Why were educated people in Germany falling for Nazi propaganda?

Answer 1

When Hitler came into power he did not promise war and holocaust, but he promised to create a better and more powerful Germany.

His passionate "rock star" speech performances even impressed educated people who longed for a strong, dynamic super-leader instead of endless parliamentary discussions.

Don't forget that more than 80% of the Germans at that time had also lived in the German "Law and Order" Kaiser Reich which ended only in 1918 (= 15 years before Hitler came into power).

So, most Germans at that time were skeptical about parliamentary democracy and made the republican system responsible for the hyperinflation 1923 and the 30%-unemployment in 1932.

Whenever I talk to older people, they all agree that in the first years, Hitler really kept most promises that he made:

* reduce unemployment from 35% to 0% within 4 years (England and America

never got below 5% unemployment),

* boost the German economy by large-scale infrastructure programs,

* build autobahns all across Germany, decades before the U.S. and other

countries copied them,

* introduce the Volkswagen beetle, a car that every German could afford (only because of the war mass production had to be delayed),

* create the KdF service which organized leisure and vacation activities for

people who didn't have the money to afford expensive traveling,

* introduce television broadcasts in 1935 as the first country in the world,

* stop the huge reparation payments to the Allies in order to spend the money in Germany,

* create a Wehrmacht army which despite the Treaty of Versailles became stronger and stronger,

* and of course to make most Germans (even educated people) feel proud of their country, which was not the case in the Weimar republic.

The first shock for the educated people happened when they watched the raids and attacks against Jewish synagogues and stores in 1938, which were obviously tolerated by the Nazi regime.

When the war started and Germany conquered 90% of Europe within 2 years,

skepticism again faded because most Germans put up with the fact that Hitler would stay in power for the next 50 years.

This changed again in 1943, when Allied bombing became stronger and the Wehrmacht suffered more and more defeats. Now suddenly, many educated people listened to Allied radio broadcasts and were informed on the millions of holocaust victims. So, in 1944 and 1945 most educated people had lost all sympathies for Hitler and the totalitarian system. They just hoped for an end of the war, to stay alive and to get back their sons and husbands who were fighting a more and more demoralizing struggle against the Allies.

From Another Contributor: Please also see more information about Joseph Goebbels... He was the mastermind behind Nazi Propaganda. He was the public relations person for Hitler. He could enter people's minds. Find their weaknesses. He was a master manipulator. He could influence emotions. And he created propaganda targeted for the educated people of Germany.