Aims, Methods and Success of the use of Propaganda in Two Single Party

Compare and contrast the aims, methods and success of the use of propaganda in two single party states. Essentially, both Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler had the same fanatic desire to make their nations â€Å"Great† and gain considerable respect worldwide which would be determined by their economic might. Both leaders used various means of propaganda to achieve their ultimate aims. To what extent they were successful, however, is a debatable issue. Hitler could not achieve the solid control over the masses which he had, if he did not have the help of the so called powerful propaganda machine. Propaganda had been vital in winning the Nazis support that helped them come into power. As Goebbels stated in 1934 â€Å"Propaganda was [their] sharpest weapon in conquering the state, and remains [their] sharpest weapon in maintaining and building up the state†. The reason why Nazis relied on propaganda was first to keep the population contented and second win support for particular policies. Another rather ambitious aim of theirs was to indoctrinate the people with their Weltanschauung or in other words they were aiming to turn the population into committed members of their Volksgemeinschaft (a community whose members would be Aryan, genetically healthy, socially useful and politically committed to the regime). Nazi propaganda’s purpose was to influence people and to literally brainwash them without them even realizing it . Another aim was to ensure that the message delivered is so simple that even those without any education are able to understand it. It was carefully thought out to control and impose Nazi ideology. Hitler’s aim was to influence the nations spiritually on the behalf of the State and gain devoted followers on his side. He ... ...ngthen if not necessarily to convert millions to Fascism. It is a fact that Mussolini’s dictatorship was more conservative that that of Hitler’s reign of hostility and terror. Nevertheless, both leaders used propaganda extensively to promote their ideologies and policies. Hitler on one hand relied mostly on the media and other means of communication to propagate wherever and whenever it is possible, whereas Mussolini focused mainly on propagating in schools. Hitler’s propaganda was much more aggressive as it involved violence and thus differentiating his means from that of Mussolini’s. Last but not least, both leaders did achieve success to certain level trough propaganda in the sense that it increased popularity for the two regimes, Nazism and Fascism. Yet, there were many who opposed them secretly or not and thus arguing the extend to which they were successful.