Alan Dershowitz is concerned over what he views as a rising tide of antisemitic speech on American college campuses. Learn more »
This educational module aims to teach students about propaganda and media. Using material from the Museum’s Voices on Antisemitism, the module:
The module is divided into six sections:
Alan Dershowitz is concerned over what he views as a rising tide of antisemitic speech on American college campuses. Learn more »
In 1936, Margaret Lambert was poised to win a medal at the Berlin Olympic Games. Just one month before the Olympics began, Lambert was informed by the Reich Sports Office that she would not be allowed to compete. Learn more »
In examining how the New York Times could have missed—or dismissed—the significance of the annihilation of Europe's Jews, Laurel Leff found many universal lessons for contemporary journalists. Learn more »
In 1996, David Pilgrim established the Jim Crow Museum at Ferris State University in Michigan. As the university's Chief Diversity Officer and a professor of sociology, one of Pilgrim's goals is to use objects of intolerance to teach about tolerance. Learn more »
After reporting on extremism for many years, Mark Potok decided to move from journalism to activism. Today, he directs the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project, which tracks hate groups in the United States. Learn more »
Propaganda is biased information designed to shape public opinion and behavior. It simplifies complicated issues or ideology for popular consumption, is always biased, and is geared to achieving a particular end. Its purpose is not solely negative, as demonstrated by the frequent use of slogans and symbols in election or health care campaigns. Propaganda is often transmitted to the public through various media, drawing upon techniques and strategies used in advertising, public relations, communications, and mass psychology. The real danger of propaganda lies when competing voices are silenced. Using the internet and bypassing respected media outlets, propagandists have been able to transmit their messages to a wider audience. It is important to fight against the hateful and racist messages that propaganda can carry. There are responsible citizens who are already doing so, some of whom are represented in the Voices on Antisemitism podcast series. Voices on Antisemitism is designed to bring together a variety of distinguished leaders of different backgrounds to comment on why antisemitism and hatred matters today. Propaganda and its negative effects are discussed in depth in this series, through Margaret Lambert, who was used as a propaganda tool by Hitler in the 1936 Olympics; Laurel Leff, who encourages journalistic responsibility; and David Pilgrim, who started a museum on Jim Crow and anti-black propaganda.
Propaganda served as an important tool to win over the majority of the German public who had not supported Adolf Hitler and to push forward the Nazis’ radical program, which required the acquiescence, support, or participation of broad sectors of the population. The Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, headed by Joseph Goebbels, ensured that the Nazi message was successfully communicated through art, music, theater, films, books, radio, educational materials, and the press. Goebbels goal was to manipulate and deceive the German population and the outside world. He and other propagandists preached an appealing message of national unity and a utopian future that resonated with millions of Germans. At the same time, they waged campaigns that facilitated the persecution of Jews and others excluded from the Nazi vision of the “National Community.” Propagandists often targeted youth audiences because they knew that if Nazism was going to be everlasting, they would need to look to the future—the children. The message directed toward them was that the Party was a movement of youth: dynamic, resilient, forward-looking, and hopeful. Many German young people were won over to Nazism in the classroom and through extracurricular activities.
Antisemitic messages were frequently broadcast over the radio and print in newspapers in Nazi Germany. In 1923, Julius Streicher established his virulently antisemitic newspaper, Der Stürmer (The Stormtrooper). In 1938, Streicher’s Stürmer reached its highpoint in terms of circulation; his successful publishing house of the same name (Stürmer-Verlag) produced, among other works, a host of antisemitic children’s literature, including the infamous Giftpilz (The Poisonous Mushroom). Because the lies of propaganda were so widespread, many under German control believed them. Propaganda messages portrayed Jews as an “alien race” that fed off the host nation, poisoned its culture, seized its economy, and enslaved its workers and farmers. This made it easier for citizens to turn a blind eye to the persecution and murder of the Jews and other victims of Nazi brutality.
