COM 2416-01 The Holocaust,
WebQuest 4 Nazi Propaganda
Purpose: to acquaint students with the variety of quality online resources regarding Nazi propaganda.
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Directions: See instructions to former WebQuests for complete directions. Save this file as WQ4 lastname. Put your name at the top. Insert your answers after the questions in black font so I can quickly see that you are answering the correct question. Succinct answers in your own words are best; I do not wish to read copied text from the Internet. You are documenting your learning in this paper. Email to me by midnight, Sept. 28;
- (10 points) Peruse the German Propaganda Archive, http://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/ww2era.htm, housed by Calvin College and created and maintained by Prof. Ryndall Bytwerk. This is a huge website; take your time to explore it.
Questions: What interested you the most and why? What are two things you learned about Nazi propaganda that you did not know before?
- (10 points) Peruse the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum exhibit on propaganda, http://www.ushmm.org/propaganda/. What are two things you learned about propaganda that you did not know before?
- (20 points) Compare and contrast the US Holocaust Memorial Museum’s definition of propaganda, http://www.ushmm.org/propaganda/resources/index.html, with Professor Bytwerk’s discussion of propaganda, which includes Jacques Ellul’s definition of propaganda. http://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/faq.htm#anchor1443341
After writing your comparison, reflect on all these meanings of propaganda. No right or wrong answer: What would your working definition of propaganda be?
- (10 points) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHs2coAzLJ8&bpctr=1537672899
Triumph des Willens (1935) – Triumph of the Will is regarded by most media scholars as one of the greatest propaganda films of all time. Leni Riefenstahl, a former actress turned director, created the film and, arguably, was Hitler’s favorite filmmaker. Watch the first 15 minutes of the film (or more, as your time permits).How do the first 15 minutes of Triumph of the Will depict Hitler as a savior figure? How many different examples can you find of Hitler as savior in those 15 minutes?
In your answer, include descriptions; do not simply list a number. What other propaganda messages did you see? - (10 points) Peruse some of the covers of Julius Streicher’s weekly antisemitic tabloid newspaper, Der Stürmer (The Striker). Select one cover and describe how the images depicted reinforce the message of the text, either explicitly or implicitly, or both.
http://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/sturmer.htm - (15 points) Read the speech, “German Women” by Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/goeb55.htm
- To what extent do you see these values regarding women as espoused by Goebbels in this speech in today’s political discourse about women’s rights in the United States today?
- To what extent do you agree/disagree with these values?
- (25 points) The Poisonous Mushroom (in German, Der Giftpilz) was an antisemitic children’s book published by Julius Streicher in 1938. Its purpose was to instruct children how to distinguish between Jews and non-Jews. The analogy is that there are poisonous mushrooms and there are edible mushrooms. It is important to be able to distinguish between the two, so that you will live and not die should you eat one. Similarly, there are Jews and non-Jews. Jews are a deadly race and toxic to the Aryan race. Each chapter has an antisemitic fable, a picture to illustrate the negative trait of the Jew, and a nursery rhyme to drive home the propaganda.
Select any two of the images that interest you and read the accompanying story. In your own words, describe how the image reinforces the propaganda message.
- Feedback: No points, but points will be deducted for failing to provide feedback.
- What did you like/dislike about this assignment?
- What would you add/delete?
- How would you improve this assignment?
- Which question provided the opportunity for the most learning?
