Hitler's Propaganda

How Hitler's cult of personality turned Nazism into a mass movement.

In the 1920s, Hitler constructed the ideology of Nazism through his words, imagery, and symbolism. He cast his efforts as a struggle for Germany against unjust foreign oppressors, as well as traitors from within. He endlessly repeated those simple messages, until they took hold of the German populace. We all know what Nazi Germany looked like. Soldiers marching in unison under the swastika. Crowds of party members and Nazi supporters organized into perfect rows, saluting the Fürher. Symmetry formed the core of the Nazi aesthetic. Flags, buildings, and weapons all communicated a single message: discipline, order, and power. But these Nazi images were the result of a carefully crafted political narrative, developed at least ten years before Hitler became Germany’s Chancellor in 1933. He spun the dissatisfaction of a defeated empire into a grandiose mythology of a new Germany, which only he could personally deliver. 

Psychological warfare

The term “propaganda” is often used negatively. It brings to mind connotations of manipulation, lying, and fake news. But more generally, propaganda is simply the act of persuading a mass audience to act in a certain way. It has a built-in feedback mechanism, as propagandists reinterpret contemporary events to mold and mobilize public opinion. Hitler’s first encounter with propaganda occurred in the trenches of the First World War. Like many of his compatriots, Hitler was in denial about Germany’s defeat at the hands of the Allies. To cope with this, he blamed Western wartime propaganda for the downfall of Imperial Germany. He was entranced with the sophistication and realism of British wartime messaging, which often did not shy away from portraying the fierceness of the German enemy. This was different from Imperial German propaganda, which dismissively depicted the Brits as incompetent weaklings unworthy of a fight. Hitler felt that the Allies’ superior propaganda was the true cause of their victory over Germany. He came to regard this method of mass communication as a powerful way to persuade people and gain influence. 

Humiliation of Versailles 

In 1919, the Allies imposed the Treaty of Versailles on the defeated German Empire. The Germans were forced to disarm, and relinquish  their overseas colonies. They had to pay billions of dollars in wartime reparations. Under the treaty, the Germans were guilty of all damages suffered by the Allies in the global war. Hitler cunningly mobilized the support of the German populace by tapping into their frustration and rage over the treaty. He entered politics by joining the German Workers’ Party. This small-time political group became the personal conduit for Hitler’s racial and national ideas. He quickly emerged as one of the party’s most prominent figures. He became responsible for the party’s propaganda and recruitment. Hitler’s posters were vivid and striking. They had powerful colors. Enemies of Germany were represented in a sophisticated way. Images of strength were adopted, such as mythical dragons. Hitler’s bold aesthetics won the party a bigger audience. More than anything, Hitler perfected the craft of oratory. Through his biting and barking style, he delivered his speeches with an almost animal-like ferocity. His raspy voice, the result of being gassed in World War One, gave him a sense of authenticity. So did his provincial dialect, which contrasted with the overly refined speech of Prussian politicians. He spoke with a punch-like cadence, rallying up the crowd through his furious pace and physical energy. A demagogue par excellence, he used staccato slogans in place of intellectual arguments. He was inspired by the raw emotionalism of Wagnerian opera, and incorporated some of its theatrical elements into his own stage presence. Hitler also relied on the written word, founding The People’s Observer in 1920. It was full of outrageous stories, which were crafted to foment hatred of the Allies. Hitler’s bold-faced approach to politics was epitomized by what he called the Big Lie. He felt that the masses could be manipulated by simply repeating the same false information. 

