Ethnic and Nationalist Propaganda: Nazi Germany and Modern America

In the wake of September 11, 2001, an entire nations opinion about an entire ethnicity had changed overnight. Images began flooding in from overseas of men in turbans holding automatic weapons, covered women, violence, Sharia Law, riots, bombings, anti-American slogans and flag burnings. The media instilled a culture of fear for those who looked like the men and women on the television. Middle Eastern persons faced increased scrutiny at security checkpoints at all transportation hubs. Newspapers began publishing stereotypical political cartoons of muslims and television personalities began endorsing a more “American” life. All of this propaganda and media commentary only served to further the gulf of difference between the two peoples. It was the media’s squawking that did the most damage. It implied all Muslims were terrorists, all Islamic women are oppressed, and that these people were dangerous. In short, it ‘justified’ discrimination (and sometimes violent hate) against an entire people.

While the chain of events that set off this treatment towards the Islamic people were different, the hatred and suspicion was learned and instilled artificially. As Moorhouse writes in Berlin At War young Berliner’s were attending lectures in cinemas entitled ‘Hatred towards England’. The attendee recalls:

“The speaker told us again how good we Germans were. We have achieved so much and will achieve more because we have the Fuhrer…We lacked hatred for England. So we had to learn how to hate…”

The Nazi’s skillfully harnessed mass employment of propaganda and “education” in order to fuel the German people towards committing genocide and believing they’re under siege. In this instance no animosity existed between this Berliner and the English, but because of damaging tools (like this lecture) the seeds of hate had been planted. In the months and years to follow, the Nazi State would publish stereotypical political cartoons of all non-Germans, begin to stratify all non-Germans into classes. Through dangerous propaganda this gave their cause justification.