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Laurel Drummond
Professor Wertz-Orbaugh
UWRT 1103-007
8 February 2016
Censorship and Propaganda during the Holocaust
The topic that I am interested in is propaganda and censorship during the Holocaust. I
have chosen this topic because I think it shows us how powerful knowledge and information is.
It also shows us how important education is. The Nazis were burning books because they were so
powerful. Books can inspire people and spark curiosity. I think I take education and the ability to
learn for granted. I dont read as much as I should even though I have the privilege of having
access to millions of books.
I do not know a lot about Nazi censorship and propaganda. I know that there was a
campaign to burn books that were considered un-German. I also know that Hitler used
different propaganda strategies to brain-wash people into believing what he believed. I know that
he was a very good speaker and he was very convincing. I dont know a lot about his specific
strategies though. I am interested to learn more about my topic.
I think there will be a lot of helpful resources out there to use when I am researching my
topic. I think there will be some possible primary sources from the people who actually
witnessed these books being burned. I hope I can find a list of the books that were burned
because they were considered un-German. I think that there will also be some good secondary
sources out there about propaganda and censorship during the Holocaust. I hope to find a
secondary source where the author is breaking down and analyzing the propaganda Hitler used in

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his speeches and during the Holocaust. There are some credible sources on the internet that I can
use to research my topic such as the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website.
I have two questions about my topic. Is there a list of books that were burned? What was
in these books that made them so dangerous? I am very interested in the books that were burned.
I also want to know what consequences those who saved books faced. I would also like to learn
more about Hitlers speech strategies and how he got so many people to follow him through
propaganda. I could look at my topic from a censorship perspective or a propaganda perspective.
I could research the book burnings and I can research what else was taken from the people
during the Holocaust, or I could research the propaganda techniques used by Hitler and the
Nazis. I could also research them both and talk about how they both contributed to Hitlers rise
to power. An inquiry question for this topic could be How did Hitler and the Nazis use
censorship and propaganda to take control?
I think I was a useful and thoughtful peer responder because I wrote my partner a clear
response and I pointed out exactly where I wanted her to elaborate. I was encouraging
throughout my response and I made sure to point out what I liked about her draft. My partners
draft was very clear and one of the only things she needed to do was put it in MLA format. Her
topic was BMWs role in the Holocaust. In the resources section, I wrote that she needed to
elaborate a little bit on where she would find her sources. I also highlighted a section in her
writing that I found interesting. I wanted to know why BMW sided with the Nazis.
I think that this peer response process also helped me with my own writing. I got to read
her draft and see how she answered the 6 questions that were given to us. I also enjoyed reading
her comments. They were very helpful and I know they helped me improve my writing so I
could turn it into a complete final draft.

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