{"id":{"repo_id":"vcu","oai_identifier":"oai:scholarscompass.vcu.edu:etd-1204"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vcu/oai:scholarscompass.vcu.edu:etd-1204","repository":{"repo_id":"vcu","name":"Virginia Commonwealth University","base_url":"https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"Ewiges Deutschland as an Examination of Popular Political Culture in National Socialist Germany 1939-1940","abstract":"Under the Reich Ministry of Propaganda and Popular Enlightenment functioned the Winterhilfswerk des deutschen Volkes (the “WHW”), or Winter Assistance Program of the German people. Initially designated in 1933 to assist the unemployed, the WHW expanded its reach by disseminating propaganda in the form of an annual edition of the Ewiges Deutschland:Ein deutsches Hausbuch household book from 1939 through 1943, intended to entertain and politically educate German family members throughout the year. Decidedly more comprehensible than Mein Kampf, another widely popularly disseminated book in Nazi Germany for weddings, Ewiges Deutschland likely enjoyed a more satisfied audience of readers. A study of all five original volumes published totaling approximately 1,800 pages of primary source material, together with secondary supporting resources, suggests a dynamic relationship between the political intentions and propaganda value of the material published and the existing popular political culture. The Propaganda Ministry clearly understood this relationship and attempted to exploit and manipulate it. This relationship however was not static, and the explicit propaganda, its message, and associated literature changed over the course of the years studied according to the context of current events. This study illuminates our understanding of what daily life, culture, and many widely held beliefs were, and what they were intended to be, during the Third Reich. It concludes that popular political culture was less ideologically Nazified and radicalized than generally assumed.","abstract_html":"Under the Reich Ministry of Propaganda and Popular Enlightenment functioned the Winterhilfswerk des deutschen Volkes (the “WHW”), or Winter Assistance Program of the German people. Initially designated in 1933 to assist the unemployed, the WHW expanded its reach by disseminating propaganda in the form of an annual edition of the Ewiges Deutschland:Ein deutsches Hausbuch household book from 1939 through 1943, intended to entertain and politically educate German family members throughout the year. Decidedly more comprehensible than Mein Kampf, another widely popularly disseminated book in Nazi Germany for weddings, Ewiges Deutschland likely enjoyed a more satisfied audience of readers. A study of all five original volumes published totaling approximately 1,800 pages of primary source material, together with secondary supporting resources, suggests a dynamic relationship between the political intentions and propaganda value of the material published and the existing popular political culture. The Propaganda Ministry clearly understood this relationship and attempted to exploit and manipulate it. This relationship however was not static, and the explicit propaganda, its message, and associated literature changed over the course of the years studied according to the context of current events. This study illuminates our understanding of what daily life, culture, and many widely held beliefs were, and what they were intended to be, during the Third Reich. It concludes that popular political culture was less ideologically Nazified and radicalized than generally assumed.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Sherrick, Howard Joseph, Jr."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"History","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Joseph Bendersky"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-05-06T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-05-06T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:53:41Z","subjects":["Popular Political Culture","Nazi Germany","Arts and Humanities","History"],"languages":[],"rights":["© The Author"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/205"],"render_values":[{"text":"https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/205","href":"https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/205","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://doi.org/10.25772/8M26-QP43","outbound_label":"DOI","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Joseph Bendersky"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Sherrick, Howard Joseph, Jr."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2021-05-12T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["History"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Popular Political Culture","Nazi Germany","Arts and Humanities","History"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["© The Author"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://doi.org/10.25772/8M26-QP43","https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/205"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Under the Reich Ministry of Propaganda and Popular Enlightenment functioned the Winterhilfswerk des deutschen Volkes (the “WHW”), or Winter Assistance Program of the German people. Initially designated in 1933 to assist the unemployed, the WHW expanded its reach by disseminating propaganda in the form of an annual edition of the Ewiges Deutschland:Ein deutsches Hausbuch household book from 1939 through 1943, intended to entertain and politically educate German family members throughout the year. Decidedly more comprehensible than Mein Kampf, another widely popularly disseminated book in Nazi Germany for weddings, Ewiges Deutschland likely enjoyed a more satisfied audience of readers. A study of all five original volumes published totaling approximately 1,800 pages of primary source material, together with secondary supporting resources, suggests a dynamic relationship between the political intentions and propaganda value of the material published and the existing popular political culture. The Propaganda Ministry clearly understood this relationship and attempted to exploit and manipulate it. This relationship however was not static, and the explicit propaganda, its message, and associated literature changed over the course of the years studied according to the context of current events. This study illuminates our understanding of what daily life, culture, and many widely held beliefs were, and what they were intended to be, during the Third Reich. It concludes that popular political culture was less ideologically Nazified and radicalized than generally assumed."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Ewiges Deutschland as an Examination of Popular Political Culture in National Socialist Germany 1939-1940"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Joseph Bendersky"],"dc:creator":["Sherrick, Howard Joseph, Jr."],"dc:date.available":["2021-05-12T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Under the Reich Ministry of Propaganda and Popular Enlightenment functioned the Winterhilfswerk des deutschen Volkes (the “WHW”), or Winter Assistance Program of the German people. Initially designated in 1933 to assist the unemployed, the WHW expanded its reach by disseminating propaganda in the form of an annual edition of the Ewiges Deutschland:Ein deutsches Hausbuch household book from 1939 through 1943, intended to entertain and politically educate German family members throughout the year. Decidedly more comprehensible than Mein Kampf, another widely popularly disseminated book in Nazi Germany for weddings, Ewiges Deutschland likely enjoyed a more satisfied audience of readers. A study of all five original volumes published totaling approximately 1,800 pages of primary source material, together with secondary supporting resources, suggests a dynamic relationship between the political intentions and propaganda value of the material published and the existing popular political culture. The Propaganda Ministry clearly understood this relationship and attempted to exploit and manipulate it. This relationship however was not static, and the explicit propaganda, its message, and associated literature changed over the course of the years studied according to the context of current events. This study illuminates our understanding of what daily life, culture, and many widely held beliefs were, and what they were intended to be, during the Third Reich. It concludes that popular political culture was less ideologically Nazified and radicalized than generally assumed."],"dc:identifier":["https://doi.org/10.25772/8M26-QP43","https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/205"],"dc:rights":["© The Author"],"dc:subject":["Popular Political Culture","Nazi Germany","Arts and Humanities","History"],"dc:title":["Ewiges Deutschland as an Examination of Popular Political Culture in National Socialist Germany 1939-1940"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["History"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:53:41Z"}