In 1933, after the Nazi party came to power, Hitler established the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. Joseph Goebbels, head of this ministry, wrote, “The national education of the German people will be placed in my hands.”
Not only did Goebbels maintain control over all German print media (newspapers, books, magazines) and art (films, music, radio), he was also in charge of all Nazi rallies. Anti-Nazi beliefs were censored from German media and German society.
On May 10, 1933, Nazis and their supporters burned an estimated 25,000 books (pictured above). These books included the works of Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Jack London, Ernest Hemingway, Sinclair Lewis, and Helen Keller.
By creating an “us” vs. “them” atmosphere throughout Germany, the Nazis began dividing people into two groups: superior and inferior. Those who were “Aryan” were identified as “superior,” while Jews, homosexuals, trade unionists, and Sinti-Roma (Gypsies) were considered “inferior” enemies of Nazi Germany. Ultimately, propaganda was one tool the Nazis used to facilitate their campaign of mass murder.