This thesis examines Nazi propaganda’s overall effectiveness during Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in the 1930s through the end of World War II in 1945. Historians have had mixed opinions of the overall potency of the propaganda. The questions in consideration are why Nazi propaganda received so much support from the Nazi leadership if it didn’t work and whether or not it was a primary reason Germany continued to resist until the end of the war. Using the diaries of Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi Propaganda Minister, soldiers’ letters from the front lines, the propaganda itself, and a variety of secondary sources, this work investigated these questions and found that propaganda was indeed influential throughout the duration of the Third Reich. Three primary elements were effective: indoctrination, anti-Soviet propaganda, and the intense media deification of Hitler that came to be known as the Hitler Myth.
","abstract_html":"<p>This thesis examines Nazi propaganda’s overall effectiveness during Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in the 1930s through the end of World War II in 1945. Historians have had mixed opinions of the overall potency of the propaganda. The questions in consideration are why Nazi propaganda received so much support from the Nazi leadership if it didn’t work and whether or not it was a primary reason Germany continued to resist until the end of the war. Using the diaries of Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi Propaganda Minister, soldiers’ letters from the front lines, the propaganda itself, and a variety of secondary sources, this work investigated these questions and found that propaganda was indeed influential throughout the duration of the Third Reich. Three primary elements were effective: indoctrination, anti-Soviet propaganda, and the intense media deification of Hitler that came to be known as the Hitler Myth.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Stout, Michael J."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"History and Philosophy","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Steven Ramold, PhD., Chair","Ron Delph, PhD.","James Holoka, PhD."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:16:44Z","subjects":["world war II","nazi","propaganda","goebbels","hitler","European History"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/314","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Steven Ramold, PhD., Chair","Ron Delph, PhD.","James Holoka, PhD."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Stout, Michael J."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2011-05-20T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["History and Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["world war II","nazi","propaganda","goebbels","hitler","European History"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/314"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis examines Nazi propaganda’s overall effectiveness during Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in the 1930s through the end of World War II in 1945. Historians have had mixed opinions of the overall potency of the propaganda. The questions in consideration are why Nazi propaganda received so much support from the Nazi leadership if it didn’t work and whether or not it was a primary reason Germany continued to resist until the end of the war. Using the diaries of Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi Propaganda Minister, soldiers’ letters from the front lines, the propaganda itself, and a variety of secondary sources, this work investigated these questions and found that propaganda was indeed influential throughout the duration of the Third Reich. Three primary elements were effective: indoctrination, anti-Soviet propaganda, and the intense media deification of Hitler that came to be known as the Hitler Myth.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The effectiveness of Nazi propaganda during World War II"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Steven Ramold, PhD., Chair","Ron Delph, PhD.","James Holoka, PhD."],"dc:creator":["Stout, Michael J."],"dc:date.available":["2011-05-20T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis examines Nazi propaganda’s overall effectiveness during Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in the 1930s through the end of World War II in 1945. Historians have had mixed opinions of the overall potency of the propaganda. The questions in consideration are why Nazi propaganda received so much support from the Nazi leadership if it didn’t work and whether or not it was a primary reason Germany continued to resist until the end of the war. Using the diaries of Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi Propaganda Minister, soldiers’ letters from the front lines, the propaganda itself, and a variety of secondary sources, this work investigated these questions and found that propaganda was indeed influential throughout the duration of the Third Reich. Three primary elements were effective: indoctrination, anti-Soviet propaganda, and the intense media deification of Hitler that came to be known as the Hitler Myth.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/314"],"dc:subject":["world war II","nazi","propaganda","goebbels","hitler","European History"],"dc:title":["The effectiveness of Nazi propaganda during World War II"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["History and Philosophy"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:16:44Z"}