'Nazi control was maintained through propaganda'. How far do you agree with the statement. Explain your answer.
I agree to the statement only to a certain extent. Yes, the Nazis used propoganda in newspaper, speeches, rallies and in many other forms to control the Germans back then when they were in control. However as will be shown later in the essay, The Nazis used more than propaganda to subdue the Germans.
The Nazis wanted to change the mindsets of the Germans and to achieve that, they made use of propaganda. Hitler appointed Joseph Goebells to be the Minister of Public Enlightenment & Propaganda and played a big role in creating anti-semitic and pro-Nazi material for the party. The Nazis introduced a system of censorship and the Germans could only hear or see what the Nazis wanted them to. Hitler also changed the content of education to pro-Nazis content and the Jews were also discriminated as Hitler made the Germans believe that it was them who caused the defeat during the war and brought to the suffering of the people. Young boys and girls also had to join youth groups such as 'Hitler Youth' and was encouraged to not spend as little time alone as possible. He did this as he wanted the people to be under his control and to enable so he started with the children. However propaganda itself was not able to convince everyone to believe in him but Hitler had another solution up his sleeves.
Hitler had a shooting squad (SS) and gave complete control to the Gestapo (police) to arrest anyone they thought was anti-Nazi. People who were arrested were either sent to concentration camps or end up dead. People were also told to report on those who were anti-Nazi, creating a state of terror as no one could trust each other. Hitler also sent Jews and people who opposed him to show trials and it was impossible to get a fair trial as the judges were usually Nazis. Thus by making use of fear, Hitler was able to exterminate enemies and made sure there was no opposition.
In conclusion, i believe that Nazi control was maintained with propaganda together with fear as both methods relied on each other to work. Propaganda was not able to maintain control by itself and it was by creating state to effectively control all Germans.
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