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Plays On Emotions
Propaganda plays on human emotions—fear, hope, anger, frustration, sympathy—to direct audiences toward the desired goal. Hitler argued that the successful propagandist had to understand how to psychologically tailor messages to the public's emotions in order to win people over.
Attacks Opponents
Propaganda can serve as a form of political and social warfare to identify and vilify opponents. It can call into question the legitimacy, credibility, accuracy, and even the character of one’s opponents and their ideas. Nazi propagandists contributed to the implementation of the regime’s policies by publicly identifying groups for exclusion, justifying their outsider status, and inciting hatred or cultivating indifference.
Advertises a Cause
Adolf Hitler likened propaganda to political advertising: it had to distinguish the party, cause, or individual from their competitors. The Nazis branded themselves and their leader as young, patriotic, political outsiders who alone were capable of reforming Germany. They painted other political parties as special interest groups while portraying the Nazi Party as an inclusive movement representing all non-Jewish Germans, regardless of class, religion, or region.
Targets Desired Audiences
Effective propaganda often times conveys messages, themes, and language that appeal directly, and many times exclusively, to specific and distinct segments—and even sub-segments—of the population. Propagandists create messages that appeal directly to the needs, hopes, and fears of the targeted groups. The Nazi Party promoted itself as an inclusive political movement that represented all non-Jewish Germans, regardless of class, gender, religion, or region.
FOR TEACHERS
Project Rationale[ top ▲ ]
In recent years the study of propaganda has diminished in educational settings. At the same time, we are surrounded by more biased messages than ever with today's technology-rich, 24-hour information cycle. Students, who sometimes lack the skills and experience to think critically about these messages, might feel overwhelmed, leading to a "tuning-out" phenomenon. In addition, it can be more difficult to recognize concerted propaganda efforts in today's fragmented media environment.
Critical thinking about propaganda messages and understanding propaganda’s intent are crucial responsibilities of citizenship in the twenty-first century.
This site is intended to provide an opportunity for educators and students to explore the subject of propaganda. Entering into a discussion through the lens of history contextualizes the topic of propaganda and raises questions about the use and potential impact of new media and technologies. This forum encourages dialogue, active engagement, interpretation, and analysis.
Learning Outcomes[ top ▲ ]
Engaging with Mind over Media:
- Promotes critical analysis, improving students' ability to recognize propaganda techniques.
- Helps students consider how context shapes the way messages are interpreted.
- Exposes students to diverse interpretations of media messages, encouraging understanding of and respect for others' perspectives.
- Prompts active engagement with media messages, helping change students from passive consumers to critically engaged participants in the public discourse—a fundamental responsibility for citizens in the twenty-first century.
How to Use This Site in the Classroom[ top ▲ ]
This site offers a forum for students to engage in critical analysis of propaganda and its impact. It provides tools to help students identify propaganda, think about how it works, and consider when it becomes a danger to society. The lessons below deal with recognizing propaganda and building media literacy skills to assess the impact of propaganda on public opinion and behavior. It is recommended that students actively engage in all aspects of this project to maximize their learning. This includes opportunities to:
- Define propaganda and identify common propaganda techniques.
- Examine examples of propaganda from the Nazi era.
- Evaluate the importance of context on the impact of Nazi propaganda during three different periods – the Weimar Republic, Nazi Dictatorship, and World War II.
- Share and discuss their interpretations of propaganda found on the site.
Lesson Plans
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These lessons were designed to enhance learning about propaganda using content from the exhibition, State of Deception: The Power of Nazi Propaganda. They provide an opportunity for teachers to use a new framework for teaching propaganda. Where traditional methods focus on identifying propaganda techniques, this approach encourages deeper critical thinking and reflection. These lessons explore contexts in which societies can become vulnerable to extreme messages, equip students with critical thinking skills to assess propaganda's potential consequences, and empower them to respond to messages that could be dangerous, including hate speech.
Throughout this unit students will be asked to reflect on three guiding questions.
- When is propaganda most dangerous?
- What makes you vulnerable to propaganda?
- How can you guard against propaganda?
View the curricular unit, Redefining How We Teach Propaganda.
Other Resources
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Mind Over Media: Analyzing Contemporary Propaganda - Hosted by the Media Education Lab, this "sister site" invites you to analyze and discuss contemporary propaganda. Browse and rate images and videos in the online gallery. Teachers and students can upload their own examples and create private online galleries of images for classroom use.