Lesson video

Hello.

Welcome to History here at Oak National Academy.

My name's Mr. Newton, and I will be your teacher today guiding you through the entire lesson.

Right, let's get started.

Today, we're exploring a powerful weapon of the Nazi Party, and this isn't a gun or a tank, but propaganda.

Under Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's minister of propaganda, the Nazis didn't just control the media.

They pioneered techniques still used around the world today.

They knew that the most effective messages weren't complicated.

They were simple, emotional, and repeated.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to describe how the Nazi Party used propaganda to attempt to control and influence attitudes in Germany.

Before we begin, there are a few keywords that we need to understand.

Propaganda is information or ideas that are spread with the intention of influencing people's opinions.

And this can be media that is designed to promote a particular political agenda.

Censorship is the act of banning ideas, books, or media from reaching the public because they are seen as offensive, harmful, or politically dangerous, or because someone wants to keep certain information secret.

A narrative is a structured story or a particular way of explaining or understanding events.

And Reich, meaning empire, under the Nazis, it referred to the Third Reich, their name for Hitler's regime, which they saw as the third great German empire after the Holy Roman Empire and the German Empire.

Today's lesson is called "Goebbels and propaganda in Nazi Germany." And the lesson is split into two main parts.

In the first part, shaping minds and the Nazi narrative, we'll explore how Joseph Goebbels and the Nazi regime crafted a powerful story that made Hitler seem like Germany's saviour.

Then in the second part, controlling every cultural channel, we'll dig into how the Nazis didn't just influence opinions through words, but through total control of culture, from newspapers to radios, films to music, even school books and art.

Every part of public life was brought under the Nazi message.

So let's begin with shaping minds and the Nazi narrative.

In the spring of 1933, the newly empowered Nazi regime understood something fundamental.

Fear could keep people silent, but belief could keep them loyal.

The Nazis set out to shape public opinion using propaganda and censorship to secure control and legitimacy.

They filled everyday life with their message, through posters, films, music, and school books, until Nazi ideas felt like common sense.

Over time, people didn't just obey.

They believed.

And even if people didn't truly believe everything the Nazis said, many went along with it because it became the social norm.

It was easier and far safer to follow the crowd than to stand out.

Let's take a close look at the image on the left.

Most of the crowd is showing support, but look more carefully.

Right in the middle, there's one person who stands out.

Her face is uncertain.

She seems separate from the crowd, even though she's surrounded by it.

What does that tell us? This image captures something powerful about life under the Nazis.

Propaganda was everywhere.

It shaped what people heard, saw, and believed.

But even with that pressure, not everyone was convinced.

Some hesitated.

Let's think.

What do you imagine it felt like to be that one person who didn't join in? When everyone around you is acting the same way, there's enormous pressure to conform.

Psychologists have found that human beings are naturally social.

We tend to go along with the group, even when we're unsure or uncomfortable.

It feels safer to blend in than to stand out.

Nazi propaganda created a social environment where obedience felt normal.

Once the message was everywhere, on posters, newspapers, radio, it became part of the atmosphere.

People didn't just believe the propaganda.

They absorbed it.

And even if they didn't fully agree, most people went along with it because not going along made you stand out.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

Which of the following were key strategies the Nazis used in 1933 to influence belief and secure loyalty? Select three correct answers.

A, controlling information through propaganda and censorship.

B, creating social norms that people followed out of fear and a desire to belong.

C, encouraging open political debate in schools and universities.

D, spreading their message through posters and films. Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew the correct answers were A, the Nazis controlled information through propaganda and censorship, B, they created social norms that people followed out of fear and a desire to belong, and D, they spread their message through posters and films. Okay, let's continue.

At the centre of this psychological revolution stood Joseph Goebbels.

And we can see Goebbels in the photo, and I've highlighted him in the purple circle.

And here we can see him stood on the set of a film in 1938.

Goebbels was the sharp-tongued minister of propaganda and public enlightenment.

He wasn't a soldier or a general.

