The Influence of Anti-Semitic Imagery and Rhetoric in Germany During the Early to Mid-20th Century

Propaganda imagery and rhetoric has played a role in mass persuasion leading to an escalation of political violence connected to ethnic hatred as found in Germany in the 20th century and beyond. By examining the anti-Semitic rhetoric and imagery used in Nazi Germany, this study examines the propaganda of racial hatred as a mechanism for gaining domestic political power and then for launching a systematic strategy of mass-murder of Europe's Jews. While the Nazis employed the most modern means available to disseminate their anti-Semitic propaganda, the message resonated with the long-standing and deep-seated hatred of Jews in Germany and Europe. Both the ideas and the methods continue to influence right-wing extremism today in Germany and elsewhere; as such, this study revisits the origins and effects of anti-Jewish propaganda in the Third Reich with an eye toward the continuing relevance of this analysis.