Hitler on Propaganda

[AnarchJim]

I first saw this document during my History Exam and have seen used it for quotes to show many different opinions quite far from the normal Capitalist ways, or to address how things were delt with in particular to the Cold War.

The document is from Hitler (though Goebbels has been considered the main source of Nazi Propaganda) and it speaks about basicly lowering your what you are saying to the intelligence of the majority.

"All propaganda must be popular and its intellectual level must be adjusted to the most limited intelligence among those it is addressed to. Consequently, the greater the mass it is intended to reach, the lower its purely intellectual level will have to be."

He explains himself well and what he says, though I do not incourage his actions, is quite understandable.

"What, for example, would we say about a poster that was supposed to advertise a new soap and that described other soaps as 'good'?
We would only shake our heads."

For the full document go to http://fcit.usf.edu/HOLOCAUST/people/DocPropa.htm

[Enragé]

"All propaganda must be popular and its intellectual level must be adjusted to the most limited intelligence among those it is addressed to. Consequently, the greater the mass it is intended to reach, the lower its purely intellectual level will have to be."


well thats common sense really, something which however seems often not to have gotten through to many of the radical left.

For example, shouting english and spanish slogans at an AFA rally in the netherlands, making pamphlets with "Fight Fascism" is counter-productive, since 1. it doesnt get through to some (and in the case of spanish most) people what the fuck you are saying 2. sets you apart from the general population in that it creates an athmosphere of exclusiveness.
That is not to say we cannot use slogans in foreign languages, but we should limit it severely, exceptions are ofcourse if those slogans are well known amongst the general population.

Aside from that, i think most people realise that you cannot simply throw Marx or Kropotkin at someone who is completely foreign to any form of revolutionary politics, and often enough (not always though) at someone who hasnt had some high level of education.