Mitchell Leibowitz HIS 325 Final Exam Stauff December 20, 2011 The Media in Modern German History

y The recent historic events in Germany have transpired with heavy reliance on the media. The media is a source in which German power has long depended on. From turbulent German politics in the 19th century to more recently the falling of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the newspaper, radio, television, and other means of widespread communication has impacted the German state monumentally. Over the course of a century, the media has played a strong role politically. As different technologies arose, different political players conquered power through their media savvy. All in all, the media has been the driving force in political change in Germany since the 19th century as evidenced from growing nationalism and anti-Semitism, womens food and hunger strikes of World War I, and lastly the growth of the Nazi Party. Otto von Bismark enters the German political scene while it is in shaky waters in the 1860s. Nationalism was supremely low, and the state needed a sense of direction. Bismarck was determined to maintain firm control and not allow liberal nationalists of public opinion undue influence (Kitchen 115). As liberalism set in amongst the German population, the media was at the core of change. Liberalism is often automatically associated with economic affairs, but in regards to the media liberal policies also take stronghold. The media played an important role in the second half of the 17th century for Germany. 1871 introduced a turbulent political era in which German people wanted liberal policies, as they found a common French enemy. This time can be identified with a

changing climate. As this climate changed, resentment towards Jews saw minor upheavals. Through various media outlets and sources, these resentments were able to grow. As Kitchen states, the new, virulent, and secular anti-Semitism became widespread when the speculative bubble that begain in 1871 burst three years later. He later lists a handful of sources that questioned the Jews in German society: The GartenlaubeKreuzzeitungEugene Duhrings The Jewish Question as a Racial, Moral and Cultural Problem are just a few that he mentions. The role of the media during Germanys Unification era forwarded anti-Semitism. The previously mentioned works were published journals and presses that exuded resentment towards Jews. These sentiments placed blame on the Jews for the Berlin stock exchange crash, or placed Jews as racially different people incapable of assimilating into society. Ultimately, the German academia was beginning to place Jews into a segregated sect of society. Their writings in their journals were alleyways to a more widespread antiSemitism. Consequently, anti-Semitic literature helped usher in a new era in Germany. The academics who claimed Jews were hopelessly different led to various anti-Semitic associations. Clubs and groups arose seemingly out of nowhere that viewed Jews as being harmful to their society. These leagues would grow in size, and unfortunately would filter their own forms of media throughout. They had their own publications and newsletters, and these factions pushed forward anti-Semitic notions. Even though it took a number of decades for anti-Semitism to truly take a stranglehold in society, the underlying effects were certainly felt during Germanys initial unification.

During Bismarcks Germany, media also played an intricate role in the organization of women prior to and during World War I. As women called for equality before the law, equal educational rights, access to the professions, and emancipation from patriarchal control (Kitchen 157), media was their means of communication. Similar to the anti-Semitic interest groups that arose years prior, women spread their wealth of knowledge beginning with magazines. The organized womens movement began in 1865 when Luise Otto-Peters, who had first caught some public attention in 1849 when she founded Germanys first magazine specifically for women, founded the General German Womens Association (Kitchen 157). It is no surprise that public attention for Otto-Peters coincided with her founding of the magazine. Circulating a successful magazine presents opportunity to spread views and ideas, and the popularity generated through the magazine had obvious benefits for late 19th early 20th century women. As these sentiments were heard throughout society, even men gathered in support of women. The Letteverein was a male society that arose in support of the employment of women, particularly as social workers. The result of these interest groups was more media coverage, as evidenced by the Association of Progressive Womens Groups publishing its own newspaper, The Womens Movement (Die Frauenbewegung). This was a more radical newspaper, but the effects of the media were felt throughout the country as it entered the First World War. Belinda Davis Home Fires Burning: Food, Politics, and Everyday Life in World War I Berlin includes infinite examples of how media effect womens movements during the war. As she writes, the social, economic, and political growth of the capital in the

new century spawned the proliferation of newspapers (Davis 14). This means that in the late 19th and early 20th century, the effect of the newspaper had a wide range. As the number of newspapers increased, the information people would receive would be limited and multiple. This number was so large that by 1895, there were 830 papers published in Greater Berlin. Even so, Berliners were incredibly up to date and the endless bounds of productions that were widely available often concentrated on bread articles which proved to rally women in their fight towards gaining social status. Of course, there are always two sides to every story. As women were beginning to protest for fairer conditions, the government was using the press as well. Alternatively, the governments use of the press was very unsuccessful. Communication lacked between government offices, and the propaganda dispersed throughout Germany was mixed and inconsistent. The National News Service conflicted with the War Press Office, established in 1915, and both ran up against military propaganda (15). What Davis writes here is exemplifying this miscommunication within Germanys stately structures. The overall message from this passage is that the media has a clear impact on the organization of people. Women were successful in gathering in protest against food shortages because their utilization of the media was effective. Meanwhile, the government lacked substance in terms of controlling the media and the lack of cohesion resulted in empty propaganda. More specifically, the women at home during World War I who wanted to feed their families were tied together through media outlets. The first magazines were mentioned before, but their media savvy extends beyond early magazines. A postcard from 1915 by Franz Stassen is a unique way in which women were pictured as powerful.

