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Subject: Joseph Goebbels - Propaganda Principles
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 2004 04:30:07 -0700
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Joseph Goebbels - Propaganda PrinciplesJOSEPH=20
GOEBBELS
1897 =
-1945
German Nazi Party member Joseph =
Goebbels=20
became Adolf Hitler's propaganda minister in 1933, which gave him =
power over=20
all German radio, press, cinema, and theater. =
In 1925 Goebbels met the party leader =
Adolf=20
Hitler. In 1926 he was made Gauleiter, or party leader, for the =
region=20
of Berlin, and in 1927 he founded and became editor of the official =
National=20
Socialist periodical Der Angriff (The Attack). He was elected =
to the=20
Reichstag, the German parliament, in 1928. By exploiting mob emotions =
and by=20
employing all modern methods of propaganda Goebbels helped Hitler into =
power.=20
=20
His work as a propagandist materially =
aided=20
Hitler's rise to power in 1933. When Hitler seized power in 1933, =
Goebbels was=20
appointed Reichsminister for propaganda and national enlightenment. =
From then=20
until his death, Goebbels used all media of education and =
communications to=20
further Nazi propagandistic aims, instilling in the Germans the =
concept of=20
their leader as a veritable god and of their destiny as the rulers of =
the=20
world. In 1938 he became a member of the Hitler cabinet council. Late =
in World=20
War II, in 1944, Hitler placed him in charge of total mobilization. =
=20
As Reichsminister for Propaganda and =
National=20
Enlightenment, Goebbels was given complete control over radio, press, =
cinema,=20
and theater; later he also regimented all German culture. Goebbels =
placed his=20
undeniable intelligence and his brilliant insight into mass psychology =
entirely at the service of his party. His most virulent propaganda was =
against=20
the Jews. As a hypnotic orator he was second only to Hitler, and in =
his=20
staging of mass meetings and parades he was unsurpassed. Utterly =
cynical, he=20
seems to have believed only in the self-justification of power. He =
remained=20
loyal to Hitler until the end. On May 1, 1945, as Soviet troops were =
storming=20
Berlin, Goebbels committed suicide.
Listed below =
are=20
the principles purported to summarize what made =
Goebbels tick or=20
fail to tick. They may be thought of as his intellectual legacy. =
Whether the=20
legacy has been reliably deduced is a methodological question. Whether =
it is=20
valid is a psychological matter. Whether or when parts of it should be =
utilized in a democratic society are profound and disturbing problems =
of a=20
political and ethical nature.=20
GOEBBELS' =
PRINCIPLES OF=20
PROPAGANDA
Based upon =
Goebbels'=20
Principles of Propaganda by Leonard W. Doob, published in=20
Public Opinion and Propaganda; A Book of Readings edited for =
The=20
Society for the Psychological Study of Social=20
Issues.
1. Propagandist must have =
access to=20
intelligence concerning events and public opinion.=20
=20
2. Propaganda must be planned and executed by only one authority.
a. It must issue all the propaganda directives.
b. It must explain propaganda directives to important officials =
and=20
maintain their morale.
c. It must oversee other agencies' activities which have =
propaganda=20
consequences
3. The propaganda consequences of an action must be considered in =
planning=20
that action.=20
=20
4. Propaganda must affect the enemy's policy and action.=20
a. By suppressing propagandistically desirable material which can =
provide=20
the enemy with useful intelligence
b. By openly disseminating propaganda whose content or tone =
causes the=20
enemy to draw the desired conclusions
c. By goading the enemy into revealing vital information about=20
himself
d. By making no reference to a desired enemy activity when any =
reference=20
would discredit that activity
5. Declassified, operational information must be available to =
implement a=20
propaganda campaign=20
=20
6. To be perceived, propaganda must evoke the interest of an =
audience and=20
must be transmitted through an attention-getting communications =
medium.=20
=20
7. Credibility alone must determine whether propaganda output =
should be=20
true or false.=20
=20
8. The purpose, content and effectiveness of enemy propaganda; the =
strength and effects of an expose; and the nature of current =
propaganda=20
campaigns determine whether enemy propaganda should be ignored or =
refuted.=20
=20
9. Credibility, intelligence, and the possible effects of =
communicating=20
determine whether propaganda materials should be censored.=20
=20
10. Material from enemy propaganda may be utilized in operations =
when it=20
helps diminish that enemy's prestige or lends support to the =
propagandist's=20
own objective.=20
=20
11. Black rather than white propaganda may be employed when the =
latter is=20
less credible or produces undesirable effects.=20
=20
12. Propaganda may be facilitated by leaders with prestige.=20
=20
13. Propaganda must be carefully timed.=20
a. The communication must reach the audience ahead of competing=20
propaganda.
b. A propaganda campaign must begin at the optimum =
moment
c. A propaganda theme must be repeated, but not beyond some point =
of=20
diminishing effectiveness
14. Propaganda must label events and people with distinctive =
phrases or=20
slogans.=20
a. They must evoke desired responses which the audience =
previously=20
possesses
b. They must be capable of being easily learned
c. They must be utilized again and again, but only in appropriate =
situations
d. They must be boomerang-proof
15. Propaganda to the home front must prevent the raising of false =
hopes=20
which can be blasted by future events.=20
=20
16. Propaganda to the home front must create an optimum anxiety =
level.=20
a. Propaganda must reinforce anxiety concerning the consequences =
of=20
defeat
b. Propaganda must diminish anxiety (other than concerning the=20
consequences of defeat) which is too high and which cannot be =
reduced by=20
people themselves
17. Propaganda to the home front must diminish the impact of =
frustration.=20
a. Inevitable frustrations must be anticipated
b. Inevitable frustrations must be placed in =
perspective
18. Propaganda must facilitate the displacement of aggression by=20
specifying the targets for hatred.=20
=20
19. Propaganda cannot immediately affect strong =
counter-tendencies;=20
instead it must offer some form of action or diversion, or =
both.