Mechanisms of Propaganda in Nazi Germany through the Lens of Mass Communication Theories
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31861/mediaforum.2026.18.272-291Keywords:
propaganda, Nazi Germany, mass communication, media strategies, information wars, mass influence, manipulation, J. Goebbels, totalitarianism, narratives, communication modelsAbstract
The article examines the mechanisms of propaganda in Nazi Germany through the lens of mass communication theories, focusing on its influence on public opinion and the formation of collective consciousness. Propaganda in Nazi Germany developed as a coherent, institutionalized system of mass communication, integrated into all spheres of social life. Its effectiveness was based on centralized management, control over the media space, and targeted psychological influence on the audience.
The study employs mass communication models (Lasswell), affective theories of influence, framing theory, the “magic bullet” model, as well as ideas from Le Bon, Ellul, Benjamin, and Arendt. This approach allows Nazi propaganda to be understood as a structured communication process aimed at shaping cognitive, emotional, and behavioral patterns in mass consciousness. Key mechanisms of influence include narrative repetition, unification of linguistic and symbolic forms, dominance of emotional over rational appeal, framing of political reality, and the construction of the “enemy” image.
The effectiveness of propaganda lay not so much in convincing the audience of the factual accuracy of messages, but in creating a sense of collective belonging and the “obviousness” of the proposed worldview. Through emotional engagement, ritualization of politics, and the use of mass culture, propaganda transformed individual perception into collective experience, reducing critical thinking and alternative interpretations.
The study also demonstrates that many mechanisms of Nazi propaganda remain relevant in contemporary information wars and authoritarian media systems. Reconsidering Nazi propaganda through the lens of mass communication theories provides a deeper understanding of the nature of mass influence in both totalitarian and modern societies, highlighting organizational and institutional aspects of propaganda, key strategies and methods of psychological influence, as well as the continuity of these mechanisms in the contemporary media environment.
Downloads
References
1. Arendt H. The Origins of Totalitarianism. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1951. 520 p.
2. Bateson, G. 1972. Steps to an Ecology of Mind: Collected Essays in Anthropology, Psychiatry, Evolution, and Epistemology. San Francisco: Chandler Publishing Company. https://monoskop.org/File:Bateson_Gregory_Steps_to_an_Ecology_ of_Mind.pdf
3. Benjamin, W., 1968. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. New York: Schocken Books. https://monoskop.org/images/e/e9/Benjamin_Walter _1936_2007_The_Work_of_Art_in_the_Age_of_Its_Technological_Reproducibility.pdf
4. Ellul, J., 1965. Propaganda: The Formation of Men’s Attitudes. New York: Vintage Books. https://www.ratical.org/ratville/AoS/Propaganda-JE-Vintage1973.pdf? utm_source
5. Entman, R.M. 1993. «Framing: Toward Clarification of a Fractured Paradigm» Journal of Communication, 43(4), pp. 51-58. https://www.researchgate .net/publication/209409849_Framing_Toward_Clarification_of_a_Fractured_Paradigm
6. Friedrich, C.J. Brzezinski, Z.K., 1956. Totalitarian Dictatorship and Autocracy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. https://vdoc.pub/documents/totalitarian-dictatorship-and-autocracy-1fglaarlv6rg
7. Goffman, E. 1974. Frame Analysis: An Essay on the Organization of Experience. Boston: Northeastern University Press. https://thowe.pbworks.com/w /file/fetch/51478347/Goffman.Frame.Analysis.pdf
8. Gridina, I. M., Ivanets, T. M., Pakhomenko, S. P. 2025. «Denatsifikatsiia» yak kliuchovyi naratyv rosiiskoi propahandy u hibrydnii viini proty Ukrainy. Visnyk Mariupolskoho derzhavnoho universytetu Seriia: Istoriia. Politolohiia, Vyp. 42, S. 71-79. https://visnyk.mu.edu.ua/index.php/politologia/article/view/440/433
9. Katz, E., Lazarsfeld, P. 1964. Personal Influence, the Part Played by People in the Flow of Mass Communications.Transaction Publishers, New York, 400 р. https://books.google.com.ua/books?id=rElW8D0D8gYC&printsec=frontcover&hl=ru#v=onepage&q&f=false
