Nazis and Propaganda

On January 8, 2019,  our group visited the Documentation Center Exhibition in Nuremberg. The building of the museum consists of the unfinished Congress Hall of the former Nazi party rallies. This infamous site paints a picture on how propaganda was displayed throughout the 1930s through a series of short films and displays of information. By holding an audio translator to our ears, we came to learn the causes, rationality, and effects of National Socialism through the media. Hitler used propaganda to gain support of German so that he could obtain more power.

Propaganda is defined as information, displayed through the media, that may be misleading in order to influence the public opinion. Leni Riefenstahl, a skilled cinematographer and creator of many propaganda films, created a few films for Hitler about Nuremberg rallies. The way she created these films made it seem like Hitler was a hero.

Unfortunately, propaganda still works today. There are striking similarities between Hitler’s rise to power and the media being published today. The Nazi party was able to shutdown mainstream media credibility. Today, many journalists are not trusted by the government and are slowly being destroyed. It was very interesting, and quite chilling, to make connections when eerie information was projected into our ears.