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Essay on How Hitler Used Propaganda to Gain Power
Adolf Hitler was the dictator of Nazi Germany during 1933-45. A dictator, by definition, is someone who has complete power over the country they are in control of. Hitler came into power to restore Germany to its former empirical glory. According to historians Hitler was considered a weak dictator as he was selfish in his aims of rebuilding Germany as well as creating negative perceptions of himself from the German population due to his lack of political skills that caught up to him during his dictatorship. However, he was a strong dictator as he created a successful image of himself using propaganda to indoctrinate the population of Germany. Historians, such as Ian Kershaw have gone on to suggest that Hitler was a weak political leader who lacked knowledge on how to rule a country, as well as being someone reluctant to make decisions for the benefit of Germany. Broszart and Mommsen proposed the Functionalism theory that Hitler was a weak dictator who was unable to control the power around him and started to disregard the opinions of his Ministers or alter them for his selfishness. A cunning man who used his strategies to gradually reach the top of the chain and gain the title of the ‘Fuhrer.’ A strong dictator is someone who has complete power and creates a strong reputation for his nation, something Hitler had promised his people, the goal of restoring Germany to its previous eminence. A skilled orator who helped him capture the German people, so it helped create a good foundation of support for him to achieve what he wanted due to his belief in dolschtoss. A master of disguise, Hitler, with the help of his ministers successfully indoctrinated the population which helped him achieve the role of a strong dictator. Hitler relied on his charisma rather than his organizational skills to create good leadership, however, that started to fail as Germany started to fail under pressure during the later years. This will determine the extent of whether Hitler was a weak dictator or if situations had led to the way they did due to a fall in the organization.
Hitler became a compellingly strong dictator with the use of propaganda which was utilized to indoctrinate the population of Germany with the Nazi ideology. This was of major significance for Hitler to gain total control during the early periods of his dictatorship. Various methods of propaganda were used, but speeches were the main method to exploit as they were created to directly script the nation. A famous speech that was used was called ‘Our Hitler’ which was conducted by Joseph Goebbels in honor of the ‘Fuhrer’s’ birthday to the German citizens. An aim was to promote how commendable Hitler truly was by implying he was a ‘mysterious genius’ with a personality of ‘irresistible power’ that revealed his ‘remarkable abilities’. Using such hyperbole empathising positive characteristics created a sense of awe in the German people. Joseph Goebbels was a creative minister who oversaw propaganda which suggests that he was good at quality writing as he created a strong, compelling impactful image for Hitler. Historian, Carl Friedrich proposed that Hitler became a strong dictator through his totalitarianism method where he gained control of the government, media, and economy to create a foundation of support to guide the nation to have a strong Nazi ideology. An example of controlling the media was the radio speech ‘Our Hitler’ which helped indoctrinate to create the ‘Fuhrer’ image. Kershaw’s view of charismatic domination supports the idea that Hitler was a clever individual who created a competitive environment for his ministers to see who tried to impress him more. His ministers were used to advocate how to portray him to create an idolizing leader whom the population wanted to follow to help create justice for Germany. This was successfully achieved as the speech includes how ‘the entire nation not only honors him, it loves him deeply and fervently.’ Suggesting they believed Hitler had their main and best interest and empathized with them. Using propaganda insinuates Hitler was a strong dictator as he used it to his advantage to influence the minds of the population to create a strong Nazi ideology. Propaganda influenced the nation to believe Hitler was a sturdy leader who knew what he was doing. A good tactic of indoctrination illustrated throughout Hitler’s dictatorship.
Alternatively, the use of propaganda is also used negatively to gain the approval of the nation and internally benefit the almighty ‘dictator.’ ‘Cartoon from Die Brennessel’ (see Appendix 1) was created for Germans to see and acknowledge the problems in Austria and why they needed to be stopped. The internal problem unseen by the nation was the power and support Hitler needed to invade. ‘Austrian police are beating women’ and ‘Jewish reporter’ create tension and a reckless reaction from the nation as by 1934 when the cartoon was released the Jews were already being taken to concentration camps, so the portrayal of Jews wasn’t good at all. The Germans would have thought Hitler was their ‘savior’ who could save them from this hardship. This presents powerful characteristics of Hitler so in the future, he could invade without any retaliation from the population as they would have already been indoctrinated with the negative connotations of it so the support would be greater as the ‘Fuhrer’ is a ‘God-like’ figure who saves all from evil the better option to take in a country in need of a strong dictator.