He was a skilled communicator.

He studied literature, philosophy, and history at university and earned a PhD.

He was clever with words, deeply interested in art and storytelling, and he had a sharp instinct for what would move people emotionally.

That made him the perfect man for this job.

As Hitler's minister of propaganda, Goebbels knew that facts alone don't persuade people; feelings do.

He understood the power of film, music, radio, and slogans to stir emotion, shape identity, and make ideas feel natural, even if they were extreme.

In this photo, he's at the centre of a film production.

So the question is why? Because for Goebbels, movies weren't just entertainment.

They were tools.

Every camera angle, costume, and script was part of the Nazi message.

He didn't just want people to hear the Nazi story.

He wanted them to feel it and live inside it.

This image shows us the kind of propaganda Goebbels mastered.

Not loud and aggressive, but subtle, polished, and emotionally powerful.

As minister of propaganda, Goebbels didn't just direct slogans.

He and the Nazi Party told a story.

Or in other words, Goebbels and the Nazi Party created a narrative, a narrative about who the enemy was, who the heroes were, and what the future should look like.

They didn't explain this story with long arguments or complex ideas.

Instead, they repeated short, catchy slogans over and over.

Eventually, people didn't just hear these phrases.

They repeated them in conversation.

They taught them to their children and accepted them as simply the way things were.

What followed was a cultural shift that encouraged obedience and cast Hitler as Germany's saviour.

Goebbels plastered Germany with posters bearing powerful, simplistic slogans like "One People, one Reich, one Leader!" Let's take a moment to examine this poster.

At the bottom, the slogan reads, "Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Fuhrer!" This is often translated as "One People, one Empire, one Leader!" This wasn't just any slogan.

It was one of the most central and widely repeated messages of Nazi propaganda.

Hitler himself approved this image, and it became one of the most popular posters used by the regime.

You would have seen it on walls, in newspapers, and in schools all across Nazi Germany.

So why was it so effective? First, notice how simple and memorable it is.

Three short phrases all building towards one idea, unity under one man, Hitler.

This reinforced what's known as the cult of the Fuhrer, the idea that Hitler wasn't just a politician but the living embodiment of the German people.

The message was that Germany didn't just follow Hitler.

He was Germany.

He was the symbolic father of Germany.

Second, the design plays into that same message.

Hitler is shown not smiling or relaxed, but powerful and disciplined.

Everything here is designed to create a feeling of strength, order, and loyalty.

Posters and slogans like this helped shape a narrative where Hitler was seen as Germany's saviour and where questioning that image felt almost like a betrayal, like you didn't want Germany to be saved.

This is a clear example of how propaganda didn't just tell people what to think.

It gave them a story to believe in.

Therefore, any time someone saw this slogan or image, it immediately unlocked a wider story about unity, strength, obedience, and destiny.

It wasn't just a poster.

It was a symbol built on real hopes, frustrations, and fears.

And that's what made it so persuasive.

Goebbels' ministry of propaganda shaped every aspect of the public narrative.

And with the creation of the Reich Chamber of Culture in 1933, Goebbels's ministry controlled the arts using censorship and state approval to reshape culture around Nazi ideas.

And what that meant was that no one could compose, paint, publish, or perform without state approval.

Artists, writers, and musicians had to register and be approved.

Jews, political dissenters, and anyone considered culturally undesirable were banned.

The regime didn't just cancel opposing voices.

It redirected creativity toward the Nazi narrative.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

Which of the following describe how Goebbels and the Nazis used propaganda to shape public thinking and culture? Select three correct answers.

A, controlling cultural life through the Reich Chamber of Culture.

B, encouraging artistic freedom and open expression.

C, promoting a clear narrative with defined enemies and heroes.

D, repeating simple slogans to make Nazi ideas feel like common sense.

Pause the video, select your three correct answers, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew the correct answers were A, controlling cultural life through the Reich Chamber of Culture, C, promoting a clear narrative with defined enemies and heroes, D, repeating simple slogans to make Nazi ideas feel like common sense.

