How important was propaganda in increasing Nazi control of Germany 1933-

1939?
The increase in the Nazi control of Germany during 1933-1939 was influenced by the
following factors: indoctrination, propaganda, repression and popularity. They all had,
depending on the situation, a bigger or lesser importance and each of them, at one point, being
the most important. Propaganda greatly contributed to the Nazis impact on Germany, however,
repression may have been considered as the most effective source of their control over the
German people.
In order to establish a one part Nazi regime in Germany, the Nazis had to win and even
own the minds of the German population. This was done through the 're-education' of the
public, mainly the youth, as they would be the ones to develop and fight for Germany. The Nazi
Ministry of Education was in charge of adapting the school curriculum to Hitler's desires in
order to instill the Nazi ways at a young age, when the mind is most vulnerable. The Nazi
Teachers League was established in 1933, in which all school teachers had to be of Nazi
ideology. This allowed for direct indoctrination by changing the study guides of most classes.
Biology class taught racial theory, as the Aryan race was supreme to that of the rest, such as the
Jewish or the gypsies. German classes analyzed Hitler's "Mein Kampf" and religious studies
were cancelled. As the children grew up, they needed to be trained in order for them to later
on serve the Nazis. The Hitler Youth, formed in 1933, was not mandatory, yet many young boys
who had been under the intense 'education' of the Nazis joined the Hitler Youth. Activities in
the Hitler Youth included: basic military training, competitions, community service and singing
German folk/ Nazi music. This developed ones skill in combat and loyalty towards the Fuhrer.
Moreover, in order for there to be loyal, healthy young 'Aryan' men, the mothers had to be
taught similarly. The League of German Maidens was established for teenage girls to be trained
as healthy and obedient Aryan women. They were taught how to raise a child, cook, sew, wash
and the basic racial science of the Aryan men (choosing the right Aryan partner). Above that,
they needed to be physically fit, therefore, the P.E classes was crucial. The Aryan race
'benefitted' of special rewards and treatment, such as receiving a Gold Medal, as a woman, for
birthing 8 children. Indoctrination fed off of propaganda as it rapidly started to surround every
German citizen once the Nazis took over.
It was important that propaganda controlled everything that was heard, seen or read by
the German people as it played its main role in their indoctrination. The minister of
propaganda, Josef Goebbels, took full advantage of technology and developed the People's
Receiver (Reich Radio Co.), which was a cheaper receiver which would play Hitler's speeches,
biased news and Nazi music 24/7 and would not receive foreign stations such as the BBC. Also,
in case that some could not afford the receiver, 6000 loudspeakers were placed in all town
squares, therefore, people would hear Nazi news all the time, till they would be brainwashed
into thinking it was normal. Moreover, there were over 1000 films made by the Nazis, most of
them being anti-Jewish (such as "The Eternal Jew"), anti-British and anti-communist.
Furthermore, out of the 4700 newspapers in Germany, only 1000 pro-Nazi remained , fully
controlled and checked by the Nazis. 'Anti-Nazi' books were to be placed in a pile and burnt, as
encouraged by the Nazis as they were against Nazi ideology or simply gave information or news
about the outside world. Additionally, cultural events such as the Annual Nuremberg Rallies ,
the Berlin Olympics and Hitler's Birthday contributed to propaganda . The Annual Nuremberg
Allies (35,000) featured most of the elements that marked all future rallies: martial songs,
banners, human swastika formations, bonfires, and fireworks displays. The Berlin Olympics
(1936) and Hitler's Birthday ( 20th of April) were strong methods of indoctrination as the Berlin
Olympics showed off the strength of the Aryan race, and Hitler's Birthday showed off the
Fuhrer. All these factors of propaganda contributed immensely to the indoctrination of the
people, therefore making it an important source of control.
 Repression, as an alternative to the people who were not convinced by propaganda, was
one of the methods to reach the aims of indoctrination. If the brainwashing of already educated
people would not work, certainly fear would. At first, repression was used to remove any
opposition and specific leaders which could've formed factions of threat, without it being a
generalized method, although, eventually, its weight and importance grew substantially. This
was done by the removal of community leaders and The Night of the Long Knives (1934), in
which the removal of Rohm and Von Schleicher took place. Also, the Emergency Decree (1933)
was used to ban any meetings, close anti-Nazi newspapers and arrest 4000 communists.
Repression and public terror increased with the deployment of the Gestapo and the S.S. The
Gestapo's role was to intercept calls and mails, and moreover, had a broad network of
informers. The S.S, lead by Himmler, increased fear among the German people as violence was
ready to replace, at any time, as needed, any other factor. If people were found to be against
the Nazi regime, they would be sent to Concentration Camps for "re-education", which later on
turned into Death Camps (1942) for the unwanted minorities. Repression was acted upon at
different intensities, depending on the targets. Propaganda was the main factor at the
beginning, being sustained by indoctrination and popularity. Yet, in the end, repression had
revealed its real importance in the Nazi control over Germany.
Finally, popularity aimed to win the hearts of the German people by promising them what
they wanted to hear and giving them only as much as it was necessary to get them on the Nazis
side. They did so by implementing the Four Year Plan (1936-39) and by establishing the
Werhmacht. Also, Hitler made it clear that he wanted to break the unjust laws of the Treaty of
Versailles and in 1935, therefore, Rearmament took place, and increased the military force of
Germany. Above that, the Nazis were able to reduce unemployment by implementing major
programmers of public work. Also, the uneducated were easily impressed by Hitler's good
wording in his speeches loaded with powerful and meaningful socialist-nationalist messages.
The art of Hitler's success was his capacity and knowledge regarding when and how to use
of the above factors, when and how to alternate them. One of his most important abilities was
to imperceptibly increase the intensity and area of repression and terror as he was always
aware of the human nature, knowing that where indoctrination, propaganda and popularity
fail, repression succeeds.