Holding out till the bitter end

On February 8, 1940, Goebbles said, "I keep impressing my people with one basic truth: repeat everything until the last, most stupid person has understood." While somewhat harsh, Goebbles statement truly emphasizes the mentally of the Reich with regards to their media propaganda. Throughout this class we have witnessed a variety of continuous themes in the movies including the idea of the Heimat, the parasitic nature of the Jews, the importance of hygiene and strength for the Nazi party, and the necessary recruitment of the German youth, among other things. He and members of the propaganda crew reached the masses through melodramas, comedies, and "documentaries", finding a way to reiterate the Nazi party ideology across the movie theater screens. At first I was unsure how to react to this quote since it seemed confrontational and even insulting, but as unfortunate this may be, it does ring true to what we have witnessed from their films.

I also found it interesting when Goebbles said, "Gentleman, in a hundred years' time, they will be showing another fine color film describing the terrible days we are undergoing now. Don't you want to play a part in this film, to be brought back to life in a hundred years' time?" He finishes by saying, "Hold out now, so that a hundred years from now the audience does not hoot and whistle when you appear on the screen." I found this quote somewhat eerie in nature and am still unsure as to how to react to it. Throughout this class, no matter how much I do not like Goebbles, I cannot deny the fact that his evil and disgusting creativity worked to grab hold of the German masses and led them to blindly accept and follow the Party's ideology. Since he made this comment on April 17, 1945, it was as if we was willing, and sort of pleading, with his people to hang on for just a bit longer, even thought it was evident they were going to lose the war. I wonder if in this moment Goebbles thought that after the war he would be able to continue heading up propaganda and making movies. It is as if for this one split second he believed that if everyone could stay together and fight for what they believed in, then they could keep things going, even if the war ended. Goebbles is the propaganda industry's hero and in his last "battle speech" he continues to will his people to fight until the end.