David Welch. The Third Reich: Politics and Propaganda. London and New York: Routledge, 2002. xii + 246 pp. $110.00, cloth, ISBN 978-0-415-27507-1.

Reviewed by Eric Ehrenreich

Published on H-German (February, 2003)

How Popular Were the Nazis? tioning of the Ministry for Popular Enlightenment One of the fundamental debates that has and Propaganda, headed by Josef Goebbels, which emerged in much of the recent historiography of had a powerful hand in the content of German concerns the degree to which the media and art. In the process, Welch outlines the German population willingly supported the Nazi mechanisms of Nazi control of radio and flm, in regime, and especially its racist policies, as op‐ addition to the press. posed to the degree to which that support was the Much of the remainder of the book deals with result of coercion and intimidation. Recent works the content of Nazi propaganda, which Welch di‐ by, among others, Robert Gellately, Christopher vides thematically between peace and war-time. Browning, Omer Bartov, and, most famously (or In the "peace time" section, he addresses the heav‐ infamously), Daniel Goldhagen have addressed ily promoted concept of Volksgemeinschaft, which this question.[1] Initially published in 1993, and was intended to subsume class diferences into a now out in a second edition with a revised intro‐ racial utopia. He argues that the regime largely duction and postscript, David Welch's The Third won over the working class through such pro‐ Reich: Politics and Propaganda also seeks an‐ grams as "Strength through Joy," which provided swers in this regard by analyzing the role of Nazi entertainment and travel opportunities, as well as propaganda in shaping public opinion and thus promising a motor vehicle for the masses: the garnering public support for the regime. Volkswagen. He also notes that German boys, Welch's slim book (171 substantive pages) is across socio-economic categories were, for the at its strongest in describing the mechanisms of most part, enchanted with the Hitler Youth. Welch Nazi propaganda. He gives a detailed account of reaches the reasonable conclusion that propagan‐ the creation of the Nazi newspaper empire, cen‐ da in these spheres was largely successful--at least tered around the Voelkischer Beobachter. He also to the extent that it tended to difuse both class provides good insight into the origin and func‐ confict and opposition to the regime. H-Net Reviews

In regard to the Nazi euthanasia campaign, In all, however, the book provides a valuable Welch argues that despite opposition from church discussion of both the mechanisms and substance leaders particularly, as well as others, propaganda of Nazi propaganda. It also contains a useful ap‐ in this sphere was also quite successful. Over 18 pendix with ten documents relating to the content million Germans, for example, viewed the flm I of the book, from a 1933 Goebbels speech on the Accuse, a pro-euthanasia work. With regard to tasks of the Ministry of Propaganda to a 1943 SD anti-Semitic propaganda, Welch argues that it cre‐ report on the deteriorating morale of the German ated not so much hate as apathy and indiference. people. A thematically organized bibliography He also supports 's thesis that a pow‐ (e.g. "Art and Culture," "Women") is also helpful. erful "Hitler Myth" permeated German society, Welch's work ultimately supports what seems though Welch explains that this required great to be an emerging consensus among historians of propaganda eforts.[2] In the section concerning the Third Reich, that widespread German accep‐ the content of war-related propaganda, Welch tance of the Nazi regime was based on both coer‐ shows a profound thematic shift occurring after cion and attraction, with, at least in Welch's work, the German defeat at Stalingrad in 1943: brash ex‐ an emphasis on the latter. pressions of German invincibility increasingly be‐ Notes came calls for great sacrifce in the face of a bar‐ baric onslaught from the East. [1]. Robert Gellately, Backing Hitler: Consent and Coercion in Nazi Germany (Oxford and New The book is at its weakest in the new post‐ York, 2001); , Ordinary script. In this section, Welch reviews two of the Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final major historiographical debates not addressed in Solution in Poland (New York, 1992); Omer Bar‐ the frst edition of his book: the Historikerstreit tov, Hitler's Army: Soldiers, Nazis and War in the (the controversy over some German historians' at‐ Third Reich (Oxford and New York, 1992); and tempts to relativize in relation to Daniel Goldhagen, Hitler's Willing Executioners other atrocities); and the furor surrounding (New York, 1997). Daniel Goldhagen's controversial thesis that an "eliminationist " permeated German [2]. Ian Kershaw, The "Hitler Myth" (Oxford, society prior to 1945. Conceivably, Welch could 1987). have addressed the Historikerstreit, which began in 1986, in his frst edition of 1993. One can un‐ derstand why he did not do so as the relativiza‐ tion of the Holocaust in the 1980s has little to do with the substance of his work, which treats the efect of Nazi propaganda on Germans between 1933 and 1945. Welch's discussion of that contro‐ versy simply seems out of place. The Goldhagen controversy, on the other hand, ostensibly fts within the purview of Welch's work, dealing, as it does, with the question of how Germans felt about and why. Here, however, Welch simply jumps on the anti-Goldhagen bandwagon and re‐ iterates arguments that have been made repeat‐ edly elsewhere.

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Citation: Eric Ehrenreich. Review of Welch, David. The Third Reich: Politics and Propaganda. H-German, H-Net Reviews. February, 2003.

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