The most fundamental pillar of the Nazi empire was ''Dr. Paul Joseph Goebbels''.

Dr. Paul Joseph Goebbels

Joseph Goebbels was born on October 29, 1897, in Rheydt, a southern town of Mönchengladbach, near Düsseldorf, Germany. Goebbels' full name is Paul Joseph Goebbels, whose father was Fritz, a German factory clerk, and his mother, Katharina Maria. Goebbels, the child of a modest Roman Catholic family, had five siblings. Joseph Goebbels married Magda Goebbles. Goebbels had 7 children. Harald Quandt was Magda's son from her first marriage. Their other children were Helga, Hilde, Helmuth, Holde, Hedda and Heide. Harald Quandt was the only member of the family to survive the war. Joseph Goebbels died in Berlin on May 1, 1945.

Goebbels's Concept of Propaganda

Goebbels has an important place in making propaganda what it is perceived today with the practices he carried out. He believes that propaganda represents a practical field rather than theory. He thinks that large masses can be influenced not by a single word, but by the presence of that word in every environment. According to him, only one thing can measure whether propaganda is successful or not, and that is whether it reaches the set goal. What is meant by target is that propaganda ignites people and directs them to a certain idea within a certain period of time (Goebbels, 2019, p.47). Goebbels believes that action can only be taken if a movement gains power in the political arena (Goebbels, 2019, p.56). Power can be gained through propaganda.

Behind Goebbels's understanding of propaganda lies a problematic desire for unity. Because Goebbels believes that when a party takes over the governance of the country, the party ideology now also becomes the ideology of the state. At the same point lies a controversial understanding of nation. Goebbels finds it problematic that in what is called a nation, one person says yes and the other says no. It seems that Hitler also had a similar idea. He was asked, "How do you think you can establish a dictatorship over 60 million people as a small minority?" He answered the question, "If a whole nation is madly afraid and there are only a thousand people left who have the power to transform the state, what you call a nation actually consists of those thousand people" (Goebbels, 2019, p.56). It is not difficult to understand from this statement that, as supporters of the National Socialist German Workers' Party, they describe themselves as a nation and that the rest are not nations, nor are they important. Similarly, monophony also manifests itself institutionally.

Goebbels believed that propaganda should only be planned and implemented by an institution. This institution must publish all propaganda directives, explain propaganda orders to important officials, maintain morale, and supervise the activities of other institutions that have propaganda results (Doob, 1950, pp. 422-423). Goebbels states that if a political movement is successful enough to take over the state, it also gains the right to shape the state (Goebbels, 2019, p.57). Reliability alone determines whether the result of propaganda is true or false (Doob, 1950, p.429). If a propaganda activity has gained the trust of the society, it means that the right path has been followed.

Another important issue in Goebbels' understanding of propaganda is flexibility. Goebbels legitimizes politicians' appeal to different voter groups in different ways with the concept of flexibility. It means that the propagandist may speak differently to a businessman and differently to the driver of the election minibus. To explain the concept of flexibility by emphasizing the importance of carrying information to the masses, it can be said that a talented propagandist must perceive the things that the majority can think and rearrange them in a way that can reach everyone, from the educated segment to the ordinary citizen. Goebbels says that both professors and average people understand what Hitler said, word for word, in the same way. He also emphasizes that the National Socialist understanding would be meaningless if it remained in the minds of only a few people, and therefore propaganda is a device that must be used on the path to power (Goebbels, 2019, pp. 59-61). According to Goebbels, the timing of propaganda should be carefully calculated. Communication efforts must reach the audience before competing propaganda. A propaganda campaign should start at the most appropriate time. The propaganda theme should be repeated, but it should not go beyond a point that would reduce the effect (Doob, 1950, pp. 434-435). Another issue that is as important as timing is who is the source spreading the propaganda. The importance of the source from which the message comes is also emphasized. He says that every propagandist has a different style of speaking and that this style should be adapted to the target audience that suits them. The propagandist should organize his speech accordingly to whom he aims to reach. Only in this way will each of them be able to influence their own audience (Goebbels, 2019, pp. 61-64).


Goebbels has radical views regarding the quality of communication. He states that the propagandist does not need high quality standards when trying to influence his audience with information. He wants the speeches made at the rallies to be handled with the most primitive approach. According to him, it is not a priority for the masses to love, admire or respect them. The priority is for the masses to know them; It doesn't matter whether they love or hate (Goebbels, 2019, p.65). Propaganda must influence the enemy's policy and action (Doob, 1950, p.424). Preferring the masses who love them very much or hate them very much, rather than an audience that is abstaining, should also be considered as a strategy.


Hitler, on the other hand, considers propaganda as a "political discipline" and gives the greatest credit to the press. He says that the press has assumed the identity of a school for adults in society. Hitler expressed his astonishment at the power of the press by saying, "The press was easily able to turn a simple and frivolous incident into a state matter within a few days" (Hitler, 1999, p.80). To the question of whether propaganda should appeal to the intellectuals or the less educated segment of the population, Hitler definitely answered that it should appeal to the public first. This will make it easier to reach the community base.

According to both Goebbels and Hitler, propaganda is a tool, not a goal (Goebbels, 2019, p.63; Hitler, 1999, p.152). The purpose for which propaganda is a tool is for the society to think in line with its own wishes and beliefs, to develop attitudes and behaviors, in other words, perception management. For this reason, the bond between perception management and propaganda is not mutually exclusive but inclusive.