To what extent was propaganda vital to the Nazis' attempt to transform German society after 1933?

After being invited into power in January 1933, Hitler initially found himself in a weak position within the German society. Hitler didn't like being in this weak position so he used many attempts to get out of this situation. He used images to convey how powerful he actually was and he changed the parliamentary system from being democratic to become a dictatorship. Many historians believe that propaganda was important to the Nazis attempt to transform the German society as they used many different types of propaganda to influence many citizens to support them. Many other historians believe that there are other factors that could be vital to the transformation of the German society such as the legal revolution as it also allowed the Nazis to gain support but it made citizens lose independence from the government. Also the Hitler Myth can be said to contribute to the transformation of the German society as Hitler aimed images at the public to show to them that he was powerful and that he was inspirable. In order to determine whether propaganda was vital we must examine how the different types of propaganda and other factors transformed the German society.

The Nazis attempted to transform Germany's society as The Ministry's aim was to ensure that the Nazi message was successfully communicated through art, music, theatre, films, books, radio, educational materials, and the press. The Nazis wanted to instil their views and to reinforce their power by taking control of all aspects of culture. The press helped to transform the German society as many were privately owned and had no allegiance to the Government. This helped to transform the society as it show how the Nazis could control what information went into the newspapers and what newspapers could be banned. Once, the Nazis came into power they banned all opposition newspapers. However, the propaganda didn’t transform the German society as there was a decline in public interest concerning newspapers as they were becoming repetitive. Michael Burleigh illustrates how the press transformed the German society as he said, "the content of th enewspaper was increasingly dominated by the exciting events with which the regime sought to replace the inherited calender and passage of the season." This describes how the Nazis changed the content in the newspapers to suit them and their messages.The press transformed the German society as it allowed them to put whatever they wanted into like stories from Nazi supporters or they put in stroies that conveyed the Nazi message. The Radio also contributed to the transformation of society as Goebbels brought all German broadcasting under Nazi control by the creation of the Reich Radio Company. Once the Nazis took control of radios, used it for light entertainment but mainly it was used for the transmition of Hitler’s key speeches. This helped transform the German society as it meant that Hitler could no spread his Nazi messages throughout the whole of Germany and therefore more German citizens will have heard his messages. Once in power, Hitler began to remove 'degenerate' art and introduce 'healthy' Aryan art to people. He also replaced abstract and modern art with traditional and clear paintings to inspire and influence the German people. Many created painting's that represented the instincts of the master race and to demonstrate that they were superior than any other races. This was an effective means of propaganda as it had a big impact on the German public. Hitler's removal of 'degenerate' art transformed the German society as it inspired many of the German public to follow and support the Nazis and to think of their future. Sculptures were practible for German citizens as there were broad structures on public buildings that could easily be seen on the street. Hitler made all new public buildings display sculptures that convey the Nazi