The Holocaust: Nazi Use of Propaganda

How could so many people be so wrong?

Propaganda

• Information that is spread for the purpose of promoting some cause

• The Germans were masters of this! • Their cause was convincing people

that Jews were worthless and evil.

How did they do it?

• The Nazis used advertisements and cartoons like these to blame the Jews for Germany’s problems

• This ad shows a symbol for a Jew strangling the U.S, Russia, the Soviet Union, and China

Germans Blame Others

• This image shows a Jewish person eating the European nations, suggesting they were devouring them with war.

• The reality? Germany started the war and was gobbling territory all around them.

More Lies About Jews

• The Nazis also claimed the Jews were to blame for Germany’s financial problems– Almost half of all Germans were unemployed

• What symbols do you see in this poster that would make people blame Jews?

Hints in the Pictures

• Note the gold in one hand and the whip in the other.

• Nazis wanted people to think of Jews as greedy and selfish

Nazi Reason Jews Were Different

• The Jew is shown ensnaring a woman in his web of lies

Positive Images of Hitler and Nazis

• At the same time the Jews were blamed for war and poverty, ads like this made the Nazis seem kind and peaceful

• This picture shows Hitler sowing the seeds of peace

Get Them Early• Nazis started early teaching children

hatred in schools.• One text book said,“Which race must the National Socialist

race fight against?The Jewish race.• Why?The goal of the Jew is to make himself the

ruler of humanity. Wherever he comes, he destroys works of culture. He is not a creative spirit, rather a destructive spirit.

Nazi Children’s Book

What does that mean?

• This is a children’s book that is titled:

You Can’t Trust a Fox or a Jew

Poisonous Ideas

• This is another children’s book that depicted the Jews as poisonous and tricky

• It is called The Poisonous Mushroom

The Power of Words

• The Nazis also realized that words could change the way people thought.

• They called Jews vermin, like mice or rats.

• When they were going to kill them, they called it extermination, not murder.

The Power of Information

• The Nazis controlled information

• Books were burned if they disagreed with the Nazis or were written by Jews

• This picture is the minister of propaganda speaking at a book burning