Though initially obvious and overbearing, Nazi propaganda evolved.

Goebbels realised that effective messaging needed to entertain as well as persuade.

It had to slip in unnoticed, like a story that slowly becomes accepted as truth.

The story of Nazi propaganda isn't just about lies.

It's about how lies were wrapped in beauty and made irresistible through sound, spectacle, and drama.

Propaganda reached its most spectacular form at the Nuremberg Rallies.

These annual gatherings were not just political meetings.

They were theatrical performances meticulously choreographed to evoke awe, unity, and devotion.

Goebbels, together with Hitler's favourite architect, Albert Speer, transformed parade grounds into grand stages.

Nuremberg had once been the ceremonial heart of the Holy Roman Empire, which many Germans called the First Reich.

The Nazis declared their empire the Third Reich, presenting it as the rightful heir to that imperial past.

By invoking this legacy, they cast themselves as the restorers of German greatness.

They were bringing a Reich back to Germany.

Nuremberg, steeped in this imperial tradition, became the symbolic heart of this vision.

Take a look at this image.

This is the 1934 Nuremberg Rally.

More than 700,000 people gathered to witness soldiers march in perfect formation, torches blazing, and banners raised high.

In the centre, you can see Hitler saluting the blood banner, surrounded by rows and rows of Nazi officials and supporters.

The blood banner was a flag from Hitler's failed 1923 Munich Putsch, which was now being ritually honoured.

This was a way to fuse the past struggle of the Nazi Party and Germany with the present and future glory.

The scale of the Nuremberg Rally was staggering.

Hundreds of thousands gathered not just to listen to a speech, but to be part of something that felt larger than life.

To a long-suffering and divided Germany, these rallies offered not just excitement, but a seductive sense of belonging, of being part of a victorious future.

They promised a stable homeland and a glorious national rebirth.

American journalist William Shirer, witnessing the 1934 rally, confessed, "It felt like a sacred ceremony in a vast cathedral." As Hitler walked down a central aisle, thousands saluted in near religious ecstasy.

Women seemed ready to faint.

It was mesmerising and masterfully staged.

As night fell, bonfires were lit along the horizon, and vast search lights swept the sky, creating the illusion that Hitler stood within a towering temple made of light.

Many who attended said they felt themselves dissolve into the crowd.

Class distinctions vanished, and each person became part of a greater collective.

One people.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

What made the Nuremberg Rallies a powerful tool of Nazi propaganda? A, they featured open political debate and public voting.

B, they honoured democratic traditions through speeches and parades.

C, they used theatrical spectacle to evoke unity, awe, and devotion.

D, they were focused on military training and defence strategies.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew that the Nuremberg Rallies were a powerful tool of Nazi propaganda because C, they used theatrical spectacle to evoke unity, awe, and devotion.

The Nuremberg spectacle was captured on film and broadcast across Germany.

The film was commissioned by Goebbels and directed by Leni Riefenstahl.

The film was called "The Triumph of the Will." And we can see a photo of Riefenstahl looking through the camera during filming.

The title "Triumph of the Will" suggests that Hitler's rise to power was not just political, but the result of sheer determination and struggle.

It presents the Nazi takeover as a heroic, unstoppable force, framing Hitler's will as the driving power behind Germany's rebirth.

This taps into the belief that individuals and nations strive to assert their dominance, overcome obstacles, and shape their destiny through strength of will.

The Nuremberg spectacle was projected onto cinema screens in every town and city in Germany.

Using 30 cameras, sweeping aerial shots, and cinematic wizardry, Riefenstahl transformed Hitler from man to myth.

Audiences weren't just watching a documentary.

They were being pulled into the narrative.

As Hitler descended from the clouds in his aeroplane and addressed the mesmerised crowds, he was framed as Germany's saviour.

Every screening opened with newsreels of Nazi successes, military exercises, Hitler's speeches, children waving flags, casting the regime as the heartbeat of national destiny.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

Complete this paragraph with the correct missing words.

