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Eastern Michigan University

The effectiveness of Nazi propaganda during World War II

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

<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>

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Arts (MA)
Level thesis:degree_level
Open Access Thesis
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
History and Philosophy
Year dc:date.available
2011

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Stout, Michael J.
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Steven Ramold, PhD., Chair
  • Ron Delph, PhD.
  • James Holoka, PhD.

Subjects

dc:subject × 6

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Repository record dc:identifier
https://commons.emich.edu/theses/314
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:commons.emich.edu:theses-1313

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Eastern Michigan University
Base URL
commons.emich.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Stout, Michael J.. The effectiveness of Nazi propaganda during World War II. Open Access Thesis thesis, 2011. https://commons.emich.edu/theses/314