Landmark Speeches of National Socialism

by Randall L. Bytwerk

Overview

"The power which has always started the greatest religious and political avalanches in history rolling has from time immemorial been the magic power of the spoken word, and that alone."—Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf

As historians have long noted, public oratory has seldom been as pivotal in generating and sustaining the vitality of a movement as it was during the rise and rule of the National Socialist Party, from 1919 to 1945. Led by the charismatic and indefatigable Hitler,

National Socialists conducted one of the most powerful rhetorical campaigns ever recorded. Indeed, the mass addresses, which were broadcast live on radio, taped for re-broadcast, and in many cases filmed for play on theater newsreels throughout the Third Reich, constituted one of the most thorough exploitations of media in history. Because such evil lay at the heart of the National Socialist movement, its overwhelming rhetoric has often been negatively characterized as propaganda. As Randall Bytwerk points out, however, the "propaganda" label was anything but negative in the minds of the leaders of the National Socialist movement. In their view, the clear, simplistic, and even one-sided presentation of

information was necessary to mobilize effectively all elements of the German population into the National Socialist program. Gathered here are thirteen key speeches of this historically

significant movement, including Hitler's announcement of the party's reestablishment in 1925 following the unsuccessful Beer Hall Putsch, four addresses by Joseph Goebbels, the 1938 Kristallnacht speech by Julius Streicher, and four speeches drafted as models for party leaders' use on various public occasions. The volume concludes with Adolf Hitler's final public address on January 30, 1945, three months before his suicide. Several of these works are presented for the first time in English translation. Bytwerk provides a brief introduction to each speech and allows the reader to trace the development and downfall of the Nazi party.

Landmark Speeches of National Socialism is an important volume for students of rhetoric, World War II, Nazi Germany, and the Holocaust.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781603440158
Publisher:	Texas A&M University Press
Publication date:	05/27/2008
Series:	Landmark Speeches: A Book Series
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

RANDALL L. BYTWERK is a professor of communication arts and sciences at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The author of two previous volumes on Nazi rhetoric and propaganda, he holds a Ph.D. from Northwestern University.

Table of Contents

The Magic Force of the Spoken Word     1
Reestablishing the National Socialist German Workers Party, 27 February 1925   Adolf Hitler     14
"The Storm Is Coming," 9 July 1932   Joseph Goebbels     32
Propaganda and Public Enlightenment, 6 September 1934   Joseph Goebbels     40
Duties and Tasks of the Woman in the National Socialist State, October 1936   Gertrud Scholtz-Klink     52
Race and Population Policy, 11 September 1936   Gerhard Wagner     66
"Our Hitler," 19 April 1937   Joseph Goebbels     79
Speech after "The Night of Broken Glass," 10 November 1938   Julius Streicher     86
To the Old Guard in Munich, 8 November 1941   Adolf Hitler     94
"Total War," 18 February 1943   Joseph Goebbels     112
Model Speeches for Nazi Leaders, 1944-1945     140
Adolf Hitler's Last Speech, 30 January 1945   Adolf Hitler     150
Acknowledgments     157
Index     159

Editorial Reviews

Hitler’s Nazi Germany, like any totalitarian regime from Stalin to Franco to Pol Pot, relied on the principle of ‘carrot-and-stick’ in a sea of propaganda. Hitler and Goebbels and their slathering subordinates understood the power of speeches to praise and threaten friend and foe and to signal any sea-changing in policy. Thunderous speeches resonated in the hearts of the True Believers and the inevitable calls for sacrifice were answered with enthusiasm. For the generations before television, speeches were an important means of mass communication—in Nazi Germany, they were a studied art. Mr. Bytwerk has selected speeches which defined the Third Reich as it metastasized through the 1930s and the war. Each is thoughtfully introduced to place it in the proper context, and to describe the characters involved. This collection is a natural companion to any textbook on the subject.”—Professor Arnold Krammer, Author of Nazi Prisoners of War in America

Professor Arnold Krammer

"Hitler’s Nazi Germany, like any totalitarian regime from Stalin to Franco to Pol Pot, relied on the principle of ‘carrot-and-stick’ in a sea of propaganda. Hitler and Goebbels and their slathering subordinates understood the power of speeches to praise and threaten friend and foe and to signal any sea-changing in policy. Thunderous speeches resonated in the hearts of the True Believers and the inevitable calls for sacrifice were answered with enthusiasm. For the generations before television, speeches were an important means of mass communication—in Nazi Germany, they were a studied art. Mr. Bytwerk has selected speeches which defined the Third Reich as it metastasized through the 1930s and the war. Each is thoughtfully introduced to place it in the proper context, and to describe the characters involved. This collection is a natural companion to any textbook on the subject."—Professor Arnold Krammer, Author of Nazi Prisoners of War in America

Arnold Krammer