Why do totalitarian propaganda such as those created in Nazi Germany and the former German Democratic Republic initially succeed, and why do they ultimately fail? Outside observers often make two serious mistakes when they interpret the propaganda of this time. First, they assume the propaganda worked largely because they were supported by a police state, that people cheered Hitler and Honecker because they feared the consequences of not doing so. Second, they assume that propaganda really succeeded in persuading most of ...
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Why do totalitarian propaganda such as those created in Nazi Germany and the former German Democratic Republic initially succeed, and why do they ultimately fail? Outside observers often make two serious mistakes when they interpret the propaganda of this time. First, they assume the propaganda worked largely because they were supported by a police state, that people cheered Hitler and Honecker because they feared the consequences of not doing so. Second, they assume that propaganda really succeeded in persuading most of the citizenry that the Nuremberg rallies were a reflection of how most Germans thought, or that most East Germans were convinced Marxist-Leninists. Subsequently, World War II Allies feared that rooting out Nazism would be a very difficult task. No leading scholar or politician in the West expected East Germany to collapse nearly as rapidly as it did. Effective propaganda depends on a full range of persuasive methods, from the gentlest suggestion to overt violence, which the dictatorships of the twentieth century understood well. In many ways, modern totalitarian movements present worldviews that are religious in nature. Nazism and Marxism-Leninism presented themselves as explanations for all of life - culture, morality, science, history, and recreation. They provided people with reasons for accepting the status quo. Bending Spines examines the full range of persuasive techniques used by Nazi Germany and the German Democratic Republic, and concludes that both systems failed in part because they expected more of their propaganda than it was able to deliver.
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Add this copy of Bending Spines: the Propagandas of Nazi Germany and the to cart. $154.00, like new condition, Sold by Liberty Bell Publications rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from York, SC, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Michigan State University Press.
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Like New. Size: 9x6x1; Unread and unopened! "Professor Bytwerk's excellent book, Bending Spines, signals a revival of interest in the neglected study of propaganda....his brilliant study highlights the twin dangers at the core of all such programs. First, that propagandists end up believing their own lies; and second, that the targets of both external and internal propaganda become increasingly cynical as ideology and reality diverge. Bytwerk's archival and field research is impressive. He did research in the GDR before the Berlin Wall came down and he writes with authority and deep understanding....I predict that this comparative study of Fascist and Communist regimes in Germany will be hailed as the definitive work on this subject. " ANDREW KING, Hopkins Professor of Communication, "Although the propaganda of Nazi Germany and the German Democratic Republic were diametrically opposed to one another, Bytwerk's Bending Spines compellingly demonstrates that these two sets of rhetorical messages were far more alike than they were different." The College of Wooster "Randall Bytwerk has brought the same sure understanding of rhetoric and history to Bending Spines that distinguished his award-winning study of Nazi newspaper magnate Julius Streicher. At every point, his careful judgment and indefatigable research deepen our comprehension of the two totalitarian dictatorships that took root on German soil in the twentieth century. It is a splendid and splendidly revealing book that sheds new light on the quasi-religious dimension of propaganda-and how it manifests itself from culture to science to sports." JOHN RODDEN, author of Repainting the Little Red Schoolhouse: A History of East German Education and Textbook Reds: Schoolbooks, Ideology, and Eastern German Identity.
Add this copy of Bending Spines: the Propagandas of Nazi Germany and the to cart. $156.93, like new condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Michigan State University Press.
