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How the Nazis Manipulated the Masses

Virtual Event
German children read an anti-Jewish propaganda book for children titled Der Giftpilz (The Poisonous Mushroom). The girl on the left holds a companion volume, the translated title of which is Trust No Fox in the Green Meadow and No Jew On His Oath. Germany, 1938. City Archives Nuremberg E 39/I Nr. 2381/5

German children read an anti-Jewish propaganda book for children titled Der Giftpilz (The Poisonous Mushroom). The girl on the left holds a companion volume, the translated title of which is Trust No Fox in the Green Meadow and No Jew On His Oath. Germany, 1938. City Archives Nuremberg E 39/I Nr. 2381/5

The Nazis adapted age-old antisemitic lies and stereotypes to dehumanize Jewish people and blame them for Germany’s ills. Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels shaped and deployed these messages everywhere, from film to radio, posters to press—even in children’s books.

This steady drumbeat of antisemitic propaganda reinforced the myth that Jews were dirty, deceitful, and dangerous. Some became fervent believers in the Nazi solution to the “Jewish problem” while most remained silent as their Jewish neighbors were persecuted. Join us to discuss how the Nazis exploited preexisting hatred, and how similar lies are being repackaged and spread around the world today with violent consequences.

Guests
Kim Blevins-Relleva, Teacher Educator and Program Coordinator, Belfer National Conferences for Educators, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Host
Dr. Edna Friedberg, Historian, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Watch live at facebook.com/holocaustmuseum. You do not need a Facebook account to view our program. After the live broadcast, the recording will be available to watch on demand on the Museum’s Facebook and YouTube pages.

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  • Goebbels Claims Jews Will Destroy Culture

    This footage shows Joseph Goebbels, Nazi minister for propaganda and public education, speaking at the September 1935 Nazi Party Congress in Nuremberg. In the speech, Goebbels--a fanatic antisemite--linked Bolshevism with international Jewry and warned Nazi party members of an alleged international Jewish conspiracy to destroy western civilization. Goebbels led the purge of Jewish and other so-called "un-German" influences from the cultural institutions of Nazi Germany.

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  • “Final Solution”: In Depth

    It remains uncertain as to when the Nazi leadership decided to implement the "Final Solution," the plan to annihilate the Jews of Europe. The genocide of the Jews was the culmination of a decade of German policy under Nazi rule and the realization of a core goal of the Nazi dictator, Adolf Hitler.

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