All of the people, all of the time

Hitler started out in PR. He was an army propagandist. When the war was over and he found himself back in civilian life, he joined a small labor party as communications director. He soon ousted the founder and created an incident in Munich that led to a sensational trial. This made him a national politician and celebrity. He devoted two chapters of Mein Kampf to the importance of propaganda. He developed the truck-mounted loudspeaker to publicize speeches and martial music. He was constantly on the radio. He invented quasi-religious ceremonies like the entrance of the flagbearers. The endless repetition of simple and simplistic slogans cemented his party’s control of mindset. He admired the British propaganda machine, claiming it was responsible for victory over Germany in WWI. Under Hitler, Germany became enamored of Madison Avenue, and applied its lessons. Selling Hitler is a master class in brand marketing.

The Nazis controlled all communication. When Hitler made a speech, everyone had to place speakers in the streets so all would hear him. The party bought a film studio and produced newsreels to suit, as well as feature films that reminded viewers of the greatness that was Germany, the traditions and the myths that built a nation. In addition to radio, newspaper, film and public spectacles, Hitler actively spread rumors in whisper campaigns. Like internet “facts” today, Nazi propaganda, repeated constantly, soon became truths. “The idea was not to brainwash, but to show that the great mass of Germans believed” – and so should you. Everyone was to be on message, all the time. It was as high pressure and comprehensive a marketing campaign as was ever implemented.

Symbolism was the default mode of Nazi terminology. Everything was measured for its symbolic possibilities. To the point where roofs had to be pitched because flat roofs were Middle Eastern and therefore Jewish. The word fanatic became the highest term of approval. Absolutely everything was meant to persuade. From architecture to ceremonies, from word choice to myths, from symbols to sounds, everything had to add value to the Nazi brand. Hitler himself rotated the swastika to give it dynamism (moving upwards towards the right). Every public space was an opportunity for a symbolic message, carved in stone, draped in a flag or mounted with a statue.

So when Hitler announced it was Poland that invaded Germany, everyone believed it. There was no other credible source. During the war, the propaganda machine simply attributed German atrocities to the victims, making local Germans the true victims of Polish, British or French horrors. Everyone bought it.

O’Shaugnessy’s book is as thorough and complete as it could possibly be. He examines every aspect of language, custom, dress, myths, media, words, phrases and scapegoats. He acknowledges that Hitler actually invented none of it. All of these tactics have been employed before (and since). But Hitler pulled it all together, and with Goebbels as his tool, implemented ubiquitously.

There is a great deal of space given to Jews as scapegoats, but even Hitler admitted that if there were no Jews, he would have had to invent them. There was actually risk that if he did manage to eliminate all Jews, he would lose mindshare. It was that central to distracting Germans, and he knew it. In an interesting side note, Alexis de Tocqueville warned that idiotic notions of race superiority and social Darwinism would play only too well in Germany. This was the 1850s, when the word Aryan got transferred from the name of a language to the name of a (nonexistent) race. Germans already had a reputation for being suggestible to such myths.

David Wineberg ( )