Propaganda In The Holocaust

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Pearl Strachan Hurd said, “Handle them carefully, for words have more power than atom bombs.” Words have the power to incite others toward violence, to motivate individuals toward committing atrocious acts, and to propel movements to destroy communities. Before the violence; before the inception of the atrocious acts; before the destruction of whole communities, Hitler and the Nazis used words to incite others to participate in crimes against humanity. The true inception of the Holocaust was words, rather than violence. In a speech delivered by Hitler in Salzburg in 1920, he stated, “For us, it is a problem of whether our nation can ever recover its health, whether the Jewish spirit can ever really be eradicated. Don't be misled into thinking …show more content…
The Nazis used words and propaganda as a method to rationale their irrational crimes of humanity against Jews in their attempt to “restore order” to Germany. The Nazis communicated their messages through film, radio, books, and the press. Films were used to portray Jews as “inferior” creatures; an admonition which further laid claim to accentuate the superiority of the German military power. In addition, newspapers printed cartoons that portrayed Jews using anti-Semitic caricatures. According to Hitler, “the personification of the devil as a symbol of all evil assumes the living shape of a Jew,” and through remarks such as this statement, the Germans were brainwashed into believing that the Jews were their enemy. The Germans relished in Hitler’s words and blindly gave their allegiance to his cause. Hitler drew power from the fears and nightmares of the German people in order to turn them against the Jews. The use of propaganda by the Nazis enabled them to convince the Germans that the Jews were a dangerous threat to the German …show more content…
Under many circumstances, the power of words is used in a negative manner; however, I believe that the powers of words can be positively articulated for the greater good. Words not only have the ability to disseminate hatred and ignorance, but they also have the ability to prosper love and acceptance. During a time of extremely opposing political views, as well as emerging racism, words have the power to restore relationships that were so tragically destroyed. I believe Yehuda Berg stated this most poignantly, “Words are singularly the most powerful force available to humanity. We can choose to use this force constructively with words of encouragement, or destructively using words of despair. Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate and to