index card or half-sheet of paper, ask students to complete an exit ticket using the 3-2-1 strategy format before leaving the classroom. They should address the following prompts, which you can project on the board or distribute on the cards:

• Write down 3 things you learned about how the Nazis used propaganda to influence the way Germans defined their universe of obligation.
• Write down 2 questions you have about Nazi propaganda or propaganda and brainwashing.
• Write down 1 thing you learned that supported or challenged your thinking in your journal response at the beginning of the lesson about the way media can influence our beliefs and actions.