NSDAP Poster for the 1936 Referendum
Title
NSDAP Poster for the 1936 Referendum
Description
Propaganda Poster from Nazi Germany
Creator
Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiter-Partei
Source
digitalcollections.hoover.org (Stanford University Hoover Archives)
Publisher
Hugo Fischer
Date
March 1936
Contributor
A.J. Veneziano
Analysis
This poster is a piece of propaganda from the 1936 referendum, in which Reichstag seats were filled and the people voted whether they supported the German occupation of the Rhineland. It reads “Before: Unemployment, hopelessness, desolation, strikes, lockouts. Today: Work, joy, discipline, camaraderie. Give the Fuhrer your vote!” The image primarily makes an economic argument, but an underlying message of social order persists nonetheless. Furthermore, the visual elements of the image reveal more about the message of the poster.
Before further analyzing the argument, it is necessary to analyze the context of the image. In the background, the poster shows an unemployed man, a worker that is locked out, and a worker that is on strike. This ostensibly refers to the economic crises of the Weimar Republic. On October 19, 1929 the stock market crashed and plunged Germany into chaos since their economy was highly dependent on America’s via the Dawes Plan; this crash was accelerated due to the bankruptcy of the Creditanstalt bank in Vienna in July 1931 (Bloch). At one point, six million people were unemployed (Bloch). This economic collapse brought shame to the nation and eventually led to the collapse of the Social Democratic Party.
This poster was made in 1936--seven years after the stock market crash and three years after the Nazi consolidation of power. The main argument the poster is trying to make is one of economic stability. In the wake of the referendum (in which all candidates were from the same party), the Nazis wanted to remind the German citizens that they saved the country from economic collapse. The inscription creates a stark dichotomy between the chaotic, unemployment-filled years of the SPD misrule and the joyful peace of the Reich. Although claiming the economic strife of the 30s led to the Nazi rise is deterministic, this poster demonstrates that economic stability indeed was an important factor for many Germans.
The proud figure of the German worker in the center not only represents the reinvigoration of the economy, but it shows the new social order created by the Nazi party. Hitler and the Reich were able to provide the German people with a job and a place in the community of the state. The inscription reads “discipline and camaraderie.” The Reich Labor Service brought stability and organization into a divided Germany. Leni Riefenstahl captures this in The Triumph of the Will. Hitler addresses the workers and tells them that they are an indispensable part of the German structure. He then claims that the average German worker is no less important than a soldier (Riefenstahl). In addition to winning the referendum, this unity and camaraderie that Hitler created is extremely important because it is around this time that Germany would begin to mobilize and prepare for military expansion. Similarly, the Nazis agreed to host the Olympics in Berlin the same year to bolster national pride and show the world Germany was no longer weak.
The most striking visual elements of the poster are contrasts between the colors. The background featuring the disgruntled workers is red and blurry, which represents the chaos and instability of the SPD regime. However, the foreground is bold, clear, and well-defined, showing the stability and power of the Reich. Additionally, color is used over the inscriptions to create different tones. The text of the “Before” inscription is red and black, which appears angry, whereas the color for “Today” is calmer and more appealing to the reader. The overall appearance of this poster shows the progression of propaganda under Josef Goebbels. Early propaganda posters were monochromatic and text-heavy, whereas the materials produced after 1933 were complex and visually striking.
The main audience of this poster would be the middle-class workers and youth. My first instinct would be that this poster appealed to lower-class workers because a major theme was unemployment. However, the poster demonizes striking and lockouts, which was a tactic used by unions and lower-class workers. If I were to guess, a previous KPD or SPD supporter would not appreciate this poster (if they were not already imprisoned). Rather, this poster would comfort a middle-class person who was scared by the striking and economic fragility of the socialists and Social Democrats in the early parts of the decade. Furthermore, this post could appeal to young Germans because it shows that they have a place in the Reich. A vote for the Nazi party is a vote for a world where no Junge is unemployed ever again. A vote for the Fuhrer is a vote for the future of Deutschland.
