The Nazi party used propaganda during World War II to help there cause. To have effective propaganda you ingrain your ideas into the very fabric of a persons development. Considering how a child's mind is like putty that you can form into what ever you want, it makes sense that the Nazis used propaganda on children. The propaganda was not just entertaining books like "The Poisonous Mushroom" that is setup like the "Little Golden Books" of my childhood (The fairy tales and old stories like Jack and the Beanstalk). But, the Nazis used textbooks has propaganda. These "educational" books did not always tell the truth, but what the Nazis leaders wanted the people to believe. Also, subjects like biology were used to reinforce the Aryan superiority and the inferiority of Jews. Hitler himself understood that real education was the bane of propaganda. Hitler wanted gears for his machine, not the free thinkers that would threaten his iron grip on the people. The success of this propaganda is shown in multiple events such as the Holocaust, and the death rate of Hitler Youth soldiers. I chose propaganda due to propaganda being one of the ways that writing can become something more then entertainment or education.
My presentation will begin with three twin questions, six total questions. The questions will be related but different. Like opposite sides of the same coin. The odd questions I expect people to know the answers, and the even question people won't know the answers. Then I will show examples of the propaganda's effectiveness. After this I will introduce the topic of Hitler Youth propaganda. Then give examples of Youth propaganda like "The Poisonous Mushroom", textbooks of the time, and perhaps a speech. I will show how the propaganda was able to ingrain itself in the young population. Close by trying to portray an alternate reality based off of a different view of the world.
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2 comments:
For the questions, are you using modern American propaganda, or historical tools of the Nazi party? It's a very interesting topic with an enormous amount of available source material, I'm sure. Other than the children's book as an example, what sources do you expect to use? I bet even a history book available for and used in American history classes may have more examples. How do you think propaganda can be curbed, if ever? An active media? Educated society?
I think Aristotle's Ars Rhetorica will help to establish a theoretical framework for your discussion of propaganda. That is, Aristotle identified "pathos" as an important argumentative appeal but also pointed out that the emotional appeal associated with "pathos" can be manipulative. Have a look. The entire text of Ars Rhetorica is online.
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