Herr Wuttke's Story

WW2 Home | Propaganda

The Nazis used propaganda to encourage/force people to conform to Hitler's beliefs in many ways.  Posters were put up displaying the new rules against the Jews.  The press constantly praised the Nazis and theatre productions secretly included propaganda which influenced the viewers' opinions of the Nazi regime.  They did this through subliminal messaging. The films showed, for example, women sending their men off to war hoping that the viewers would do the same.

One extreme form of propaganda was the Hitler Youth Groups.  Every child over the age of ten had to attend.  They wore a uniform, were taught songs praising Hitler and greeted each other with a Nazi salute and the phrase 'Heil Hitler' which roughly translates to victory for Hitler. All other clubs were henceforth forbidden to continue and everything was Nazi stressed. If they did not attend Hitler Youth they were not allowed to play sports, get apprenticeships or go to college. Herr Wttke, who was anti-Nazi, only went to the group after his parents were threatened with imprisonment if he did not attend. He also wanted to play soccer. He was also discriminated against because he had two friends with Jewish parents.  Because of this distant relationship with Jews he was unable to get promoted within the club.  Any child who showed devotion to the Hitler Youth was put down to be in the SS and many children got their parents into trouble by repeating alternate views expressed within their own home whilst attending this club.  As a result many parents refused to talk about the war to their children and lived in fear of them. The Nazis used the organisation and children's innocence as a means of getting information and brainwashing future generations of their country, it also allowed them to have a young fighting force.

As well as Hitler Youth the Nazis publicly discriminated against the Jews in many ways.  If a Jewish shop was vandalised nothing was done, Jews were made to wear yellow stars and walk in the gutter.  They were not allowed to walk on the footpath or go in many shops.  Many got sent to concentration camps but many Germans did not know about this or the massacre that followed it, it was only after the war that they were informed. Jewish shops were set alight and all of their religious books burnt.

WW2 Home | Propaganda

Page last updated: 25th February 2014