“For almost a dozen years german propaganda minister goebbels was recognized as a master of his trade by those who fought and by those who acclaimed the nazi state. this article, based on both the published and unpublished portions of goebbels’ diary, summarizes the major propaganda principles which he followed.”

“This is the most comprehensive analysis to date of nazi film propaganda in its political, social, and economic contexts, from the pre-war cinema as it fell under the control of the propaganda minister, joseph goebbels, through to the end of the second world war. david welch studies more than one hundred films of all types, identifying those aspects of nazi ideology that were concealed in the framework of popular entertainment.”

“This fascinating survey provides a comprehensive introduction to propaganda, its changing nature, its practitioners, and its impact on the past five centuries of world history. written by leading experts, it covers the masters of the art from joseph goebbels to mohandas gandhi and examines enormously influential works of persuasion such as ‘uncle tom’s cabin,’ techniques such as films and posters, and key concepts like black propaganda and brainwashing. case studies reveal the role of mass persuasion during the reformation, and wars throughout history. regional studies cover propaganda superpowers, such as russia, china, and the united states, as well as little-known propaganda campaigns in southeast asia, ireland, and scandinavia. the book traces the evolution of propaganda from the era of printed handbills to computer fakery, and profiles such brilliant practitioners of the art as third reich film director leni riefenstahl and 19th-century cartoonist thomas nast, whose works helped to bring the notorious boss tweed to justice.”

“How the nazi leadership translated radical antisemitism into a narrative of an innocent, besieged germany striking back at an ‘international jewry’ it accused of starting and prolonging world war ii forms the subject of this study. in the nazis’ paranoid conspiracy theory ‘jewry’ comprised powers behind the scenes in london, moscow, and washington. in response to the ‘war of extermination’ that jewry had supposedly launched against germany, the nazi leadership publicly threatened to ‘exterminate’ and ‘annihilate’ the jews as an act of justified retaliation. in their minds and in their policy, the ideological connection between the ‘final solution’ and the second world war was inherent, rather than contingent. the following analysis suggests why a centuries-old hatred led to mass murder between 1941 and 1945.”

“The point has to be made at once that any attempt to quantify public reaction to nazi propaganda is fraught with difficulties. accurate measurement of the effectiveness of nazi propaganda is weakened by the absence of public opinion surveys and the fact that, in a society that resorted so readily to coercions and terror, reported opinion did not necessarily reflect the true feelings and moods of the public, especially if these views were opposed to the regime. nevertheless, to state that public opinion in the third reich ceased to exist is not strictly true. after the nazi ‘seizure of power’ in 1933, propaganda minister joseph goebbels stressed the importance of co-ordinating propaganda with other activities. in a dictatorship, propaganda must address itself to large masses of people and attempt to move them to a uniformity of opinion and action. but the nazis also understood that propaganda is of little value in isolation. to some extent this explains why goebbels impressed on all his staff at the ministry of popular enlightenment and propaganda the imperative necessity constantly to gauge public moods. goebbels therefore regularly received (as did all the ruling élites) extraordinarily detailed reports from the secret police (sd reports) about the mood of the people and would frequently quote these in his diary. hitler, too, was familiar with these reports, and his recorded determination to avoid increasing food prices at all costs for fear that this would undermine the regime’s popularity suggests a political sensitivity to public opinion. to assure themselves of continued popular support was an unwavering concern of the nazi leadership, and of hitler and goebbels in particular.”