Nazi Germany and Propaganda Essay

Submitted By masonanderson34
Words: 1046
Pages: 5

Mason Anderson
Mrs. Barnes
Composition
19, February 2013
1984 vs. Nazi Germany “Power is not a means; it is an end. And power means the capacity to conflict unlimited pain and suffering to another human being”(afterword 288). 1984 by George Orwell is a story of power and control. The government uses a spying organization known as “Big Brother,” Thought Police, and children to gain power over regular society, regardless of the cost. In a similar way Adolf Hitler exerted power over the people of Germany using similar tactics including propaganda, The Gestapo, and the SS. Although not identical, there are scary similarities between 1984 and Nazi, Germany. O’Brien can be compared to the German leader Adolf Hitler. They both use strong ideas of control, power, and reviving there past. Both leaders encounter rebellions and both will use similar ways of handling these problems. “We do not destroy the heretic because he resists us; so long as he resists us we never destroy him. We construct him, we capture his inner mind, and we reshape him (255). O’Brien does not necessarily kill the rebellious, but tries to brainwash them. O’Brien speaks and exerts propaganda and everybody who does not follow in what he is speaking, he uses special forces to find them and brainwashes/tortures them into the propaganda is the truth. This method is what O’Brien enforces among the people of Oceania. With this, he creates a fear within the citizen’s mind. The people know what he is spewing is incorrect, but they pretend what he is saying is real. And after time the mind is tricked and begins to believe this information is true. This occurrence is called a double think. “This demands a continuous alteration of the past, made possible by this, and which is known in Newspeak as ‘double think”(189) Posters of Big Brother are posted throughout the city. With all these aspects, complete control is applied and everybody is brainwashed without them even knowing. “The German Nazis and the Russian Communists have come very close to us in their methods…” (263). This in fact is very similar in how Hitler ran Germany. After coming to power in 1933, Hitler wasted no time producing propaganda and began the brainwashing. He started with the police, he made strict laws and other rules in which the German community must abide by. With the German population already discouraged, many were eager to regain power. So now this strong leader is nominated Fuher, they agreed with his propaganda. Others were forced to believe these accusations knowing the SS were watching every move. The main goal was creating a New Order of absolute Nazi German heritage in continental Europe. Instead of torture, Hitler executed any rebellious citizens. In the story, 1984 by George Orwell he most likely based the character O’Brien off of the ways and actions of Adolf Hitler. Both Hitler and O’Brien use local militia’s to enforce there propaganda and help keep it in line. Big Brother is a fictional character and he is the enigmatic dictator of Oceania. In 1984, Orwell describes that everyone is under complete surveillance by the authorities. The people are constantly reminded that “Big Brother is Watching you” which is the main source of propaganda in there system. The Thought Police are the special group that uncover and punish thoughtcrime. They use 24 hour surveillance to monitor the public to search and find anybody who could possibly corrupt the status quo. “There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment, how often, or what system, the Thought Police plugged in on any individuals wire was guesswork” (3). The people of Oceania were scared at all times due to their accessibility. Just the thought of being one plug away of jail or possible death. Another way they controlled them is through their own children, taught to report anything spoken or read against the Party. In 1984, Orwell used the Thought Police whereas Hitler used the SS. The