“With the help of skilful propaganda, one can imagine even the most miserable life as paradise and, on the contrary, paint the most prosperous life with the blackest colors” - this is how Hitler wrote in his work “Mein Kampf”.
Propaganda was the basis of the existence of the Third Reich, it was thanks to skillful and skillful propaganda that the head of the NSDAP came to power. Therefore, it is quite natural that the Ahnenerbe Institute was also involved in the work of the Hitlerite propaganda machine.
Historians argue a lot about how a man like Adolf Hitler was able to take power into his own hands. This is usually explained by purely economic reasons: the global crisis, the impoverishment of people, the growth of unemployment … All this, they say, undermined the base on which the Weimar Republic rested, did not allow it to strengthen. It all began with the Treaty of Versailles, which left the Germans with a terrible moral trauma and instilled in them hatred of the democracy imposed by the victors.
To some extent, this is true. But the trauma once inflicted tends to be gradually forgotten. For it to remain an open wound, to continue to hurt the Germans, some effort had to be made. And it was Hitler who was the one who poisoned the wounds of the German people, who tried to inflate the scale of "historical injustice", "national shame", as he portrayed the Treaty of Versailles. Here are his own words on this matter:
It is Hitler's incredible propaganda talent that is considered the main reason for his rise to power. At the same time, the abilities of the future Fuhrer were especially clearly manifested in the period before 1933, when he still did not have a monopoly on the printed word. Only skillful, subtle propaganda could attract more and more voters, who cast their votes to the NSDAP in the next elections. Without technology, as we would say today, "black" and "gray" PR, Hitler would never have come to power.
At the same time, Hitler himself was nothing outstanding. As we said above, he was only a "medium", a conductor of the energy of other people. The nondescript Fuhrer was laughed at behind his back by the press sharks, the owners of newspaper concerns, the captains of the economy. They laughed until he became a Fuhrer with unlimited power. As long as he still allowed others to control him. And the "others" unwisely put into his hands a weapon of terrible destructive power - a whole staff of first-class propagandists, specialists in their field, who would later form the basis of the "Ancestral Heritage" propaganda service. Yes, yes, the "Ahnenerbe" had its own propaganda service, not even under the control of Goebbels - the omnipotent doctor had to communicate with the institute specialists on an equal footing. And this is far from accidental, because the people who made up the staff of this service were those to whom Hitler largely owed his coming to power.
The scale of Hitler's own propaganda talent is well known. He could speak in the smoke-filled halls of pubs in the early 1920s, he could infect the crowd with his energy, he could intuitively find the right tone, the right words. He would make a wonderful local politician who, perhaps, after the onset of a "period of stability" in the mid-1920s, would have been successfully forgotten. But this did not happen. The head of the NSDAP quickly reached the national level, gained popularity throughout the country. To do this, he needed to become more than just a talented speaker. He needed to perfectly master the technologies that made it possible to subdue the minds and souls of millions of people.
Haushofer and the Thule Society helped him take the first steps on this path. But Hitler made a serious mistake when he tried to take power in 1923. In Landsberg prison, he had enough time to reflect on his mistakes and move on to new tactics, more thoughtful, more effective. Every day strange visitors come to the leader of the Nazis - journalists, scientists, little-known persons of the liberal professions. All of them, apparently, give Hitler advice - how exactly after gaining freedom to fight for power. The outcome of these meetings is clearly visible in the book "Mein Kampf", some chapters of which are entirely devoted to the art of propaganda.
So, what should it be, this propaganda? Hitler, thanks to his mentors, learned five basic principles on which everything else was built.
First, propaganda should always appeal to the feelings, not the minds of people. She must play on emotions that are much stronger than reason. Emotions cannot be countered with anything, they cannot be defeated by rational arguments. Emotions allow you to influence the subconscious of a person, to completely control his behavior.
Second, propaganda must be simple. As Hitler himself wrote, "any form of propaganda should be publicly available, its spiritual level is tuned to the level of perception of the most limited people." You don't need to be too abstruse, you need to speak simply and clearly, so that even a village idiot can figure everything out.
