Introduction

Mein Kampf is written by Adolf Hitler himself, and was first published in two volumes during 1925 and 1926. Its sold far over 10 million copies and is so popular that it has been translated into various different languages, it should be considered half auto-biography, half Hitler grabbing a pen and jotting down his ideas for Germany in the future. Many believe that Mein Kampf is an 'evil' book, as it is written by one of the most notorious men in known history, yet after reading only one chapter it becomes apparent that Hitler may have some fair points, yet how he uses these points is incredibly wrong (e.g. using well orchestrated propaganda to lure Jews into concentration camps). Chapter 6 in particular is interesting, as Hitler talks about propaganda it suggests to the reader that although he is widely known as an extremely 'bad' person, he does know what works and what doesn't with regards to war propaganda.

Does Hitler Know What He's Talking About?

It's obviously debatable as to whether or not the opinions given in Mein Kampf in general should be considered or not, as most people would agree that Hitler is not a great example to take war ideologies from. However, ignoring his radical use of these ideas, his general thoughts of how propaganda should work does appear to be very reasonable. Simply by reading through Chapter 6, it becomes apparent that Adolf Hitler does know what he's talking about, and although he may use his knowledge to do some disagreeable events (holocaust etc), it would be unfair to say he didn't know what he was saying.

Hitler did in fact serve in the army during the World War I, it is understood that he lost many men during the war even though his battalion fought well , and he was even awarded the iron cross. This evidence alone suggests that he must have a small perception of what propaganda would work, for he once must have been influenced by some sort of propaganda in order to join the war. Although the simple fact that he was a soldier is insufficient evidence to suggest he knows correct information about propaganda, but once again, by reading the book it is clear that he knows what he's saying, and for the most part, it is true.

Hitler's Criticism of German Propaganda

Hitler believed that German propaganda was extremely poor, he believed that it was so weak and ineffective, that it may in fact have done more harm than good. Adolf Hitler thought that the German Government did not know how to use propaganda as an affective weapon, and therefore they got the 'psychology' of war propaganda completely wrong. One of Hitler's main criticisms with the German propaganda was that it belittled the enemy soldiers; usually giving the enemy the image of a somewhat useless and comical characters. This affects the soldiers when they went to war, because they discovered the enemy soldiers weren't useless or comical at all; they were unprepared for the war, and therefore they lost trust in all of their Government's propaganda schemes. After this initial betrayal by the Government's propaganda, the masses in Germany found it difficult to believe any more propaganda, or take it seriously.

Hitler also recognized that the German propaganda during World War I was full of doubt, and if the propaganda was full of doubt, it preset doubt in the mind of the viewers of the propaganda as well. Also, he thought that the propaganda was not confident enough, whereas the German propaganda was making up excuses as to why they were not war guilty, Hitler criticized this and claimed they should be pointing the finger at someone else, and placing all the blame on someone else; attack not defense. The final criticism that Adolf Hitler had for his countries propaganda during World War I was that the propaganda emphasized a last resort, that it displayed options for those who were desperate for work; in Germany accepting the propaganda proposal was a last resort, in other countries it was a chance to honor and protect your country.

Hitler's Praise for Enemy Propaganda

Despite Hitler's clear hate for some of his enemies during World War II, at the time Mein Kampf was written (just after WWI); he believed that where Germany had failed in propaganda, his enemies had succeeded. One thing that he believed his enemies did well, especially the English and American, was represent the enemy as barbarians in their propaganda. One of the advantages of this was that it prepared the soldiers for war, the propaganda's 'barbaric' portrayal of the enemy meant that the soldiers were prepared for the harshness of the war. The second advantage that Hitler saw in portraying enemies in the worst ways possible, was that it increased the hatred shared among the soldiers; therefore giving them more emotional strength to fight for their people. A more political aspect which Hitler praised in the enemies propaganda was (in English propaganda) that because the propaganda's vicious view of enemy soldiers was proved right by soldiers on the front line, it built up everyone's trust in their Government; and after believing the original propaganda about vicious and 'barbaric' soldiers; they were more likely to believe more propaganda because they had already established trust with their country.

Another aspect of praise that Hitler had for English propaganda, was that it focused clearly on one point, and it did not alter from that point or show any sign that their point may be wrong. By assuring this, Hitler realized that in the enemy propaganda, there was confidence; and this confidence transferred into the soldiers and the people of that country. The final piece of praise that Adolf Hitler had for English propaganda in particular, was that it was large-scale; and Hitler felt that in order for propaganda to succeed it must appeal to the entire mass, therefore be wide-spread and convince the largest amount of people possible.

Adolf Hitler felt that in general, the most praise that should be given to the enemy propaganda (and which Germany should learn from), was the way in which they kept their soldiers keen to fight throughout the entire war. Hitler noted that enemy propaganda did exactly what he felt needed to be done; it focused on the emotions of the mass, and by attacking the emotions, it convinced even the not so intellectual people within the population. He appreciated the fact that when the enemy used this emotion-based propaganda, the soldiers would keep fighting again and again, even after various defeats. Adolf Hitler praised enemy propaganda for all of these points, and he knew that in order for Germany to be successful in the usage of its propaganda, he'd have t take a page out of his enemies book; which may be why he was so successful in World War II.

Hitler's Idea of Good Propaganda.

Adolf Hitler believed that Propaganda was a weapon which could be harnessed, and that this weapon should be aimed at helping "bring about victory". Hitler maintained the ideology that in war the most humane process was the quickest; irrelevant of how violent it may be. He believed that good propaganda should follow the same rules, it must be ruthless and effective, and no matter how harsh it may seem, it would be the best way to achieve success. Another one of Adolf Hitler's views of good propaganda was that it must repeat the same basic slogan; but it must reach/represent this slogan from a variety of different angles in order to keep the masses interested. He believed that propaganda must have a definite point of view, it must represent either negative or positive points; and whatever the propaganda was, it must be consistent for the long-term campaigning.

Hitler's most dominant idea of good propaganda, was that it must be aimed at the masses; it must appeal to the largest population. He knew that if propaganda was to be aimed at the masses, it would have to be adjusted to the lowest intelligence for that mass, in order to affect the greatest range of the population. Adolf Hitler was also aware that the mass in general had a very small memory, and that too many facts would overwhelm them and very little of the propaganda would be remembered. To solve this, propaganda must be aimed and focused on only a few points, and these points must be repeated again and again and again, until there was no way they could be forgotten. Finally, Hitler knew that emotions held power over the mind, so he therefore believed that good propaganda would attack the emotions, in order to convince people to do whatever the propaganda suggested, with very little intellectual consideration.