How did Hitler consolidate his power and continue to gain support, using propaganda, after taking power?

Essay by KeirHigh School, 10th grade May 2006

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"Propaganda attempts to force a doctrine on the whole people... Propaganda works on the general public from the standpoint of an idea and makes them ripe for the victory of this idea." These were the words of Adolf Hitler himself, written in his book Mein Kampf of 1926, on the use of propaganda as a political tactic. Propaganda, defined as "a specific type of message presentation aimed at serving an agenda", was enthusiastically used by the Nazi Party to advocate themselves and their philosophies, especially after Hitler's appointment to chancellorship in January 1933. The Nazis utilized propaganda to ensure that the public had no access to anything that would damage the Nazi image, and to spread the beliefs of the Nazis as effectively as possible. In charge of Nazi propaganda was Josef Goebbels, given the official title "Minister of Propaganda and National Enlightenment", who headed the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, established in 1933 after Hitler's rise to power.

Hitler used propaganda to consolidate his power and to continue to gain support after becoming chancellor by targeting the youth of the country, knowing and expanding his propaganda's audience, and successfully infiltrating himself into his public's eyes through his total control of all forms of communication.

The Nazi Party, led by Hitler, consolidated their power by including the country's youth in their propaganda campaigns, thereby ensuring support in the future from the next generation. Firstly, the Nazi Party targeted schools in the country, molding the curriculum and the teaching materials to their liking. For example, beginning in 1933, textbooks and books were removed by censors due to "inappropriate" content relating to the Nazi Party's beliefs and ideals, and new textbooks and reading materials were integrated into the classroom, advocating deference to the party, worship for Hitler, and Anti-Semitism.