The Third Reich: Politics and Propaganda

In The Third Reich, David Welch presents a controversial account of the notorious Nazi policy and propaganda machine. Welch argues that Nazi propaganda primarily affected those who already believed in the Nazi tenets of racial purity, and that the propagandists, in fact, were largely unsuccessful in the achievement of their aims.

Welch assesses both the theory and the practice of Nazi propaganda, as well as the reactions of the German public to the major themes and campaigns which the State conducted in peacetime and at war. He further questions whether dissent existed behind the facade of national unity, and if this dissent was rendered so ineffective by terror alone. The Third Reich includes also a document section which evaluates the speeches of Adolf Hitler and Josef Goebbels, and the laws that shaped the mass-media in the Third Reich. By examining Nazi propaganda in light of wider interpretive questions about the Third Reich, Welch challenges popular assumptions about Nazi propaganda, and argues that in many ways Goebbels' propaganda machine was a failure.

The Third Reich explores the popularity of National Socialism by examining the roles of consent and coercion in sustaining the regime. While these are not new issues, they have burning importance in light of current Neo-Nazi activity and economic frustration in reunified Germany--for to understand the nature of Nazism is to be forearmed against its recurrence.