Propaganda is essentially partisan information designed to promote a political cause or alignment. Whether it be in the form of posters or film, its goal is to persuade the audience towards a certain inclination. Propaganda is meant to incite a strong emotion or reaction in a person. Though it may seem as simple as creating a captivating image, there is a psychology behind its methods. Every choice made and style used in a piece of propaganda is meticulously planned to target the audience. Some of the most influential propaganda originates from Nazi Germany. From Adolf Hitler’s memento Mein Kampf to Leni Riefenstahl’s film Triumph of the Will, the Nazi Party has become a prime example of the influence that propaganda can have on its people
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Many Nazi propaganda newspapers were created, like Der Stürmer to promote anti-semitic beliefs. Fritz Hippler’s The Eternal Jew was an early example of how footage could be skewed towards a certain direction. Despite the majority of the film showing the dreadful living conditions of the jewish ghetto, which may invoke pity, Hippler twisted the connotation of the footage. Hippler stated that this was the way Jews had always lived and that they actually prefer to live this way. The living conditions shown in the footage would make one sick to their stomach. Instead of trying to change the conditions, the audience would associate jews with that condition. In the film, Hippler compares Jews to rats. Rather than stating what Jews have done to deserve their poor treatment, he states what rats do, then compare them to Jews at the end: “Among the animals, they represent the rudiment of an insidious, underground destruction - just like the Jews among human beings”. Unless they live near a ghetto, many germans have no experience with harmfulness of Jews, yet all have some kind of experience with rats. Providing examples of the destructive nature of Jews isn’t necessary when one can do so with rats, then simply compare the two at the end. The cover art itself is also very provocative, depicting the Jew as a dirty beast with a sharp monobrow and a long jagged nose. The Jew has ape-like features in the cover art as well, having many wrinkles, large ears, an elongated facial structure, and large lips. Even before the audience views the film, it has a preconceived notion of the Jew, in which the notion is likely to be reinforced when viewing the
Many Nazi propaganda newspapers were created, like Der Stürmer to promote anti-semitic beliefs. Fritz Hippler’s The Eternal Jew was an early example of how footage could be skewed towards a certain direction. Despite the majority of the film showing the dreadful living conditions of the jewish ghetto, which may invoke pity, Hippler twisted the connotation of the footage. Hippler stated that this was the way Jews had always lived and that they actually prefer to live this way. The living conditions shown in the footage would make one sick to their stomach. Instead of trying to change the conditions, the audience would associate jews with that condition. In the film, Hippler compares Jews to rats. Rather than stating what Jews have done to deserve their poor treatment, he states what rats do, then compare them to Jews at the end: “Among the animals, they represent the rudiment of an insidious, underground destruction - just like the Jews among human beings”. Unless they live near a ghetto, many germans have no experience with harmfulness of Jews, yet all have some kind of experience with rats. Providing examples of the destructive nature of Jews isn’t necessary when one can do so with rats, then simply compare the two at the end. The cover art itself is also very provocative, depicting the Jew as a dirty beast with a sharp monobrow and a long jagged nose. The Jew has ape-like features in the cover art as well, having many wrinkles, large ears, an elongated facial structure, and large lips. Even before the audience views the film, it has a preconceived notion of the Jew, in which the notion is likely to be reinforced when viewing the