Third, propaganda should set itself clear objectives. Each person should be explained what he needs to strive for, what exactly to do. No semitones, no probabilities, no alternatives. The picture of the world must be black and white.
Fourthly, propaganda should rely on a limited set of basic theses and repeat them endlessly in a wide variety of variations.
“Any alternation of them should not change the essence of the propaganda; at the end of the speech, one should say the same thing as at the very beginning. Slogans should be repeated on different pages, and each paragraph of the speech should end with a specific slogan,”wrote Hitler.
The constant repetition of the same thoughts makes people accept them as an axiom, suppresses any resistance of consciousness. If you repeat an unsubstantiated thesis many times, it will work better than any proof - these are the features of the human psyche.
Fifth, it is necessary to respond flexibly to the arguments of opponents and not leave a stone unturned from them in advance. Hitler wrote:
In addition to these basic rules, it was necessary to know a lot of smaller secrets. For example, how to artificially "warm up" the mood of the public. Banners, banners with slogans, the same uniform, bravura music - all this is firmly included in Hitler's propaganda arsenal. The combination of all these means made it possible to literally turn people into zombies unable to control themselves at all. Hitler played on their basest instincts - hatred, anger, envy - and invariably won. Because those who rely on base instincts will inevitably win the approval of the crowd.
Hitler knew how to make the very last, the smallest man feel like the master of this world, a great Aryan, standing above all other people. This feeling was clearly linked to the personality of the Fuhrer himself. The listener had a feeling:
At the same time, Hitler brilliantly possessed the gift of reincarnation. He could put on a variety of masks, play any role. Sometimes he imagined himself as a reasonable, practical person, sometimes - a bunch of feelings and emotions, a living embodiment of the indomitable German spirit.
He had excellent teachers and companions. A whole army of propagandists behaved just like her Fuehrer. The famous historian Golo Mann wrote on this subject:
It is felt that the NSDAP propaganda was directed from a single center. This center was by no means Goebbels' department - it was only a banal executor. Behind Hitler and his associates stood a small group of highly qualified propaganda masters, brilliant theoreticians with practical experience, who later found their place within the walls of Ahnenerbe. Why do we not hear anything about them, but only know about the extraordinary talents of Goebbels?
By the way, with these talents, everything is also not very clear. Until the moment when fate brought Goebbels and Hitler close (and this happened in 1929), the future Minister of Propaganda of the Reich in no way showed his extraordinary talents. He was a good journalist, but nothing more - he did not like to speak in front of large audiences and was afraid. In the late 1920s, Goebbels seemed to be transformed overnight, while his diary entries, published after the war, do not give us any flight of thought or the art of using words. Obviously, Goebbels did not act on his own, but was only a tool in someone's hands.
Propaganda is the most powerful weapon of the 20th century, more terrible than the atomic bomb. Therefore, the winners - primarily the Western powers - were interested in putting the German "propaganda masters" at their service. That is why their huge contribution to the victory of the NSDAP was hidden, their names have become a secret forever.
Almost the entire propaganda department of "Ahnenerbe", according to the information I have, became part of the American special services, even its structure was preserved. Having crossed the ocean, these people continued to fight against the same enemy - communist Russia.
But back to Hitler. Another successful propaganda solution was the use of red as one of the main colors of the movement. At the same time, the other two colors - white and black - played a subordinate position. The solution turned out to be simple and ingenious: the three colors corresponded to the three colors of the Kaiser's flag and made it possible to attract conservatives and everyone who yearned for the "good old days" without democracy and economic upheavals to National Socialism. Red, on the other hand, made it possible to lure supporters of left-wing parties, creating the illusion that the NSDAP was another socialist party, only with a national bias.
In addition, the propagandists behind Hitler skillfully played on another need of the common man. Psychologists call this the "need for group self-identification." What it is?
