Most social movements have a sense of ethical principal. The Nazi party had none. They
would do whatever they thought they needed to in order to accomplish their main goal of
wiping out the Jewish race. Their main method of persuasion was propaganda. There are
some scholars who question whether or not propaganda is ethical or not. Lets consider for a
moment what exactly is propaganda? Charles Larson in Persuasion Reception and
Responsibility defines persuasion with five key characteristics all of which are components
of Nazi propaganda.
First, propaganda promotes one and only one way to believe. The belief system of the
Nazi regime was defined and constituted by Adolf Hitler in his first book Mein Kampf. This
literature is the foundation of what becomes Nazism and required National Socialism of the
German people. Second, it uses a variety of media outlets to spread the belief system to the
masses. In the case of Nazi Germany they spread their ideals with the full power of the
government, military, and other elites. There was even a Ministry of Enlightenment and
Propaganda of the Third Reich to enhance maximum influence of the German people. Third,
it will hide the true nature of the goal of the source, the truth of the source, any other sides of
the issue at hand, and any consequences that might occur if this belief system is put into
action. All Nazi propaganda came from the same source, there is no question about that. But,
it is the truth behind the source that remained hidden. Hitler eventually revealed his idea to
wipe out the Jewish population, but he did not fully expose the details of the genocide that
was actually put into place. The German people were constantly exposed to Nazi
propaganda, but it never informed them of any negative consequences to putting the Nazi
belief system into action. Fourth, there is a focus on the standardization of all those involved-
the followers and the persuadees. This was a predominant aspect of the Third Reich that was
put to practice daily and publicly. The mass uniformity of the Nazi party was crucial to their
success. Fifth, propaganda will focus and rely on irrelevant emotional appeals. The emotional
appeal used by the Nazi party was anger and fear directed at the Jews. There was no cause
for this hatred, but it was the focal point of Nazi propaganda that Jews were evil and to blame
for all that had weakened Germany as a country. Considering now what propaganda is and
how the Nazi party used propaganda to build their movement it’s safe to say that by
definition propaganda is unethical. Yes, there is a responsibility held to the receivers of this
information, but as we look deeper inside the mind behind Nazi persuasion it will be easier to
understand how an entire country followed along with one of the most corrupt and evil mass
persuasions in history.
Behind most propaganda platforms is a mastermind or demagogue. Adolf Hitler was the