This postcard, A call like thunder storms! pictures a female warrior leading an army of men. This depiction is yet another way the media was used to further the role of womens place in society and display this ever-changing phenomenon. World War I stands as a time in which the media was used poorly by the government, and beneficially by the masses. Women spread knowledge on their under-privileged situation through media sources, and were able to communicate a massive societal change in their strikes against hunger. (Davis) The time between the first and second world wars exemplifies a shift in the way media was used. The tables turned and the media began to be a prop for Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party into gaining influence. Unlike during the First World War where the government was filled with miscommunication and lacked consistency in the media, there was a stark change in which stately structures took media control. As seen with Hitler, this movement set in and the tables would prove to turn on society by way of the media. The best example of media use in German history can be seen with the Nazi Party. When the Nazis infiltrated the Reichstag in the 1930s following The Depression, Adolf Hitler took the microphone in order to unite a broken Germany. His charismatic authority was ultimately a rich source for Hitler, as he was able to conquer the minds and hearts of the German people. Regardless of the outcome from Hitlers reign as a terrorizing dictator, he was unarguably media savvy. In the third chapter of William Sheridan Allens the Nazi Seizure of Power, Whipping up Enthusiam provides great detail. These are just a few examples in a short amount of time in just one town (Northeim) between the spring and summer of 1933. As

Allen eloquently states, the media is a tool that could sustain enthusiasm over a long period of time and could make men feel that a revolution was occurring (Allen 202). Given the previous examples of how influential the media can be, the Nazis first controlled the press, and then utilized it in infinite ways. After ensuring that the organs of the opposition (the Volksblatt and the Northeimer Echo) were dismantled and virtually inexistent, the Northeim Nazis operated their own newspaper, Hort! Hort!. Circulated weekly, Hort! Hort! was an informative paper that helped flood out other papers. All things considered, press propaganda, useful as it was, was never the real Nazi method of stimulating supports (Allen 206). The Nazis relied on other forms of media in order to spread their word. Written word could be a strong source of generating excitement, but the power of spectacle in delivering speeches and creating visually appealing arts was the basis of their successful media usage. The Nazis understood of the importance of the press and media was essential to their seizure of power. It was previously mentioned that they had taken apart opposing newspapers. Similarly, the media regulation continued in during many of the Nazi parades. These ceremonies doubled as there was a burning of filth literature (Allen 211). In other words, any literature not containing Nazi propaganda could be burned during these celebrations. The Nazis knew and understood the role of the media in claiming political power, and eliminated undermining media to retain their power and suppress opposition. Spectacle for the Nazis extended far beyond parades, and they utilized an assortment of methods, one of the most important being film. Triumph of the Will

(Triumph des Willens) is a film by Leni Riefenstahl. This movie chronicles the Nazi Congress Party and is a prime example of media use in the mid-1930s. Leni Riefenstahls film includes a number of speeches by powerful Nazi leaders, and depicts a rejoicing German population. Triumph of the Will is a perfect example of Nazi propaganda through media and its influence is unparalleled. Leni Riefenstahl coverys to viewers the overall image of Germans triumph in the first half of the twentieth century. Following the years of great struggle, this film served as a cultural work that played political favors under the rule of Hitler. Hitler implemented this work in order to further his power of the German people. A hopeful German population could look at such a film, depicting the successes and smiles of the Third Reich, as a source of promise and prosperity. The film was certainly used to help elevate Hitler to an unprecedented state of power. The power of the film was not in the substance, but moreover in the art. The biggest effect of the movie is the grandeur and spectacle that arises from watching the film. This use of propaganda combining art and media was a rallying tactic that Hitler himself implemented towards his advantage. Using this cultural and technological method was entirely beneficial to Hitler. He utilized the resource of film and media in order to spread a feeling of hope throughout the German population. Hitler remedied peoples fears by providing them with a work of art by Leni Riefenstahl. Ultimately, Triumph of the Will was a glimmer of light for Germany at the time. The rejoicing population that was taped and the dramatization of the Nazi speeches helped catapult Hitler into uncharted territorial powers.

Altogether, there have been numerous examples provided by which the media has proved to control the destiny of Germanys society. From the late 19th century through World War II in particular, the media has played an enormous role in dictating the direction of Germany. First, the media helped grow anti-Semitic sentiments and allowed various interest groups to form. Then, during World War I, the media was exploited by women in a successful campaign against hunger and to further their social status. Finally, and most importantly and resulting in the greatest of consequence, was Adolf Hitler and the Nazis use of the media. Their introduction into power heavily relied on infusing propaganda into Germany through various media outlets. From magazines, to creating interest groups, and producing films, the media extends into every aspect of life and can infiltrate the minds of the masses. In modern German history, whoever controls the means of the media and can deliver a clear, consistent message through the media often succeeds. In each of the aforementioned examples, the media proves to be an overarching entity that paves a path toward power. Media outlets unite people, and when governments control media, can have their way. Altogether, the media has stood out as a massive source of influence in Germanys recent history, as evidenced by anti-Semitism, women during World War I, and Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Partys leap into power.

Works Cited
Allen, William Sheridan. The Nazi Seizure of Power: The Experienceof A Single German Town 1922-1945. New York: Franklin Watts, 1984. Davis, Belinda. Home Fires Burning: Food, Politics, and Everyday Life in World War I Berlin. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2000. Kitchen, Martin. A History of Modern Germany, 1800-2000. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2006. Triumph of the Will, Leni Riefenstahl (1934) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBfYncHshJc