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http://www.magister.msk.ru/library/politica/hitla002.htm
Chapter Six:
In watching the course of political events I was always struck
by the active part which propaganda played in them.
I saw that it was an instrument, which the Marxist Socialists knew how
to handle in a masterly way and how to put it to practical uses.
Thus I soon came to realize that the right use of propaganda
was an art in itself and that this art was practically unknown to
our bourgeois parties.
The Christian-Socialist Party alone, especially in Lueger's time,
s
owed a certain efficiency in the employment of this instrument
and owed much of their success to it.
It was during the War, however, that we had the best chance
of estimating the tremendous results whic
h could be obtained
by a propagandist system properly carried out.
Here again
, unfortunately, everything was left to the other side,
the work done on our side being worse than insignificant.
It was the total failure of the whole German system of information -
a failure which was perfectly obvious to every soldier -
that urged me to consider the problem of propaganda
in a comprehensive way.
I had ample opportunity to learn a practical lesson in this matter;
for unfortunately it was only too well taught us by the enemy.
The lack on our side was exploited by the enemy
in such an efficient manner that one could say it showed itself
as a real work of genius.
In that propaganda carried on by the enemy
I found admirable sources
of instruction.
The lesson to be learned from this had unfortunately
no attraction for the geniuses on our own side.
They were simply above all such things,
too clever to accept any teaching.<b
r> Anyhow they did not honestly wish to learn anything.
Had we any propaganda at all ?
Alas, I can reply only in the nega
tive.
All that was undertaken in this direction
was so utterly inadequate and misconceived
from the very beginning that not only did it prove useless
but at times harmful.
In substance it was insufficient. Psychologically it was all wrong.
Anybody who had carefully investigated the German propaganda
must have formed that judgment of it.
Our people did not seem to be clear even
about the primary question itself:
Whether propaganda is a means or an end?
Propaganda is a means and must, therefore, be judged in relation
to the end it is intended to serve.
It must be organized in such a way
a
s to be capable of attaining its objective.
And, as it is quite clear that the importance of the objective
may vary from the standpoint of general necessity,
the essential internal character of
the propaganda
must vary accordingly.
The cause for which we fought during the War
was the noblest and highest that man could strive for.
We were fighting for the freedom a
nd independence of our country,
for the security of our future welfare and the honour of the nation.
Despite all views to the contrary, this honour does actually exist,
or rather it will have to exist; for a nation without honour
will sooner or later lose its freedom and independence.
This is in accordance with the ruling of a higher justice,
for a generation of poltroons is not entitled to freedom.
He who would be a slave cannot have honour;
for such honour would soon become an object of general scorn.
Germany was waging war for its very existence.
The purpos
e of its war propaganda should have been to strengthen
the fighting spirit in that struggle and help it to victory.
But when nations are fighting for their existence on this earth,
when the
question of 'to be or not to be'
has to be answered,
then all humane and ÃÆ’ Ô�Å¡¦sthetic
considerations must be set aside;
for these ideals do not exist of themselves somewhere in the air
but are t
he product of man's creative imagination and disappear
when he disappears.
Nature knows nothing of them
Moreover, they are characteristic of only a small number of nations,
or rather of races,
and their value depends on the measure in which they spring
from the racial feeling of the latter.
Humane and ÃÆ’ Ô�Å¡¦sthetic ideals will disappear from the inhabited earth
when those races disappear which are the creators
and standard-bearers of them.
Al
l such ideals are only of secondary importance
when a nation is struggling for its existence.
They must be prevented from entering into the struggle
the moment they threaten to weaken th
e stamina
of the nation that is waging war.
That is always the only visible effect whereby their place
in the struggle is to be judged.
In regard to the part played by humane feeling,
Moltke stated that in time of war the essential thing
is to get a decision as quickly as possible
and that the mo
st ruthless methods of fighting
are at the same time the most humane.
When people attempt to answer this reasoning
by highfalutin talk about ÃÆ’ Ô�Å¡¦sthetics, etc.,
only one answer can be given.
It is that the vital questions involved in the struggle of a nation
for its existence must not be subordinated
to any ÃÆ’ Ô�Å¡¦sthetic considerations.
The yoke of slavery is and always will remain
the most unpleasant experience that mankind can endure.
