Originally published: 2005. Includes bibliographical references (pages 224-283) and index.
Contents:
Introduction: 'totalitarianism', propaganda, war, and the Third Reich -- Propaganda, 'co-ordination', and 'centralisation': the Goebbels network in search of a total empire -- 'Polyocracy' versus 'centralisation': the multiple 'networks' of NS propaganda -- The discourses of NS propaganda: long-term emplotment and short-term justification -- From 'short campaign' to 'gigantic confrontation': NS propaganda and the justification of war, 1939-41 -- From triumph to disaster: NS propaganda from the launch of 'Barbarossa' until Stalingrad -- NS propaganda and the loss of the monopoly of truth (1943-44) -- The winding road to defeat: the propaganda of diversion and negative integration -- Cinema and totalitarian propaganda: 'information' and 'leisure' in NS Germany, 1939-45.
Summary:
"The book examines the organisation, agency, strategy and output of Nazi propaganda during 1939-45, showing that a 'totalitarian' centralisation of resources remained elusive because of the overall 'polycratic' operation of the National Socialist system. It re-defines the benchmarks for assessing the effectiveness of propaganda and underlines the gap between 'totalitarian' intentions and the far more complex reality in which Nazi propaganda was conducted during the war. Through an analysis of the strategies employed across the board of propaganda devices (press, radio, cinema) the book shows that Nazi wartime propaganda succeeded in integrating the 'national community' against its enemies but failed in becoming a 'totalitarian' mechanism of information and perception-shaping. It also had limited impact on those factors that decided the outcome of the war."--Jacket.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.