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The Myth of the Perfect Mother: Propaganda and Conspiracy Theories

Virtual Event
Cigarette card titled “Muttergluck" (Joy of Motherhood), which shows Adolf Hitler with a mother and child. US Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of William O. McWorkman

Cigarette card titled “Muttergluck" (Joy of Motherhood), which shows Adolf Hitler with a mother and child. US Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of William O. McWorkman

Women were necessary participants toward the Nazi goal of creating a so-called pure race. Under Hitler’s reign, non-Jewish German mothers who had at least eight children to expand the nation’s population earned golden crosses, a tradition that began on Mother’s Day. 

Learn how nationalist propaganda and anti-Jewish conspiracy theories converged to persuade women to become key players in the myth of Nazi supremacy. Women today assume the roles of both victim and vehicle in spreading modernized versions of these dangerous conspiracy theories that divide our society and jeopardize democracy.

Speakers
Dr. Rebecca Erbelding, Historian, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Dr. Annie Kelly, Expert on contemporary conspiracy theories

Moderator
Dr. Edna Friedberg, Historian, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Watch live at facebook.com/holocaustmuseum. After the live broadcast, the recording will be available to watch on demand on the Museum's Facebook and YouTube pages.

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