I have often wondered how the home of Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart became the country of Adolf Hitler, the SS, SA, Brown Shirts and the Holocaust. I no longer wonder.
Third Reich Minister of Enlightenment and Propaganda Joseph Goebbels’ diary details the elements of propaganda that led German people to succumb to the spell of Hitler.
Propaganda: Basic Principles
Extracted from Goebbels’ diary
- Constantly repeat just a few ideas. Use stereotyped phrases.
- Continuously criticize your opponents.
- Avoid abstract ideas – appeal to the emotions.
- Give only one side of the argument.
- Pick out one special “enemy” for special vilification.
A documentary on why Germans followed Hitler
The Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda was the central institution of Nazi propaganda. It controlled all German mass media, including the press, literature, film, theater, music, and radio. Those who don’t know history are bound to repeat it; those who know it have a duty to learn and act accordingly.
Gordon C. Stewart, author of Be Still! Departure from Collective Madness (2017, Wipf & Stock), 49 brief, stand-alone meditations on faith and public life. Writing from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, Nov. 5, 2024.
Views from the Edge 
The similarities today (and those anticipated in the future) with the destruction of millions of people yesterday are terrifying. The dangers of propaganda in any form assure a hellish victor. Please continue to speak. We need your voice; we need your thoughts now, more than ever.
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Thank you, Gordon Stewart. All will be well. I will say it a thousand times.
😁
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Once again my book didn’t make it on time. And then there’s the backlash against the success of the women’s movement.
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All Trump needed was social media and one major media outlet. The German people were trapped in an invisible echo chamber. Americans are going in willingly, eyes wide open.
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