However, Hitler was a flawed dictator during the period of rebuilding Germany as he cared more for his four ‘big ideas’: To build a strong government, of which he was the leader (Authoritarianism), to exterminate the Jews (Anti-Semitism), to build an ‘Aryan’ master race and conquer land for them to live in (Nationalism), to build up Germany’s armed forces (Militarism) so he could focus on his aim of rearmament. An inexperienced autocratic leader who couldn’t lead a country and couldn’t deal with internal and external political affairs. ‘Unwilling to take decisions, frequently uncertain! In some aspects a weak dictator’. Hitler’s weakness is shown as he is portrayed as someone who hides behind his ministers and isn’t the mind behind the works, an incompetent dictator who relies on the works of his ministers to become successful especially as he was inexperienced in leading the country, and handling the political problems within the nation. Hitler cared more about eradicating major threats such as political parties than he cared for the finances of the nation. This suggests Hitler was weak as he relied on his subordinates therefore implying his ministers held definitive power in the departments they were in, supporting the functionalist approach Hitler was unable to control the power around him. It was the power each minister held for their agenda which ultimately, led Hitler to become a weak and ineffective leader with his indecisiveness. Each power had its own goal which led to clashes between them, for example, the SS and army therefore suggesting there was not enough emphasis to blame on Hitler as he didn’t control trivial matters which they controlled to create fear and create a strong ideology to support Hitler. ‘Generals expressed admiration for Hitler’s political skills and goals’ propose that the blame was equally shared as they were influenced by Hitler’s nature to perform such tasks. A frail dictator who committed suicide in his bunker before the Nuremberg trials suggests he was weak as he left the blame on his ministers, escaping the torture showing there was no valid emphasis to blame Hitler. Therefore, suggesting he was a weak dictator.
Hitler was a passionate dictator who was loved by his nation. This has been visible through the book ‘Letters to Hitler.’ Hitler was greatly loved and had the strong support of the nation, which had been successfully indoctrinated by the hierarchy. This affected the youth and older generations suggesting the strong power and support he had to achieve what he wanted. ‘Gushing love letters – ‘I love you so much. Write to me, please.’ shows the clear effect Hitler had created to gain support. The use of propaganda appears as if it was the youth camps that indoctrinated the younger generations. The German people believed they were saved by their savior ‘teachers, students, businessmen… expressing gratitude…restoring dignity to the German people.’ the Germans were made to believe that ‘dignity’ would be restored and the embarrassment of the Treaty of Versailles would be avenged to restore Germany to its glory again. Goldhagen’s theory is that the German people were to blame and that Hitler was not the only influence influencing Germany’s state at the end of 1945. Hitler was portrayed as a successful autocratic leader as he indoctrinated the nation to support him while he committed a high-level genocide. The idea that others had the idea which orchestrated into chaos. Years of indoctrination created a clear succession as it led the population to avoid the real picture of what was happening, ultimately leading every Nazi under the rule to be considered at fault.
By 1945, Hitler’s dictatorship was failing drastically. ‘Hitler in distress’ (see Appendix 2) was a picture created by Ziegler a German painter who emigrated during his travels. In this picture Hitler the ‘almighty’ was sulking as this was done during the pressuring time when his dictatorship influence was being tested in the Battle of Normandy which resulted in the Allied troops obtaining control of Western Europe. The impression indicated is one of misery and hardship, a ruler unable to face the problems of his nation. 1945, was the beginning of the end for the influential individual as this was the year the great alliance formed between, America and the Soviet Union, a significant turning point in history. This was during the end of Hitler’s powerful reign as by 1945, he had lost all his power and had led himself to commit suicide to avoid the hardships portraying the selfishness of his personality and suggesting the ultimate ruling being insignificant. A man full of revenge and craves power to achieve what he wants regardless of all the obstacles ahead. English Government had paid Zeigler to produce the image (see Appendix 2) and portray him as a weak and feeble man, someone inadequate to rule a country. In Berlin this would cause them distress as Germany was deteriorating, from this image, it would feed their imagination, Hitler was losing his stance. The perception would be negative for Hitler showing the nation their country was not in reliable hands and that the dictatorship they supported was slowly failing. Hitler was not successful and was a weak dictator, he was losing control as Allied troops advanced.
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