<b
r> Do the Schwabing 12) decadents look upon Germany's
lot to-day as 'aesthetic'?
Of course, one doesn't discuss such a question with the J*ws,
because they are the modern
inventors of this cultural perfume.
Their very existence is an incarnate denial of the beauty
of God's image in His creation.
Since these ideas of what is beautiful and humane
have no place in warfare, they are not to be used
as standards of war propaganda.
During the War, propaganda was a means to an end.
And this end was the
struggle for existence of the German nation.
Propaganda, therefore, should have been regarded
from the standpoint of its utility for that purpose.
The most cruel weapons were then the most humane,
provided they helped towards a speedier decision;
and only those methods were good and beautiful
which helped towards securing the dignity and freedom of the nation.
Such wa
s the only possible attitude to adopt
towards war propaganda in the life-or-death struggle.
If those in what are called positions of authority
had realized this there would have been
no uncertainty
about the form and employment of war propaganda as a weapon;
for it is nothing but a weapon, and indeed a most terrifying weapon
in the hands of those who know how to use it.
The second question of decisive importance is this:
To whom should propaganda be made to appeal?
<span style='color:blue'>
To the educated intellectual classes?
Or to the less intellectual?
And so this product o
f ours was not only
worthless but detrimental.
No matter what an amount of talent employed in the organization
of propaganda,
it will have no result if due account is not taken
of these fundamental principles.
Propaganda must be limited to a few simple themes
and these must be represented again and again.
Here, as in innumerable other cases,
perseverance is the first and most important condition of success.
Particularly in the field of propaganda,
placid ÃÆ’ Ô�Å¡¦sthetes and blase intellectuals
should never be allowed to take the lead.
The former would readily tr
ansform the impressive character
of real propaganda into something suitable
only for literary tea parties.
As to the second class of p
eople, one must always beware of this pest;
for, in consequence of their insensibility
to normal impressions,
they are constantly seeking new excitements.
Such people grow sick and tired of everything.
They always long for change and will always be in
capable
of putting themselves in the position of picturing the wants
of their less callous fellow-creatures
in their immediate neighbourhood,
let alone trying to understand them.
The blase intellectuals are always the first to criticize propaganda,
or rather its message,
because this appears to them to be outmoded and trivial.
They are always looking for something new,
always yearning for change;
and thus they become the mortal enemies of every effort
that may be made to influence the masses in an effective way.
The momen
t the organization and message
of a propagandist movement
begins to be orientated according to their tastes it
becomes incoherent and
scattered.
It is not the purpose of propaganda to create a series of alterations
in sentiment with a view to pleasing these blase gentry.
Its chief function is to convince the masses,
whose slowness of understanding needs to be given time in order
that they may absorb information;
and only constant repe
tition will finally succeed in imprinting
an idea on the memory of the crowd.
Every change that is made in the subject
of a propagandist message
must always emphasize the same conclusion.
The leading slogan must of course be illustrated in many ways
and from several angles, but in the end one must always return
to the assertion of the same formula.
In this way alone can propaganda be consistent
and dynamic in its effects.
Only by following these general lines and sticking to them s
teadfastly,
with uniform and concise emphasis, can final success be reached.
Then one will be rewarded by the surprising and almos
t incredible
results that such a persistent policy secures.
The success of any advertisement,
whether of a business or political nature,
depends on the consistency and perseverance
with which it is employed.
In this respect also the propaganda organized by our enemies
set us an excellent example.
It confined itself to a few themes, which were m
eant
exclusively for mass consumption,
and it repeated these themes with untiring perseverance.
Once these fundamental themes and the manner of placing them
before the world were recognized as effective,
they adhered to them without the slightest alteration
for the whole duration of the War.
At first all of it appeared to be idiotic in its impudent assertiveness.
Later on it was looked upon as disturbing,
but finally it was believed.
Bu
t in England they came to understand something further:
namely, that the possibility of success in the use of this
spiritual weapo
n consists in the mass employment of it
, and that when employed in this way it brings full returns
for the large expenses incurred.
In England propaganda was regarded as a weapon of the first order,
whereas with us it represented the last hope of a livelihood
for our unemployed politicians and a snug job for shirkers
of the modest hero type.
Taken all in all, its results were negative.
*******
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Mein Kampf, Adolph Hitler
