Did the antisemitic policy of the National Socialist regime succeed because it was anchored in deeply rooted anti-Jewish sentiments which permeated all classes of the German population? This rather simple question posed by David Bankier, one among many historians of the Third Reich who have been unable to satisfactorily resolve this issue, raises a whole host of complexities which come to dominate any examination of the impact of antisemitic propaganda upon the German population. Have historians, such as Yehuda Bauer, been too willing to assert that Nazi propaganda targeted and subsequently radicalized a pre-existing bedrock of latent antisemitism among the German people?
Such assertions would seem to substantiate Frank Bajohr’s suggestion that antisemitic propaganda functioned within the framework of National Socialist rule as a ‘dictatorship of bottom-up consent’, a Zustimmungsdiktatur which was firmly rooted in the German population’s growing responsiveness to the leadership of the Third Reich. However, the validity of Bajohr’s claim is somewhat undermined by contemporary evidence of the German population’s reactions to antisemitic measures, particularly in SD reports, which frequently reflect Jeffrey Herf’s argument of “a radical Nazi minority operating in a society with a less radical but broad antisemitic consensus, a consensus broad enough to render people indifferent [...]”.
Such indifference must be viewed in terms of a situation whereby the collective concerns, and collective opinion, of the German population were suitably divorced from the abstracted and de-historicized idea of ‘the Jew’ propagandized by the Nazi leadership throughout the war to render the German population desensitized to the plight of the Jews.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Did Nazi Propaganda Campaigns Bolster or Undermine Popular Antisemitism in Germany, 1939-45?
- Popular Antisemitism: A Pre-Existing Condition?
- Antisemitic Propaganda in Germany and Its Reception
- The Cultural Arena: A Faustian Trade-Off
- The Jewish Question: A Marginal Concern in the 1940s
- The Impact of Antisemitic Film Propaganda
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This study examines the impact of Nazi antisemitic propaganda on the German population between 1939 and 1945. It aims to determine whether Nazi propaganda campaigns bolstered or undermined existing antisemitic sentiments among the German populace.
- The relationship between pre-existing antisemitism and Nazi propaganda
- The impact of Nazi antisemitic propaganda on German public opinion
- The role of self-interest and apathy in German society's response to antisemitic measures
- The influence of the war situation on the reception of antisemitic propaganda
- The effectiveness of antisemitic film propaganda in shaping public perception
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
- Did Nazi Propaganda Campaigns Bolster or Undermine Popular Antisemitism in Germany, 1939-45? This introductory chapter examines the historiographical debate surrounding the effectiveness of Nazi antisemitic propaganda and introduces key themes and arguments.
- Popular Antisemitism: A Pre-Existing Condition? This chapter explores whether a pre-existing antisemitic sentiment within the German population facilitated the success of the Nazi regime's antisemitic policies.
- Antisemitic Propaganda in Germany and Its Reception This chapter analyzes the nature and content of Nazi antisemitic propaganda and examines its reception by the German population, particularly during the war years.
- The Cultural Arena: A Faustian Trade-Off This chapter explores the impact of Nazi cultural policies on German society, particularly the exclusion of Jewish cultural figures and institutions. It examines whether this policy was driven by antisemitism or by the pursuit of material security for the non-Jewish majority.
- The Jewish Question: A Marginal Concern in the 1940s This chapter analyzes the German population's growing apathy towards the Jewish Question during the war years, arguing that the increasing pressures of war overshadowed concerns related to antisemitism.
- The Impact of Antisemitic Film Propaganda This chapter explores the effectiveness of antisemitic film propaganda in shaping public opinion and attitudes towards Jews.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
Nazi propaganda, antisemitism, German society, public opinion, war situation, apathy, self-interest, film propaganda, cultural policy, Jewish Question, Faustian trade-off, 'dictatorship of bottom-up consent', 'radical Nazi minority', 'withdrawal into privacy', 'degenerate culture'.
- Quote paper
- James Pinnock (Author), 2011, Nazi Propaganda in Germany, 1939-45. Did the Campaigns Bolster or Undermine Popular Antisemitism?, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/413467
