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.
This is the second of two winning essays published in The Chronicle. The first was published in our June 3 issue.
The Nazi Degenerate Art Exhibit opened in Munich in July 1937, filled with thousands of modern art pieces that somehow contaminated the Nazi idea of German “perfection.”
This exhibit is one of many examples of how the Nazis sought to control German minds, alleging corruption by those they deemed “other.” As time went on, the Nazis escalated their campaign of propaganda to instill citizens with fascist corruption.
The persuasive art techniques used throughout all forms of propaganda made them more effective and successful, with the seven elements of art (line, shape, color, form, space, value, and texture) appearing within each and every piece. Hitler and his Nazi regime weaponized these elements to persuade the masses to execute over six million innocent lives.
After the shameful loss of World War I, Germany was in desperate need of unity. Not soon after, the Nazi party started releasing propaganda giving them the perfect scapegoat to blame for their troubles: the Jews.
In order to effectively instill the German people with the idea that the Jews were a parasite, weakening their nation, they simultaneously developed the belief that the German people were superior, almost angelic.
The vehicle used to communicate this concept was propaganda.
One of the most important concepts that the Nazi party communicated in these pieces was the “perfect Aryan” family, including a mother, a father, and multiple children. Another idea the Nazis portrayed was that Germans’ spiritual honor lay within serving their Fatherland.
Family roles in propaganda specified mothers caring for their children, often cradling a newborn child at their breast. The children were expected to be active members of the Hitler Youth, and the men were to work and serve to protect their families.
The most compelling aspect in which they conveyed their message was the depiction of art within each piece of propaganda. The Nazis effectively used lighter tones and angelic features to make the German people feel like they were part of a superior race.
The specific art styles included families with many children to promote women to keep reproducing the “perfect” genealogy. Combining images with messages of strong emotional language assisted Nazis in their scheme to rally the nation, with their strategic use of the seven elements of art alarmingly captivating to their audience.
A horrifying component of Nazi propaganda is the attention to each minor detail, whether it be pamphlet, post card, newspaper, etc. Educated in persuasive propaganda, the Nazis used the seven elements of art, with each individual item possessing astonishing persuasive tendencies.
One poster proved extremely powerful to the German eye, featuring an “Aryan” family casted in light and cream tones, giving them an ethereal appearance. This poster promoted birth and population growth, and it also encouraged those of model “Aryan” families to reach out to their local party organization for assistance if needed.
Larger families would receive holidays, extra food, and help with the children at home. In this poster, a large eagle towers in the background, and its wings encompass the family, symbolizing the omnipresence of the Nazi Regime. The father protectively embraces and guards his family, and his son is featured at his side to represent the roles the men must fulfill. The mother, holding a newborn child in her arms with a soft peaceful look on her face, is content in her role. Lastly, a little girl, facing the audience, brings true emotion of happiness to the picture.
This piece is specifically meant to include those of the “Aryan” mold, giving its audience a sense of unity and solidarity with their nation. The encouragement of reproduction was to strengthen Germany’s future and proved itself effective.
Mothers who had “child-rich” families had the potential to win the “Mother’s Cross,” with some even earning a gold-plated medal encrusted with diamonds for having twelve or more children. Even though the beautiful family image deemed itself perfect, it had a more sinister effect on those who were excluded.
Critical to the Nazi Party’s unification of Germans, they needed a scapegoat to blame for Germany’s troubles, declaring Jews as their enemy. Propaganda such as antisemitic curriculum, pamphlets, and even postcards paved the way for escalating persecution.
The horrific treatment of the Jews can visually be seen in the countless antisemitic images prevalent in Nazi propaganda, depicting them as menaces to society. Dark images of Jews characterized them as repugnant, money-hungry, obese and even animalistic in some cases. Again, the Nazis used persuasive art techniques in propaganda to outcast the Jews.
Propaganda presented to the German public also used strong emotional language to convince Germans that Jews would “poison the German people spiritually and destroy it morally.”
The Jewish people immediately felt the effects of the widespread hateful messages, and their persecution only escalated as they faced increasingly harsh treatment, culminating in their deportation to the killing centers in the East.
Propaganda was the root of the abuse Jewish people experienced, and the Nazi Party fatally utilized elements of art to help this root grow into one of the most horrific genocides in history.
Amongst the many forms of propaganda that helped fuel Jewish oppression and annihilation was the antisemitic cartoon titled “Vermin,” featured on the September 1944 cover of the horrifically antisemitic newspaper Der Stürmer.
Germany neared the end of war, and most Germans grew tired of war and loss. The message accompanying the cartoon stated: “Life is not worth living, / When one does not resist the parasite, / Never satisfied as it creeps about. / We must and will win” (“Caricatures from Der Stürmer”).
A large parasitic, caterpillar-like figure, featured in black and white, crawls across the globe, stereotypically alleging a Jewish goal of global domination. The insect’s face features a grotesque nose and hollowed-out eyes, framed by sinister eyebrows. The pupil of the right eye is the sickle and hammer, with the other eye reflecting a dollar sign, suggesting that the Jews were behind communism and capitalism.
A scratchy, rough texture to the image creates the illusion of an ominous threat. This cover intended to fill the German people with resolve, even as they were losing the war, desperately reminding Germans of what was at stake, even as most Jews had already suffered their fate in the killing fields across Europe. By creating an image with a dark artistry, the message urges Germans to fight exhaustively, even as their defeat was imminent.
By using persuasive art techniques, the Nazis successfully convinced the German people to exclude the Jews, culminating in the destruction of millions of Jewish lives. When reflecting on the power of persuasion within propaganda, Eric Hoffer stated, “Propaganda does not deceive people; it merely helps them to deceive themselves.”
Hoffer’s quote reveals that people will often go along with a message if it is convenient or beneficial to them. I agree with his quote because people have their own minds and free will, which may eventually reveal one’s moral compass and hidden narrative. Although it is difficult to fight against the common crowd, we must do our own research to find the narrative behind the message. If what we find is false, it is our job to speak up for the truth.
