Essay Sample on The Use of Propaganda in Fascism

Introduction

The First World War saw nations, states, and governments in a frantic move to prove their powers, influence and justify their actions towards the international community with the aim of either offending their enemies or defending their positions as worthy allies. This move, therefore, led to many governments dedicated so much of their resources and efforts in coming up with materials that would guarantee in shaping the opinion as well as justifying their actions, plans, and strategies internationally. These strategies were both offensive and tactical, and it involved sabotage and fascism. Propaganda was one of the most effective forms of creating and effecting these opinions, and this made the governments view media as a vital tool towards political, social and economic development and victory. A majority of the media houses and cooperations were therefore placed under the governments, and the information they relayed to the public as well as to the world had to be by the will, intent and powers of the governments they were under. The propaganda was intended to over-present the successes of a government, exploit the weaknesses and mistakes made by enemies, seek sympathetic support from nations by over-emphasizing the war effects on a nation, as well as coercing support from citizens. The era of propaganda gave rise to the utilization of communication resources as vital governmental tools; one that was vastly employed by Russia, Germany, and Italy in an attempt to gain political fame, form political structures and eradicate negativity among subjects.

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The Hitler regime is one of the most memorable administrations in the world of history due to its offensive form of governance, its racism sentiments and its oppression to the lowly in society. It is one form of government that solely depended on the powers of its leaders, in a way that completely eradicated any kind of democracy or freedom. Hitler mainly utilized propaganda to push through his campaigns, and reinforce his power while as a leader. While in power, he created a government-controlled propaganda ministry, headed by Dr. Joseph Goebbels, whose primary function was to control national media networks. The department was granted the responsibility of creating media products such as films, posters, news publications, children's literature and radio broadcasts among other forms of propaganda, with the aim of cementing Hitler's powers, and conveying his will and demands to his subjects (Stout, 1). Among the many productions made was the "Triumph of the Will" (Triumph des Willens), a 1935 film that was characterized by majestic scenes of crowds wildly cheering, an emotional fuhrer addressing his civilians with a cheerful smile, a spectacular architecture surrounding steadfast German soldiers and a constant celebrations of the victory of national socialism. The Pro-Mi was one vital tool that the Hitler's administration utilized, and its primary purpose was to bind the people's loyalty to Hitler, support the Nazi's cause, present Hitler as the omnipresent face of the Reich and silently prepare Germans for war (Stout 13). The propaganda was also designed to hike the morale of the troops, the eastern and the western fronts, more so during and after the 1944 Normandy invasion by British and America. With time, some of the forms of propaganda lost their potency, but the German people never lost their faith in their leader, Hitler, and they believed that with him, they could conquer any territory, win any war and overcome any forces forged against them.

Italy likewise employed propaganda, especially during its fascist era, with the aim of deploying political consensus. Benito Mussolini was the mastermind of this form of a political tactic, as he utilized his character traits, and personality cult to build a totalitarian state. The positive attributes and qualities of Mussolini were constantly over-emphasized and celebrated in books, on the radio, in the press as well as in schools. The propaganda was generationally designed, in that an individual would be exposed to these messages, attributes, and glorification of the leaders from the time their childhood all the way to adulthood through public celebrations like the tale of epiphany, that was meant to donate gifts as a sign of the government's charitable works to its people. His images were also widespread in schools, and fascists-related texts and pictures embedded in school exercise books (Illiano and Sala, 10). Mussolini's omnipresence was his way of "going to the people" and offers a response to their needs. He targeted to capture them in a way that the conventional political consensus and ideologies couldn't, and hence attained a mass politicization that brought on board even the social classes that were not actively involved in politics. The regime sought economic ways to cater for the lowly in society by employing the unemployed, as well as availing its services to the public, by encouraging its officials to physically form links with the citizens, and working for long hours to ensure they attend to as many people as they could. Mussolini's was a cult of beauty and strength, one that made him form events that could forge familial interactions. He spent most of his time, about 200 days, outside Rome, visiting about 320 Italian towns, inaugurating projects, and celebrating events. All this while, his subjects came to know him as a man of the people, a man they could trust and identify with, and a myth to be followed, yet all he ever wanted was to draw them close and hence have them abide by his intentions and plans for the Italian nation. The result for this systematic employment of propaganda was an amalgamation of every social class within the Italian system that wouldn't consider resisting or any other declared position, but the unconditional acceptance of a new civilization.

The Russian government, since the world war eras to date, regards its information operations, or rather confrontations as vital tools in their strategies and policies. Russia is often said to be engaged in full-scale information warfare. The Russian information confrontation takes the shape of cyber-operations, proxies and propaganda to impose their will and influence on the target neighboring ad western countries. It utilizes its social as well as traditional media such as its state-funded television networks among them the Russia Today, RT, which broadcasts abroad in Spanish, English, and Arabic as well as state-controlled networks like Sputnik. Social media offers the most significant platform for the Russian government, more so after the 2011 antigovernment protests that were majorly propagated through social media (Helmus, 1). The government, therefore, takes a keen interest in controlling, influencing and monitoring the internet and social media. The target for this propaganda and information warfare is what Russia terms as the near broad, among them the central Asia and Transcaucasia. Among the recent Russian actions is evidenced in Ukraine where it illegally annexed Crimea and engaged in a progressing warfare campaign that utilized military as well as the information systems in the case of hostile twitter bots and fake news to encourage protests. Russia has heavily invested in her propaganda information confrontations first, to influence the political outcomes of the near broad, and hence establish a cushion against the malign western cultures, and second, as compatriot policy with the aim of establishing the Russian policies for the Russian minority groups within these countries.

Military bases, weaponry and cold wars were the major forms of strategies and political plans during the world wars, the civil war up to the civilization. However, the one tool that was not as popular yet effective was the use of propaganda by various leaders to stir up specific reactions, loyalties, and affiliations from their subjects, Adolf Hitler for instance utilized propaganda by establishing a media ministry that was exclusively meant to portray the strengths and triumphs of the government. This granted him the support, loyalty, and popularity he needed in pushing his agenda as imposing his rule on his people. It also acted as morale for the military forces, more so when faced with the British and American troops, and this gradually granted him success. The Italian Mussolini likewise attracted a public attractiveness as he carefully brought them to his interest, and this barred them from seeing his intentions, and later supported his totalitarian form of governance. Russia has since the world war era conformed to this form of political influence, and hence invested heavily on its information systems among them the state-funded television stations and networks, the likes of Sputnik.

Works Cited

Helmus T. C., Bodine-Baron E., Radin A., Magnuson M., Mendelsohn J., Marcellino W., Bega A., and Winkelman Z. Russia social media influence: Understanding Russian Propaganda in Eastern Europe. 2018. Pp. 1-70

Illiano R., and Sala M. The politics of spectacle: Italian music and fascist propaganda. Musicology. 2012. Pp. 9-20. DOI: 10.2298/MUZ120325010I

Stout M. J. The effectiveness of Nazi propaganda during World War II. Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations. 2011. Pp. 1-83