Film was one of the most powerful blank tools in Nazi Germany.

Cinemas played newsreels of Nazi successes, and films carried pro-Nazi messages.

Leni Riefenstahl's film "blank of the Will" portrayed Hitler as a mythic saviour and helped draw audiences into the Nazi blank.

Pause the video, fill in the blanks, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

So let's see how that paragraph should have read.

Film was one of the most powerful propaganda tools in Nazi Germany.

Cinemas played newsreels of Nazi successes, and films carried pro-Nazi messages.

Leni Riefenstahl's film "Triumph of the Will" portrayed Hitler as a mythic saviour and helped draw audiences into the Nazi narrative.

Okay, great.

Let's move on to Task A.

And what I want you to do here is complete the following sentences.

So the first sentence starter here is, Nazi propaganda was successful because.

And then I want you to complete that sentence.

And to help you to do that, I've given you a hint.

So I want you to explain why propaganda worked and how the Nazis shaped belief.

For the next sentence, we've got a slightly different sentence starter here 'cause it ends in but, so Nazi propaganda was successful but.

And the hint for this one is, I want you now to show a different viewpoint.

In other words, did everyone believe? And this is just getting you to think more critically about how Nazi propaganda was working.

And then the final sentence starter, Nazi propaganda was successful so.

And the hint here is I want you to explain the result or impact.

What did this lead to? How did it affect people's actions or attitudes? And hopefully you can see here by writing these because, but, and so sentences, it should give us a more rounded perspective of Nazi propaganda.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and then come right back.

Okay, great, welcome back, and well done for having a go at that task.

So there's many ways that you could have completed those sentences, but compare your answers with the ones I have here.

So for the first sentence, you could have put: Nazi propaganda was successful because it repeated simple messages in schools, posters, and films until they felt like common sense.

And for this sentence, you could have put: Nazi propaganda was successful, but not everyone truly believed.

Some people went along with it because it was safer or easier than standing out.

And then our final sentence starts to look at some of the consequences.

Nazi propaganda was successful, so the Nazis could control German society through a mixture of belief in the Nazi narrative, intimidation of dissenters, and social pressure and fear of being different.

Okay, great.

Let's move on to the second part of Task A.

And what I want you to do here is, working with your partner, discuss this statement, "Nazi propaganda was powerful because it entertained as well as persuaded." And to help you to have some really detailed and thoughtful conversations, I want your discussions to consider the following questions.

So the first question is: how did the Nazis use art, culture, and censorship to control what people saw and heard? And the second question here is: how did propaganda use drama and spectacle to create belief and belonging? And the final question is: how did the Nazis use film to spread their ideas and strengthen Hitler's image? Pause the video, have a discussion, and then come right back.

Okay, great, welcome back, and hopefully you had some great discussions.

So there's many things that you may have discussed, but you may have discussed the following when addressing this question: how did the Nazis use art, culture, and censorship to control what people saw and heard? So let's see what you might have discussed here.

So you could have put something like that the Reich Chamber of Culture was created in 1933 to control all aspects of cultural life.

And you might have added some extra detail there to explain that artists, writers, and musicians had to register and gain state approval to publish or perform.

And this also meant that Jews, political opponents, and those seen as culturally undesirable were censored, and that this was kind of like a two-pronged attack.

The regime didn't just cancel opposing voices, it also redirected creativity to promote the Nazi narrative.

And for the second question, how did propaganda use spectacle to create belief and belonging, you may have discussed that the Nuremberg Rallies were theatrical performances designed to evoke awe, unity, and devotion.

That this involved grand staging, perfect marching, torchlight displays, and symbolic banners, which created a shared emotional experience.

That Nuremberg was the ceremonial heart of the Holy Roman Empire, which was the First Reich, and that the Nazis cast themselves as the builders of the Third Reich.

That the rallies gave Germans a sense of belonging, a sense of meaning, a sense of identity, and promised a stable homeland and future imperial glory.

