DTLA - The Nazis didn’t invent propaganda, but they were masters of the craft. Capitalizing on nationalist images and fears in the wake of World War I, Adolf Hitler cultivated a story of strength built around his country, his political party and himself.
Hitler and the party’s use of propaganda is the focus of a recently opened, touring exhibit at the Central Library in Downtown Los Angeles. State of Deception: The Power of Nazi Propaganda, from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., is on display at the library’s Getty Gallery through Aug. 31.
Get DTLA stories in our daily email newsletter.
The free exhibit features artifacts from the museum, such as a bust of Hitler and a copy of Mein Kampf, along with posters, radio recordings and other displays of state-run media.
State of Deception traces the history of Nazi propaganda and the various forms it took. It is broken into four sections, starting in the period of 1918-’33. There it focuses on the antecedents to Nazi imagery, as well as how propaganda was leveraged in elections and the eventual rise to power of Hitler’s party.
Other sections look at the internal and international propaganda produced by the Nazi party and how it evolved and was utilized as World War II began.
“Hitler from an early age understood the importance of cultivating a public persona,” said Steven Luckert, the exhibit’s curator, during a visit to Downtown to install the exhibit. “Many things that he did were very contemporary, very modern. He tailored his message to his audience.”
The Los Angeles Public Library first started talking with the museum about bringing the exhibit to the city a year ago, said City Librarian John F. Szabo. He said the library was interested in it because it provides a commentary on the role that media plays in daily life.
That, he said, goes beyond traditional TV, radio and print, and extends to the Internet and even the use of social media.
State of Deception features news articles, books, posters, flags and other items used by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.
“It’s certainly very timely,” Szabo said of the exhibit. “Social media plays such a significant role in our lives today. It’s important that people of all ages learn to evaluate the content they’re seeing in print, or digital or visual forms.”
Luckert said the Nazi party’s skill at utilizing propaganda can be glimpsed simply by considering its full name: the National Socialist German Workers’ Party. The name itself is contradictory, be said, bringing up both the left and right wing. That attempt at contradiction-as-mass-appeal extended to the Nazi flag, a black swastika in a white circle, surrounded by red — the same color scheme as the flag of Imperial Germany — along with an emphasis on the color red that had become associated with socialism.
Luckert also pointed to the Nazis’ skill at utilizing the most modern technology of the time: radio. The exhibit explains and dives into how the party helped manufacture and deliver cheap radios to the people as a way to spread Hitler’s messages and speeches.
They were savvy in their approach, Luckert pointed out.
“The Nazis were careful enough to realize blatant propaganda would grow things quickly and people would get bored,” Luckert said.
“So they would mix in music, along with programs for housewives and children, and so about 70% of what they put on the radio was light entertainment. That’s something current propagandists do today.”
The exhibit runs chronologically, starting with the rise of the Nazi party to power after World War I, then tracing how its propaganda machine became an official arm of the government. As visitors walk through State of Deception, they see reproductions of some of the lies and false claims produced by Nazi Germany — for example, some newspaper stories blame Jews for economic troubles in the country — and how they changed focus once World War II started.
At first, the artifacts and replicas of period propaganda come in the form of cheery posters or boisterous film and radio productions. As the war endures, the works show frequent critiques of Jews and other groups not favored by the Nazis. The exhibit eventually changes perspective once more, to an Allied one, as it cracks down and tries to prosecute the Nazi propaganda machine.
Bringing in Teachers
Along with hosting the exhibit, the library and museum are reaching out to schools and teachers around Los Angeles. They are hosting tours for classes and teacher workshops so that educators can work the exhibit into lesson plans.
Professor Perri Chasin of the Otis College of Art and Design took a group of her students to State of Deception last month as part of that outreach effort.
“I think it’s important that students understand the dangers of propaganda,” she said. “It’s important to know that words and images can be important and inspire, but also that they can be used to change opinion toward negatives.”
The final section in the exhibit is meant to challenge viewers. It looks at how the victorious Allied forces prosecuted and worked to dismantle the Nazis’ propaganda machine. In the end, it asks visitors to examine instances of contemporary propaganda.
Luckert noted that although the Third Reich ended decades ago, many of the techniques that Hitler and his regime perfected continue to be used today. He pointed to far-right groups in Europe, as well as ISIS in the Middle East, as organizations that adopted the Nazi methods of spreading propaganda.
Chasin said her class recognized that.
“We’re seeing so many different forms in media being used in really positive ways,” Chasin said, “but also some being used in negative ways. The trick is finding a way of learning what to listen to.”
Szabo agreed, noting that while the library’s focus is on sharing stories, making people understand the importance of history in daily life is just as important.
State of Deception: The Power of Nazi Propaganda runs through Aug. 31 at the Central Library, 630 W. Fifth St., (213) 228-7000 or lapl.org/branches/central-library
© Los Angeles Downtown News 2016