Mein Kampf

Despite his staunch anti-communism, Hitler borrowed heavily from Bolshevik propaganda techniques. He appropriated the color red in an effort to win over German workers. His paramilitaries relied on violence to gain attention from rival political factions. Hitler drew heavily from Mussolini’s fascist takeover of Italy. Drawing on the middle class fear of a socialist uprising, Mussolini catapulted himself into Italy’s political mainstream. He accepted the role as prime minister, but relied on his Black Shirts to terrorize and harass his political opponents. Hitler modeled his own paramilitary on Mussolini’s men. The German version was called the Brown Shirts. Mussolini’s most audacious propaganda triumph was his orchestrated March on Rome. Giving the illusion of mass support, the Black Shirts mounted a feeble challenge against Italy’s weak government. Although Mussolini’s forces were not nearly as strong or numerous as they pretended, the Duce successfully bullied his way into power in a bloodless coup. Inspired by Mussolini’s success, Hitler attempted his own usurpation in Germany. By 1923, Germany was ripe for revolution. Inflation was high. The French occupied the industrial factories of the Ruhr region. With help from a national hero named General Eric Ludendorff, Hitler led 2,000 Nazis to march on Munich. But the Nazis were quickly dispersed by German police using machine guns. The trial turned Hitler into an overnight martyr. He was banned from speaking, and thrown in jail. He skillfully molded the narrative to present himself as a persecuted savior of Germany against an incompetent government. Joseph Goebbels, who later became the Reich’s propaganda minister, came to revere Hitler as a Christ-like messiah. From prison, Hitler penned his manifesto, which became the beating heart of Nazi propaganda. Its name was Mein Kampf. He filled it with personal stories from his childhood, such as his relationship with his mom and dad. He explained the formation of his ideology in starkly personal and emotional terms. This was his masterfully conniving attempt to break into the political mainstream, presenting himself as a serious statesman and cultural spokesman. Hitler depicted his enemies as sub-human and mortally dangerous. He presented his Nazi movement as a revolution to preserve Germany’s racial purity and innate superiority. Published in two volumes in 1925 and 1927, Hitler’s Mein Kampf sold around 1.5 million copies by 1933. 

Swastika 

The notorious swastika was designed by Hitler himself. He created it as a symbol of national power and pride. Hitler drew inspiration for the striking symbol after spending hours at the library, looking at ancient symbols. The swastika had already been used by various figures of Germany’s right-wing, and appeared in many cultures. It was a well-established image, but Hitler restyled it in an entirely unique way. The swastika became a symbolic representation of Nazi ideology. Red represented social cohesion. White signified national identity. The swastika itself represented the racial purity of the Aryans. 

Hitler salute

The infamous Hitler salute was appropriated from Ancient Rome. It was already in use by Mussolini. Fascism heavily drew upon the symbolism and imagery of the ancient Romans, who represented the pinnacle of power and politics. The salute was a modern version of “Hail Caesar.” The salute also represented the suggestive and coercive power Hitler held over his listeners. It was required by party officials to recognize Hitler’s supreme leadership. Hitler possessed an almost unique appreciation for the ability of body language to express and communicate his ideas. Because of this, he mastered the art form of photography. His photos were carefully staged by his personal photographer, a man named Heinrich Hoffman. Hitler was very sensitive about his dignity, and refused to appear in any pictures that might be mocked as absurd. He spent hours meticulously perfecting his physical poses in front of a mirror. His posture was often stiff, with his hands raised or fisted. His face exuded emotion, usually through his expressive furrowed brow. He presented himself as relentlessly resolute and serious. His persona conveyed a sense of power and decisiveness. Hoffman took over a million photos of Hitler, but none of them were published without Hitler’s personal permission. 

Media takeover

Goebbels enthusiastically deployed cinema to captivate audiences. He drew inspiration from the classic Soviet film Battleship Potemkin, as well as German Expressionism. Early Nazi films started out as amateurish documentaries of political rallies. As Germany’s corporate establishment aligned itself with increasingly revolutionary politics, Hitler gained access to the media empire of a German industrialist named Alfred Hugenberg. This greatly increased Hitler’s access to the public. It also gave Hitler vital contact to Germany’s financial and industrial elites. Hitler assured Germany’s corporate leadership that their assets would be safe in his hands. He presented himself as a much more corporate-friendly alternative to Bolshevik socialism. Thanks to the media coverage, Hitler’s influence began to eclipse that of his corporate donors. The foundations of the Nazi propaganda machine were now in place. Hitler maneuvered his way into Germany’s chancellorship in 1933, largely by exploiting right-wing fears of a socialist takeover. Over the course of Hitler’s Reich, the Nazis would deploy propaganda to maximum effect. Films became more grandiose than ever. This would culminate in Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will, which is considered the quintessential Nazi propaganda film. Ultimately, Hitler’s rise to power was facilitated by over a decade of propaganda building. Whether it was his rabid rhetoric or the vivid expressionism of the party’s ideology and iconography, Nazism grew from a fringe movement into the world’s most dangerous dictatorship. 

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