And this meant that Germans felt part of a victorious, reborn nation, dissolving class divides into one people, everyone belonging to one people, one country, all following one leader to victory.

And for the final question, how did the Nazis use film to spread their ideas and strengthen Hitler's image, you may have discussed that the film "Triumph of the Will" portrayed Hitler as a mythic, savior-like figure using cinematic techniques like aerial shots and dramatic entrances.

And that the film was used to project the Nuremberg Rallies across Germany.

Screenings also included newsreels of Nazi achievements, reinforcing the idea that the regime was strong and successful.

And audiences weren't just watching events, they were being pulled into a narrative.

And the film and other propaganda was designed to entertain as well as persuade.

And as Goebbels put it, the message had to "slip in unnoticed." Great, we've now explored how the Nazis crafted a powerful narrative through spectacle, emotion, and repetition, and we've seen how Hitler was turned into more than just a leader.

He became a symbol, the so-called saviour of Germany, and that this was woven into every story and slogan.

But propaganda didn't just live in posters and rallies.

Now we're going to shift our focus to the second part of the lesson, controlling every cultural channel, where we learn how the Nazis wanted full control over everything people read, heard, watched, and created, from newspapers to radio, school books to art galleries.

Every part of culture was brought under the Nazi message.

One of Goebbels's first moves was to seize control of the press.

The press was a form of media the Nazis saw as crucial in shaping public opinion.

Remember, this was before the internet or social media.

Most people relied on newspapers to understand the world around them.

If you controlled the headlines, you could control the conversation.

Independent newspapers were shut down or taken over.

By 1939, 2/3 of all newspapers in Germany were Nazi-owned.

A new Editors Law in 1933 made journalists personally responsible for their articles.

One misstep or unauthorised opinion could end a career.

Within two years, over 1,300 Jewish or left-leaning journalists were removed from their posts.

What once inspired debate and reflection now echoed a single voice.

Let's have a look at this image.

The image shows the inside of a newsroom, but it's not a place of free reporting.

The journalists here aren't writing what they believe or what they're investigating.

They're writing what they've been told to write, state-approved articles only.

But let's link this back to something we talked about earlier: psychological conformity.

Yes, some journalists genuinely supported the Nazi regime, but many didn't.

And yet they still wrote what was expected of them.

Why? It wasn't always just fear of punishment or being thrown in a concentration camp.

Often, it was about fitting in, doing what everyone else seemed to be doing.

In a tightly controlled media where only one message was allowed, staying silent or going along with the system became the easiest and safest option.

Just like the woman in the crowd we saw earlier, people often conformed not because they believed everything, but because standing out felt risky and lonely.

And there was another reason too: career ambition.

Stick to the approved narrative and you could keep your job or even climb the ladder and get a promotion.

Resist and you'd be out.

So propaganda didn't just silence people through fear.

It also tempted them with opportunity.

And this tells us something deeper.

Censorship and propaganda didn't just censor opposing voices and put forward an official message or narrative.

They reshaped the culture of workplaces, rewards, and behaviour until agreeing became the smarter choice.

Censorship and endorsing the official narrative became a normal part of life.

But Goebbels didn't stop at the printed word.

Radio was the most powerful new medium of the time, able to project voices directly into homes.

To maximise its reach, the regime mass produced the Volksempfanger, or People's Receiver, a cheap radio designed to tune into only Nazi broadcasts.

Through this, Hitler's voice became inescapable, spilling from windows, shops, and public loud speakers.

Have a look at the image on the left.

The image shows a family listening to a radio in their home.

This was before television and long before the internet.

There were no phones buzzing with updates, no streaming services, and no social media.

Radio was the most important new medium of the time.

It brought voices directly into people's homes, making it feel personal, immediate, and trustworthy.

The Nazis understood this and used it strategically.

Radios created a sense of intimacy.

The Fuhrer's voice was always present, speaking, persuading, and filling the air.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

Which of the following describe how the Nazis brought the press under control in the early 1930s? Select three correct answers.

