Propaganda and Terror wwere equally important for enabaling Hitler and the Nazis to keep control over Germany. How far do you agree?
Propaganda and terror were equally important for enabling Hitler and the nazis to keep control over Germany. How far do you agree? I this essay I will explore the merits of both methods in keeping control and analyse the arguments for the different cases associated with the statement before concluding with my own personal opinion.
There are some who believe terror was more important than the use of propaganda. Fear was a powerful tool and one that the nazis had no issue in exploiting. They understood that if people feared the nazis then they would not cross them. In 1934 Hitler planned to straighten out the SA who had turned from a faithful ally to a stumbling block to Hitlers plans, Hitler needed the support of the army, but the army officers didn’t trust the SA and refused to support Hitler and his SA. so in June 1934 Hitler ordered the butchering of hundreds of SA storm troopers including the SA leader Ernst Rohm in the night of the long knives. This act of terror shocked the people which is exactly what the nazis needed to keep control. This is because it showed the people that the nazis were ruthless and had no issue in executing their own allies and even Rohm who appeared to be close to Hitler and faithful to him in his build up to power, and if members of the nazi party were not safe then what hope did the German population have? People were afraid to stand up against Hitler and this act of terror stomped out any thoughts of rebellion. This would be more important than propaganda as it showed the brute force of the nazis and showed the people the true power if the nazis in a way posters and rallies could not. Posters are not able to prevent a rebellion whereas brute force would be able to and this act of terror was capable of showing this.
Another tactic of the nazis was the employment of nazi soldiers to overlook the voting valets -strictly speaking the extent of which this is an act of terror is debatable, however it was introduced in order to
There are some who believe terror was more important than the use of propaganda. Fear was a powerful tool and one that the nazis had no issue in exploiting. They understood that if people feared the nazis then they would not cross them. In 1934 Hitler planned to straighten out the SA who had turned from a faithful ally to a stumbling block to Hitlers plans, Hitler needed the support of the army, but the army officers didn’t trust the SA and refused to support Hitler and his SA. so in June 1934 Hitler ordered the butchering of hundreds of SA storm troopers including the SA leader Ernst Rohm in the night of the long knives. This act of terror shocked the people which is exactly what the nazis needed to keep control. This is because it showed the people that the nazis were ruthless and had no issue in executing their own allies and even Rohm who appeared to be close to Hitler and faithful to him in his build up to power, and if members of the nazi party were not safe then what hope did the German population have? People were afraid to stand up against Hitler and this act of terror stomped out any thoughts of rebellion. This would be more important than propaganda as it showed the brute force of the nazis and showed the people the true power if the nazis in a way posters and rallies could not. Posters are not able to prevent a rebellion whereas brute force would be able to and this act of terror was capable of showing this.
Another tactic of the nazis was the employment of nazi soldiers to overlook the voting valets -strictly speaking the extent of which this is an act of terror is debatable, however it was introduced in order to