Nazi Propaganda and the Second World War

306 Pages·2005·36.073 MB·English

by  Aristotle A. Kallis (auth.)

Nazi Propaganda and the Second World War
Also by Aristotle A. Kallis
THE FASCISM READER (ed.)
FASCIST IDEOLOGY: Territory and Expansionism in Italy and Germany 1922-1945
Nazi Propaganda and the
Second World War
Aristotle A. Kallis
* © Aristotle A. Kallis 2005
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2005
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First published in 2005 by
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ISBN 978-0-230-54681-3 ISBN 978-0-230-51110-1 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-0-230-51110-1
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Nazi propaganda and the Second World War I edited by
Aristotle A. Kallis.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. World War, 1939-1945 - Propaganda. 2. Propaganda, German.
3. Goebbels, joseph, 1897-1945.4. Motion pictures in propaganda
Germany. I. Kallis, Aristotle A., 197G-
D810.P7G3596 2005 2005051254
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 OS
Transferred to digital printing in 2006.
Contents
List of Abbreviations viii
Acknowledgements X
Introduction: 'Totalitarianism', Propaganda, War
and the Third Reich 1
Propaganda, propagandist and the audience 1
Effective propaganda and the limits of NS
'totalitarianism' 6
Main premises 12
Structure and foci of the book 13
1 Propaganda, 'Co-ordination' and 'Centralisation':
The Goebbels Network in Search of a
Total Empire 16
Cinema 19
Press 26
Broadcasting 31
2 'Polyocracy' versus 'Centralisation': The Multiple
'Networks' of NS Propaganda 40
Polyocracy and 'charismatic' power in the NS regime 40
The role of Goebbels in NS propaganda:
power-base and limits 43
The 'Dietrich network' 47
The 'Ribbentrop' network 49
The case of Alfred Rosenberg 51
The rise of Martin Bormann 53
The 'OKW network' 56
Himmler and Speer 58
The 'Goebbels network' strikes back: 1943-45 59
3 The Discourses of NS Propaganda: Long-Term
Emplotment and Short-Term justification 63
NS propaganda and long-term positive integration 65
Negative integration: the (powerful) common denominator 70
The early common denominator: 'plutocrats' and 'the Jew' 71
Anti-Bolshevism 76
The construction of a negative mega-narrative:
the 'Jewish-Bolshevik-plutocratic alliance' 83
v
vi Contents
4 From 'Short Campaign' to 'Gigantic Confrontation': NS
Propaganda and the justification of War, 1939-41 93
Justifying 'war', 1939 93
From plan to invasion: the campaign against
Poland and the first 'triumph' 98
The campaign against the west: the second 'triumph' 100
NS policy (and propaganda) at crossroads: Britain
or Russia? 104
Towards the attack on the Soviet Union ('Barbarossa') 106
5 From Triumph to Disaster: NS Propaganda from the
Launch of 'Barbarossa' until Stalingrad 111
The first stage of 'Barbarossa' (1941) 111
The first adversities: Pearl Harbour, 'General Winter'
and the extension of the war 117
The 'year of decision': 1942 121
The turning point: Stalingrad
(September 1942-January 1943) 125
6 NS Propaganda and the Loss of the
Monopoly of Truth (1943-44) 130
The Stalingrad aftermath: NS propaganda and
'public opinion' 130
Bouncing back after Stalingrad: 'Total war' and 'fear' 133
The subversion of the regime's monopoly of truth 137
The 'Hitler-cult': staying power and disintegration 145
The withdrawal of Hitler-a new role for Goebbels? 148
7 The Winding Road to Defeat: The Propaganda of
Diversion and Negative Integration 153
NS propaganda from consensus to negative
integration 153
In search for 'victory' 154
Allied 'terror attacks' and 'retaliation' (Vergeltung) 160
The eastern front: defeat, 'shortening' and
'planned evacuation' 168
Diverting attention from the east and the west 173
Preparing for the final showdown 178
8 Cinema and Totalitarian Propaganda: 'Information'
and 'Leisure' inNS Germany, 1939-45 185
The Wochenschau (newsreel) 188
Documentary as reality 194
The historical film as contemporary narrative 198
Contents vii
Commercial and politically valuable?
The 'entertainment film' and NS propaganda 207
Managing German cinema, 1939-45 213
Conclusions: Legitimising the Impossible? 218
Notes 224
Bibliography 266
Index 283
Abbreviations
AA Auswiirtiges Amt [German Foreign Ministry]
APA Au(5enpolitisches Amt
BA Bundesarchiv [Federal Republic of Germany (Berlin)]
BDO Bund Deutscher Offiziere [League of German Officers]
DACHO Dach organisation der Film schaffender Deutschlands [Umbrella
Organisation of German Film-Makers]
DAF Deutsche Arbeitsfront [German Labour Front]
DD Drahtlose Dienst [Wireless News Service]
DFT Deutsche Filmtheater-Gesellschaft
DGFP Documents on German Foreign Policy
DNB Deutsche Nachrichtenburo [German News Agency]
DRZW Das deutsche Reich und der zweite Weltkrieg [The German Reich
and the Second World War]
DW Deutsche Wochenschau GmbH [German Newsreel]
FO Foreign Office
IMT International Military Tribunal
KA-R Kulturpolitische Abteilung-Rundfunkreferat
KPD Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands [German Communist Party]
MGFA Militiirgeschichtliches Forschungsamt
NA US National Archives
NKFD Nationalkomitee Freies Deutschland [National Committee of
Free Germany]
NS National Socialist
NSDAP Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei [National
Socialist German Workers Party]
OKW Oberkommando Wehrmacht [Wehrmacht High Command]
OKW /WPr Oberkommando Wehrmacht/Wehrmacht-Propaganda
[Wehrmacht High Command/Propaganda Division]
PK Propaganda-Kompanien [Wehrmacht Propaganda Troops]
PO Politische Organisation der NSDAP [Political
Organisation of the NSDAP]
PRO Public Records Office (London)
RFD Reichsfilmdramatung [Reich Film Dramatist]
RFK Reichsfilmkammer [Reich Film Chamber]
RGB Reichsgesetzblatt
RKK Reichskulturkammer [Reich Culture Chamber]
RMVP Reichsministerium fiir Volksaufkliirung und Propaganda
[Reich Ministry of Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda]
RPA Reichspropagandaiimter [Reich Propaganda Offices]
viii
Abbreviations ix
RPK Reichspressekammer [Reich Press Chamber]
RPL Reichspropagandaleitung [Reich Propaganda Head Office]
RRG Reichsrundfunkgesellschaft [Reich Radio Company]
RRK Reichsrundfunkkammer [Reich Radio Chamber]
RVDP Reichsverband der Deutschen Presse [Reich Association of
German Press]
SA Sturmabteilung [Storm Division]
SD Sicherheitsdienst [Security Service]
SPD Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutsch lands [Social-Democratic
German Party]
SPIO Spitzenorganisation der deutschen Filmwirtschaft [Parent
Organisation of the German Film Industry]
ss
Schutzstaffeln [Protection Troops]
UFA Universum-Film AG (later renamed as UFI)
VB Vi:ilkischer Beobachter
VDZV Verein Deutscher Zeitungsverleger [Association of
German Newspaper Publishers] (later prefixed with
'Reich' - RVDZV)
VfZ Vierteljahrshefte fiir Zeitgeschichte
WB Wehrmachtberichte [Wehrmacht Reports]
WFst Wehrmacht Fuhrungsstab
ZSg Zeitgeschichtliche Sammlungen (Bundesarchiv)