A, encouraging critical journalism to promote public debate.

B, passing laws that made journalists responsible for their articles.

C, removing Jewish and left-leaning journalists from their posts.

D, shutting down or taking over independent newspapers.

Pause the video, select your three correct answers, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew the correct answers were B, passing laws that made journalists responsible for their articles, C, removing Jewish and left-leaning journalists from their posts, and D, shutting down or taking over independent newspapers.

What I want you to do now is complete this sentence with the correct missing word.

The Nazi government spread its message by mass producing a cheap radio called the blank, which was able to broadcast approved Nazi content directly into homes.

Pause the video, fill in the blank, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew the correct sentence should have read: The Nazi government spread its message by mass producing a cheap radio called the People's Receiver.

And you also get a point if you wrote that in German, the Volksempfanger.

The 1936 Berlin Olympics offered a global stage for Nazi propaganda.

On the left, we can see a photo of those Olympics.

The Olympics are a global sporting event, and the Nazis knew that the eyes of the world would be fixed on Germany at this time.

Goebbels seized the opportunity to present a carefully sanitised image of Germany.

Anti-Jewish signs were temporarily removed, and foreign guests were greeted with polished hospitality.

The swastika flew beside the Olympic flag, and German athletes dominated the medal table, a point of national pride.

Yet it was Jesse Owens, the African American athlete who won four gold medals, who captured the world's attention.

His victories delivered a blow to Nazi ideas of race.

Nonetheless, it was a propaganda success for the Nazis.

Many international observers left impressed by Germany's efficiency and grandeur.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

How did the 1936 Berlin Olympics serve Nazi propaganda aims? A, by banning foreign athletes to ensure German victories.

B, by promoting anti-Jewish laws to international visitors.

C, by using the games to present a clean, impressive image of Nazi Germany.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew the correct answer was that the Berlin Olympics served Nazi propaganda aims by C, using the games to present a clean, impressive image of Nazi Germany.

The Nazi regime's cultural propaganda found fertile ground among Germany's youth, many of whom absorbed its messages with enthusiasm.

Students took part in Nazi book burnings as part of a wider campaign of cultural censorship.

The book burnings of May 1933 involved university students across Germany marching through the streets and casting culturally undesirable works in blazing bonfires.

The image shows a crowd of young students burning books as a Nazi official stands watch.

Any book containing ideas now deemed unacceptable, whether by Freud, Einstein, Marx, or Hemingway, was thrown onto the flames.

These were not just acts of state censorship directed from above, but public rituals of cleansing that students embraced with zeal.

In other words, these book burnings weren't just ordered by the government.

They became public events that many students took part in willingly.

They weren't forced.

They wanted to be involved and saw it as a way to cleanse German culture of ideas they believed were dangerous.

Student participation showed how deeply propaganda had sunk in, not only shaping beliefs, but inspiring action.

Meanwhile, libraries and bookshops were raided by units from the SS and Gestapo.

Works by Jewish, Marxist, or modernist authors were stripped from shelves and banned from circulation, while Hitler's "Mein Kampf" climbed to the top of bestseller lists.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

What does the Nazi-led book burning of May 1933 reveal about the impact of propaganda on German youth? Select two answers.

A, propaganda had shaped beliefs strongly enough to inspire action.

B, students actively participated in destroying books labelled "culturally undesirable." C, the events were top-down orders with no public involvement.

D, university students protested the burnings as attacks on free speech.

Pause the video, select your two correct answers, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew the correct answers were A, propaganda had shaped beliefs strongly enough to inspire action, and B, students actively participated in destroying books labelled "culturally undesirable." The Nazi regime rejected modernist art and music as "degenerate," replacing it with traditional styles that promoted their ideals of strength, purity, and nationalism.

According to the Nazis, modernist art was morally corrupt and therefore needed to be removed from galleries.

In its place, Nazi-approved paintings glorified peasant life, motherhood, and heroic soldiers.

