Preferred Name
Nick Strasser
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Date of Graduation
5-8-2020
Semester of Graduation
Spring
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Department of History
Second Advisor
Christian Davis
Third Advisor
Richard Meixsel
Abstract
Modern propaganda is often associated with oppressive authoritarian regimes in the 20th century. This project seeks to compare Nazi propaganda in the years leading up to 1933 with propaganda following the Nazi ascension to power but before the drive to war. These differences were significant and meaningful enough to warrant closer examination. This comparison seeks to determine how the Nazis altered their propaganda once they ascended to power in 1933, specifically analyzing what the Nazis emphasized and retained from before 1933 once they no longer had to compete with other parties but instead had to consolidate power. For the period prior to 1933, the analysis attempts to explain how the Nazis competed with others by addressing how they were capable of branding and marketing National Socialist ideology in order to appeal to a wide German voting bloc without appearing radical. In other words, how did they use propaganda to demonstrate the politically adaptable nature of their ideology? The analysis of propaganda following 1933 reveals how much the Nazis were holding back throughout their campaigning and assesses the transparency of their message. For the years 1933-36, the overall message, branding strategies, and transmission methods are also considered. The key points addressed are the following: the message and content of Nazi propaganda and how it shifted over time, the mediums and various transmission methods, and the value of propaganda both in marketing the Nazi ideological appeal and promoting Third Reich policy.
