Analysis Of Hitler's The Poisonous Mushroom

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If propaganda, the ultimate form of societal persuasion, is used correctly, a group can instill biased views into a population. The Nazi Party did just that, but they used their influence to start a genocide. Hitler’s knowledge of propaganda gave the Nazi Party a pathway to power. They used it to glorify the party and paint him as a deity. They also released pieces that painted the Jewish people as the enemy to the world’s peace. Hitler believed that it was easier to brainwash the uneducated masses with false information than to provide evidence for his anti-Semitic allegations. Hitler’s usage of propaganda allowed the Nazi Party to gain power and brainwash the German people into believing his anti-Semitic proclamations. Hitler’s knowledge …show more content…
“The Poisonous Mushroom” was a children 's book that encouraged Germans to define the Jewish people as poisonous mushrooms by depicting a mother teaching her child the dangers of the Jews. In the story, the mother asks the young boy, “Do you know, too, who these bad men are, these poisonous mushrooms of mankind,” and the boy answers, “They are the Jews” while “[slapping] his chest in pride” (Hiemer). The story concludes with the mother stating, “Just as poisonous mushrooms often lead to the most dreadful calamity, so the Jew is the cause of misery and distress, illness and death” (Hiemer). By equating Jews with a deadly fungus, the mother teaches her child to hate and fear the Jewish people. In addition to propaganda that defined the Jews as evil, there were also posters that linked Jewish people to problems facing Germany. One poster captioned, “The Jew: The inciter of war, the prolonger of war,” shows a hand opening a curtain to an obese Jew’s face looking down on the flames of war. The hand opening the curtain represents Germany revealing the truth about the Jewish people starting World War II and delaying its end. This image paints Germany as the protector of the people and the disclosure of truth. Using various forms of propaganda, the Nazi Party created a stigma surrounding Jewish people (Bytwerk, Hiemer, …show more content…
In Mein Kampf, Hitler presented his knowledge of propaganda and the attributes necessary for it to succeed. He followed these steps and made himself a prophet in the eyes of the common people and rose the Nazi Party power. Once in power, they released propaganda that misled the uneducated majority into believing that the Jews were the cause of all evil. People like Annette Hochfield suffered at the hands of Hitler because she was deceived into believing her own faith was evil. The Nazi parties usage of propaganda allowed them to have total control of a country and start a genocide of the Jewish

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