The White Rose Student Research contest, sponsored annually by the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education, is open to students in grades eight through 12.
MCHE announced this year’s winners at an awards banquet last month. You can see a video of the event here (https://mchekc.org/videos/mche-programs/).
The 2020-2021 contest theme was propaganda.
The Chronicle is publishing the essays of the two winners, including the one below. We will publish the second one in the June 10 issue.
“I was coming home and there was a neighborhood boy, with whom I had grown up, standing in front of our door in uniform and acted as if he didn’t know me.” Ilsa Cole spoke these words about the discrimination she experienced as a German Jew living in Nazi Germany, an experience shared by Jews throughout that country.
Before and during World War II, non-Jewish Germans saw and read antisemitic propaganda almost daily; this propaganda reinforced the message that the Aryan Germans shouldn’t acknowledge Jews. Some propaganda created an environment of mistrust and hatred against Jews, while other types encouraged non-Jewish German citizens to stay true to Aryan ideals and celebrate German culture; no matter the type of propaganda it was always repetitive. Nazi propaganda in the form of posters, magazines, and more served a dual purpose: to instill a strong sense of pride and nationalism in non-Jewish Germans, and to promote and encourage discrimination and hatred of Jews.
The rise of Hitler and the Nazi Party in Germany originated in the aftermath of World War I. In November 1918, Germany surrendered, and the resulting Treaty of Versailles wasn’t favorable to Germany. The treaty included a war guilt clause, a severe reduction of the German military, and $70 billion in war damages. The weak German government, known as the Weimar Republic, struggled to lead under the strain of the growing anger among the German citizens and the effects of the Great Depression including high unemployment and inflation.
German citizens desired a scapegoat to blame for both Germany’s loss in the war and for the current conditions within the country. This desire for a scapegoat, combined with hope for a better situation, caused the German people to willingly accept the Nazi message and led to the rise of Hitler and the Nazi Party.
Between 1928 and 1932, the number of seats the Nazi Party held in the Reichstag rose by 35%. In 1932, the Nazis held the largest minority in the Reichstag, which led President von Hindenburg to name Hitler Chancellor in January 1933. Within months, the Nazis began to pass laws that discriminated against Jews as well as spread antisemitic propaganda throughout society. The Nazis’ propaganda machine focused on two types of propaganda: one that supported the idea of perfect ‘Aryan’ Germans, and the other that portrayed Jews as Germany’s misfortune.
Targeted at the perfect Aryan citizen, the purpose of inclusionary propaganda was to make non-Jewish Germans feel national pride and to establish a sense of belonging. The Nazis began producing this type of propaganda in the early 1930s to appeal to the Aryan men and women of Germany and present Aryans and the Nazi Party as the ideal. Found on posters and in magazines, this state-supported propaganda displayed the qualities of a perfect Ayran as someone with blonde hair and blue eyes who was tall and strong.
Additionally, the propaganda established societal roles for the Aryan men and women and imbued them with a sense of national pride. The Nazis used these images to reinforce their messages of promoting Aryan perfection while at the same time delivering Nazi ideology.
Published in the late 1930s and early 1940s, ‘Das deutsche Mädel’ was a magazine that appealed to German girls. Some of the covers portrayed Aryan German girls as blonde, healthy, and young. Through the utilization of softer colors and encouraging phrases, the propaganda had the ability to connect with German girls and inspire sacrifice for their country. By utilizing inclusionary propaganda, the Nazi Party portrayed Hitler as a hero to the Germans, persuaded the German public to join the Nazis’ causes, and inspired the included to make sacrifices for the good of the racial community. While this type of propaganda was inclusive of German citizens, exclusionary propaganda had differing qualities and characteristics.
More commonly used than inclusionary propaganda, exclusionary propaganda informed the German public of both the traits and dangers of Jews. Exclusionary propaganda portrayed Jews as repulsive and as enemies of the German public. A nationwide boycott of Jewish businesses began April 1, 1933, during which antisemitic Germans painted the Star of David and the word “Jude” on Jewish storefronts; additionally, the boycotts turned violent in some areas of Germany.
Ultimately, the boycott was unsuccessful, and the government turned to other forms of discrimination. Six days later, on April 7, 1933, the Nazi government passed laws to exclude opponents of the state and to require civil service employees to prove their Aryan descent. To do so, these employees had to document the religion of their parents and grandparents or risk dismissal from service. In the following weeks, the Nazis passed similar antisemitic laws that adversely affected Jewish lawyers and doctors.
“The great masses’ receptive ability is only very limited, their understanding is small, but their forgetfulness is great.” These words in Hitler’s book ‘Mein Kampf’ expressed his ideas over propaganda. Propaganda allowed an opportunity to place blame on the Jews. The propaganda slowly twisted the way the German citizens thought, so that over time German society became disgusted and repulsed by Jews. As Cole and many other German Jews experienced, people who had previous relationships with Jews would no longer acknowledge them. Nazi propaganda discouraged association with Jews and established them as the enemy, calling them children of the devil. Violence and discrimination resulted from antisemitic propaganda. German society began to fear and exclude Jews, which originated from the ideas present in the propaganda.
In talking about propaganda, American philosopher Eric Hoffer stated, “Propaganda does not deceive people; it merely helps them to deceive themselves.” Hoffer’s statement expresses his idea that humans are easily tricked by propaganda because they are already inclined to believe its message. I agree with Hoffer’s statement. Humans by nature are selfish and arrogant, and throughout history, there have been several examples of that. One of the underlying reasons for the Holocaust is that one group of people believed they were superior to another.
There are several other instances where humans put themselves first as opposed to thinking of others, leading to disastrous situations or events. Propaganda can be as support in peoples’ minds that they are superior to others. Propaganda in Nazi Germany succeeded in promoting the idea of a perfect Aryan German because those who believed the stereotype also believed they were superior. Jews became the enemy, as portrayed in widespread propaganda because Aryan German citizens felt that someone else was to blame for their post-WWI difficulties. The government that should have served as a control against this selfish and superior thinking instead directed and oversaw the machinery promoting it. Through the manipulation of government propaganda, the Nazis directed the German citizens to place blame and aim their misery at Jews.
The purpose of the Nazis’ state-sponsored propaganda was to promote and encourage discrimination and hatred of the Jews, and to instill a strong sense of pride and nationalism in non-Jewish Germans. The goals for inclusionary propaganda were to establish roles for Aryan men and women, to bolster German national pride, and to inspire the included to make sacrifices for the good of the racial community. The goals for exclusionary propaganda were to inform the public of the qualities of a Jew and portray them as the enemy. Propaganda factored into every German citizen’s life, and its effects were all-encompassing and devastating.