10. Kvit S., Masovi komunikatsii, Kyiv: Vyd. dim «Kyievo-Mohylianska akademiia», 2008. 206 s.
11. Lasswell, H.D. 1938. Propaganda technique in the World War. New York: Peter Smith. https://archive.org/download/PropagandaTechniqueInTheWorld War/ Propaganda%20Technique%20In%20the%20World%20War.pdf
12. Le Bon, G. 1896. The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind.London: T. Fisher Unwin. https://ratical.org/PandemicParallaxView/mp3s/The-Crowd-A-Study-of-the-Popular-Mind-by-Gustave-Le-Bon.pdf
13. Loveyko, T.V. Perevertun, O.P. 2023. Analysis of Influence Means of Goebbels’ Propaganda. Molodyi Vchenyi, 123 (11). С. 45-48. https://elibrary.kubg.edu.ua/id/eprint/47923/
14. Makuсh-Fedorkova, I.I. 2016. Naukove vyvchennia vplyvu ZMI v doslidzhenniakh amerykanskohopolitoloha Harolda Lassuela. Mediaforum: analityka, prohnozy, informatsiinyi menedzhment. Vyp. 3-4. С. 135-146. https://journals.chnu .edu.ua/mediaforum/issue/view/9/8
15. Makuсh-Fedorkova, I.I. 2023. Formuvannia kontseptsii masovoi komunikatsii u 40-60-kh rr. KhKh st. na osnovi doslidzhen hromadskoi dumky. Istoryko-politychni problemy suchasnoho svitu. T. 47. S. 228-238. https://mhpi.chnu.edu.ua/mhpi/article/view/75/66
16. Makuсh-Fedorkova, I.I. 2025. Masova komunikatsiia v sotsialnykh merezhakh kriz pryzmu klasychnykh teorii. Istoryko-politychni problemy suchasnoho svitu. T. 52. S. 99-110. https://mhpi.chnu.edu.ua/mhpi/article/view/414/394
17. McLeod, S., 2025. Id, Ego, and Superego. Simply Psychology. March 13. https://www.simplypsychology.org/psyche.html
18. Monnerot, J., 1950. Sociologie du communisme. Paris: Payot. https://excerpts.numilog.com/books/9782307441779.pdf
19. Pomarantsev, P. 2025. Yak vyhraty informatsiinu viinu. Propahandyst, yakyi perekhytryv Hitlera. Chernivtsi: Merydian Chernovits. 400 с.
20. Riecke, J. 2019. The Language of the Third Reich. Inference: International Review of Science, Vol. 4, No. 3. https://inference-review.com/article/the-language-of-the-third-reich
21. Robinson, M.J. 2024. Hypodermic Needle Theory (Magic Bullet Theory), EBSCO Research Starters: Social Sciences and Humanities. EBSCO Publishing. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/social-sciences-and- humanities/hypodermic-needle-theory-magic-bullet-theory
22. Talmon, J.L., 1952. The Origins of Totalitarian Democracy. London: Secker & Warburg. https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.460216
23. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 2017. Nazi Propaganda. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/uk/article/nazi-propaganda
24. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 2018. Volksgemeinschaft (People’s Community). https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/uk/article/volksgeme inschaft-peoples-or-national-community
25. Vakulych, V. Novorodovska, N. 2023. Rosiiska propahanda ahresii proty Ukrainy (2014-2021 rr.), Ukrainskyi informatsiinyi prostir, 1(11), с. 119-132. http://ukrinfospace.knukim.edu.ua/article/view/279610/274195
26. Welch, D., 2002. The Third Reich: Politics and Propaganda. 2nd ed. London & New York. https://psi312.cankaya.edu.tr/uploads/files/Welch%2C%20Third%20Reich--Politics%20and%20Propaganda%2C%202nd%20ed.PDF?utm_source=
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