After the defeat in the war, after the economic crises, the German felt lonely, weak, and betrayed. But if you dress him in a beautiful uniform, put people like him in line, play a military march and lead a parade along the main street of the city, he will immediately feel like a part of a very strong whole. It is no coincidence that Nazi parades were one of the main means of agitation and propaganda, attracting new adherents in abundance.
The assault detachments of the NSDAP - SA - grew at a frantic pace. By 1933, there were already several million people in them! Nearly every tenth adult male German was a stormtrooper. The SA has become the most powerful military force in Germany, instilling fear even in the army.
The rise of the party began in the 1930s, after the outbreak of the global economic crisis, which hit Germany very hard. Production fell, unemployment rose before our eyes, reaching incredible proportions. On behalf of all these unemployed, Hitler denounced the current government, urged them to fight for a well-fed and free life. The NSDAP faction in parliament grew by leaps and bounds. Nazi actions became more and more widespread, parades and demonstrations turned into professionally staged performances. It was then that the greeting "Heil Hitler!" Was introduced, and any possible opposition to the Fuehrer within the party was suppressed. The deification of Hitler began, who was credited with almost supernatural features. The intensity of passions has reached its highest point.
The latest technical means were widely used for propaganda. In particular, we are talking about radio, which was widespread at that time. The NSDAP owned several radio stations that allowed Hitler to speak not in front of thousands, but in front of millions of people. Aviation was also used: the famous Lufthansa company provided the leader of the NSDAP with the latest passenger plane, on which he flew across Germany during the successive election campaigns. "Hitler over the country!" - exclaimed about this Nazi propaganda. A private jet allowed him to speak at three or four rallies in different cities a day, which was not available to his rivals.
Quite traditional methods of propaganda were also used - leaflets, newspapers, brochures. Each party cell was obliged to hold permanent meetings, rallies, processions, and agitate people. Nazi rallies acquired the features of religious ceremonies, which also had a powerful effect on the minds of those present.
After 1933, propaganda changed, became, on the one hand, more sophisticated, and on the other, more massive. This is not surprising: after coming to power, Hitler got into his own hands virtually unlimited control over all radio stations and periodicals in the country. Now he had no competitors. And the propaganda faces a new task - not just to force the average person to vote for the Nazis in the elections (this was just not required now), but to subordinate his whole life, all his thinking to the Hitlerite state.
Various organizations are created in abundance, designed to cover all aspects of a person's life, to accompany him from a young nail to a ripe old age. The Hitler Youth is for young people, the National Socialist Women's Union is for representatives of the beautiful half of humanity, the German Labor Front is for all working people, "Strength through Joy" is for organizing the leisure of the Germans … You can't list everything. And all these structures were aimed, in fact, at achieving one goal - domination over the souls of people - and in this regard they worked in a united team of propaganda.
The mass production of cheap "people's radios" began, which could receive only one wave - state radio broadcasting. Many films promoting Nazism were released annually. Sometimes openly, as, for example, in the famous "Triumph of the Will". Sometimes - in a latent form, as in numerous lyrical comedies. And it is no coincidence that at every major film studio there was a representative from Ahnenerbe - formally he played the role of a consultant when filming films about the ancient Germans, in reality he directed the propaganda line to the cinema.
It was the "Legacy of the Ancestors" that launched a huge, almost inconceivable campaign to prepare the German people for a new world war. After all, the previous one ended quite recently, and the memory of the terrible losses was still alive in every German (by the way, a similar memory among the French would be the reason for their rapid defeat in 1940). “Ahnenerbe” managed not only to defeat the fear of people about possible heavy losses, but also to make them believe that there is no other alternative, that enemies have surrounded the country from all sides and it is a sacred necessity to fight them. At the same time, the German soldiers retained faith in an inevitable victory until the very end, until May 1945. This is the highest achievement of the propagandists of the Reich, whose names are still hidden from us by a veil of secrecy.
However, this veil, like all the others, will sooner or later be slightly opened …