To understand the different art styles, we can look at the image.

The painting on the left shows a typical modernist abstract artwork which the Nazis disapproved of, whilst on the right, we can see a typical traditional-style painting.

It wasn't just art which was targeted by the Nazis.

Jazz, associated with African American culture and so-called foreign contamination, was outlawed in favour of traditional German music.

Even architecture played its part.

Under Albert Speer's direction, buildings with towering columns and harsh symmetry projected a vision of strength, discipline, and eternal power.

By the end of the 1930s, Nazi propaganda had gone beyond censorship.

It had created a new cultural reality.

This was a world in which only the approved version of the truth could be heard and where contradiction was not just unwelcome, it was dangerous.

It became safer to say nothing to avoid the fate of neighbours who had disappeared into the network of SS-run prisons and concentration camps.

Though some secretly tuned into banned broadcasts like the BBC, such acts of resistance were rare and silent.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

True or false? The Nazis used culture to promote their ideology in the arts by encouraging modernist art to reflect a progressive Germany.

Is that true or false? Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew that was false.

But why is that false? I want you to justify your answer.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew it was because the Nazis sought to replace "degenerate" modernist art with traditional works glorifying motherhood and heroism, allowing them to further promote their ideology through culture.

Okay, great, let's move on to the final task, Task B.

What I want you to do here is explain in two paragraphs how the Nazis used propaganda to control German society in the 1930s.

And to help you in writing your paragraphs, I want you to try to cover three to four of the following in your answer: press, radio, books, art, music, public events.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and then come right back.

Okay, great, welcome back, and well done for having a go at that task.

So there's many ways that you could have written your paragraphs, but compare your answer with the ones I have here.

So you could have put something like: The Nazis used propaganda to control German society by taking full control of the media, especially the press and radio.

Goebbels shut down or took over independent newspapers, whilst the Editors' Law of 1933 forced journalists to take personal responsibility for their articles, which meant that one unauthorised opinion could cost them their job.

This censorship meant newspapers no longer encouraged debate.

They simply echoed Nazi views.

Radio was used even more effectively.

The Nazis mass produced the People's Receiver, a cheap radio that only played Nazi broadcasts.

It brought Hitler's voice directly into homes, shops, and public spaces.

This created a feeling of intimacy and constant presence, making Nazi ideas unavoidable and reinforcing loyalty to their dictatorship.

And you may have continued with your second paragraph: The Nazis reshaped German culture through propaganda, targeting books, art, music, and public events.

In May 1933, university students across Germany burned thousands of "culturally undesirable" books.

These public rituals were not just state censorship, but acts of mass participation, showing how deeply propaganda had influenced young people.

Modernist art was labelled "degenerate" and removed from galleries, while Nazi-approved paintings celebrated motherhood and heroic soldiers.

Jazz music was banned as foreign, and architecture was used to project strength and order.

Even international events like the 1936 Berlin Olympics were used to portray a carefully sanitised image of Germany.

Nazi propaganda had created a new cultural reality where only approved messages were visible and resistance was dangerous and rare.

Okay, great, let's summarise today's lesson, "Goebbels and propaganda in Nazi Germany." Nazi propaganda repeated simple messages in schools, posters, and films until they felt like common sense.

Goebbels's ministry controlled who could publish, perform, or create art, ensuring all culture aligned with Nazi values.

Propaganda created a powerful narrative, portraying Hitler as a heroic saviour and offering Germans unity, belonging, and a promise of a reborn Reich.

Censorship was used to remove "culturally undesirable" ideas, with books burned, newspapers controlled, and only approved messages allowed across press, radio, and film.

Mass events like the Nuremberg Rallies and films like "Triumph of the Will" used drama and spectacle to stir emotion, while Nazi propaganda subtly entertained and persuaded.

Well done, everyone.

And today, we've seen that propaganda in Nazi Germany wasn't just about posters or speeches.

It was about shaping how people thought, felt, and even behaved.

See you in the next lesson.