Works Cited
Riefenstahl, Leni, director. Triumph of the Will. Youtube, 13 Jan. 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntQMQTLxLSY.
Bloch, Brandon J. HIST 1049. Lecture 6. 13 February 2020.
Before further analyzing the argument, it is necessary to analyze the context of the image. In the background, the poster shows an unemployed man, a worker that is locked out, and a worker that is on strike. This ostensibly refers to the economic crises of the Weimar Republic. On October 19, 1929 the stock market crashed and plunged Germany into chaos since their economy was highly dependent on America’s via the Dawes Plan; this crash was accelerated due to the bankruptcy of the Creditanstalt bank in Vienna in July 1931 (Bloch). At one point, six million people were unemployed (Bloch). This economic collapse brought shame to the nation and eventually led to the collapse of the Social Democratic Party.
This poster was made in 1936--seven years after the stock market crash and three years after the Nazi consolidation of power. The main argument the poster is trying to make is one of economic stability. In the wake of the referendum (in which all candidates were from the same party), the Nazis wanted to remind the German citizens that they saved the country from economic collapse. The inscription creates a stark dichotomy between the chaotic, unemployment-filled years of the SPD misrule and the joyful peace of the Reich. Although claiming the economic strife of the 30s led to the Nazi rise is deterministic, this poster demonstrates that economic stability indeed was an important factor for many Germans.
The proud figure of the German worker in the center not only represents the reinvigoration of the economy, but it shows the new social order created by the Nazi party. Hitler and the Reich were able to provide the German people with a job and a place in the community of the state. The inscription reads “discipline and camaraderie.” The Reich Labor Service brought stability and organization into a divided Germany. Leni Riefenstahl captures this in The Triumph of the Will. Hitler addresses the workers and tells them that they are an indispensable part of the German structure. He then claims that the average German worker is no less important than a soldier (Riefenstahl). In addition to winning the referendum, this unity and camaraderie that Hitler created is extremely important because it is around this time that Germany would begin to mobilize and prepare for military expansion. Similarly, the Nazis agreed to host the Olympics in Berlin the same year to bolster national pride and show the world Germany was no longer weak.
The most striking visual elements of the poster are contrasts between the colors. The background featuring the disgruntled workers is red and blurry, which represents the chaos and instability of the SPD regime. However, the foreground is bold, clear, and well-defined, showing the stability and power of the Reich. Additionally, color is used over the inscriptions to create different tones. The text of the “Before” inscription is red and black, which appears angry, whereas the color for “Today” is calmer and more appealing to the reader. The overall appearance of this poster shows the progression of propaganda under Josef Goebbels. Early propaganda posters were monochromatic and text-heavy, whereas the materials produced after 1933 were complex and visually striking.
The main audience of this poster would be the middle-class workers and youth. My first instinct would be that this poster appealed to lower-class workers because a major theme was unemployment. However, the poster demonizes striking and lockouts, which was a tactic used by unions and lower-class workers. If I were to guess, a previous KPD or SPD supporter would not appreciate this poster (if they were not already imprisoned). Rather, this poster would comfort a middle-class person who was scared by the striking and economic fragility of the socialists and Social Democrats in the early parts of the decade. Furthermore, this post could appeal to young Germans because it shows that they have a place in the Reich. A vote for the Nazi party is a vote for a world where no Junge is unemployed ever again. A vote for the Fuhrer is a vote for the future of Deutschland.
Works Cited
Riefenstahl, Leni, director. Triumph of the Will. Youtube, 13 Jan. 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntQMQTLxLSY.
Bloch, Brandon J. HIST 1049. Lecture 6. 13 February 2020.
Collection
Citation
Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiter-Partei, “NSDAP Poster for the 1936 Referendum,” HIST 1049, accessed April 26, 2024, https://hist1049-20.omeka.fas.harvard.edu/items/show/18.