Hitler and the Automotive Industry: NSDAP 1936 Poster
Title
Hitler and the Automotive Industry: NSDAP 1936 Poster
Description
A poster from early 1936 encouraging voters to vote for Hitler on 29th March 1936, focusing on automotive ownership and the economy.
Reads: “The Führer promised to motorize Germany. In 1932, 104,000 motor vehicles were manufactured, 33,000 people were employed, and goods with a total value of 295,000,000 marks were produced. In 1935, 353,000 vehicles were manufactured, Over 100,000 people were employed, and the value of goods produced was 1,150,000,000 marks. The Führer gave 250,000 people’s comrades jobs in the auto industry and its suppliers. German people: Thank the Führer on 29 March! Give him your vote!”
Reads: “The Führer promised to motorize Germany. In 1932, 104,000 motor vehicles were manufactured, 33,000 people were employed, and goods with a total value of 295,000,000 marks were produced. In 1935, 353,000 vehicles were manufactured, Over 100,000 people were employed, and the value of goods produced was 1,150,000,000 marks. The Führer gave 250,000 people’s comrades jobs in the auto industry and its suppliers. German people: Thank the Führer on 29 March! Give him your vote!”
Creator
NSDAP
Source
https://www.bytwerk.com/gpa/posters/cars.jpg
Publisher
Calvin College, German Propaganda Archive, courtesy of Dr. Robert D. Brooks
Date
Early 1936
Format
.jpg
Language
German
Analysis
Created in the year of the Reichstag elections, this 1936 political poster seeks to convince the German electorate of Hitler’s business credentials in a trying economic time, providing evidence that his economic plan is working for the country after it had been hit by the Great Depression. This is one of the very few posters I have found that uses an infographic and it depicts a change in the number of cars, workers, and wealth in the German automotive industry from 1932 to 1935. The more cars and money depicted in each of these bars, the larger the worker, connecting manufacturing success in German industries to the idea of a strong German workforce and economy. The image of the strong German worker became a symbol for nationalism and the Nazi party promoted the simple message of ‘work, freedom, and bread!’ and here, this symbol is being connected to Hitler’s help in growing the automotive industry (Bloch, Lecture 5).
The poster contains vast amounts of facts and figures, so many it almost overwhelms the viewer, and seeks to convince them of the Nazi’s technical abilities. Whilst the average person will walk away from this poster without remembering the actual figures, they will be left with a sense that they can trust the party with these complex issues because they know the numbers. The creator of the poster has chosen to write these numbers out in a particular way to emphasize the sheer size of success the party has had in this industry, writing 150 000 000 instead of 150 million; to a passerby, the number of zeros looked enticing when the economy had taken a downturn. Many propaganda posters were fairly minimalistic and were in keeping with a propaganda regime that requires material should be ‘simple’, yet this poster is bursting with facts with little whitespace, almost forcing a viewer to accept the party’s success is unfathomable and beyond their understanding.
Whilst most of these facts and figures and small, the figure referring to the number of jobs created in the industry, at 250 000, is in an especially large font. This certainly resonates with the swelling unemployed working-class population. The unemployment crisis ‘terrified and repelled’ the middle class, who I believe is the real target audience of this poster (Allen, 140). The Nazi party certainly did portray antisemitism in their propaganda, but they incorporated this within a barrage of anti-Marxism to try and entice the disillusioned middle classes, appealing to ‘small businessmen, shop clerks, and the rural population’ (Allen, 29). As the ‘traditional middle-class parties were in disarray’ and the threat of Communism was looming, the Nazis capitalized on the otherwise neglected middle class, who were concerned with the future of German industries. The creator has chosen to fixate on the automotive industry, a predominantly middle-class pursuit, and a symbol of technological advancement. With the West leading the way in terms of technology, Hitler was keen to catch up.
The Nazi party had significantly more difficulty convincing the socialist working class to join them; as Allen recalls, ‘Northeim’s workers were known for their extreme anti-Nazism’ (Allen, 55). Instead, the party relied on convincing their middle-class employers to join the party and fire those that refused. Bullying tactics employed by the railroad industry successfully coerced many working-class employees to join the party and Nazism ‘started with the highest officials and worked downwards’ (Allen, 116). This technique may have been used in other industries, such as the automotive industry as highlighted in this poster.
An interesting point to note is that this poster does not advertise the Nazi party as a whole but Hitler himself. The repetition of the ‘Führer’ followed by an action word, such as ‘gave’ or ‘promised’ is in line with typical Nazi propaganda, which focused on exposing the population to the same message countless times, whilst portraying Hitler as an active leader (Bloch, Lecture 5). Given that the Nazi party initially began with many local branches, it was essential that the leader could be portrayed as strong, competent, and able to bring Germany out of the economic downturn. With the rest of the political leaders imprisoned or simply floundering, Hitler began to appear like the only viable option. The celebration of Hitler in this poster is similar to that found in The Triumph of Will, directed by Leni Riefenstahl and released the year before this was created. The film paints Hitler in a somewhat romantic glory, as the savior of Germany, which is carried through into this poster, showing Hitler’s promises to the German people. The focus has shifted from the party to its leader, painting him as the person who will actually act in the interests of the frustrated German population.
By Olivia Bryant
Works Cited:
Allen, Willaim Sheridan. The Nazi Seizure of Power: The Experience of a Single German Town 1930 - 1935. Chicago, Chicago Quadrangle Books, 1965.
Bloch, Brandon. Lecture 5, History 1049, Spring 2020.
Riefenstahl, Leni. Triumph of the Will. Youtube, 13 Jan. 2020 ( accessed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntQMQTLxLSY)
The poster contains vast amounts of facts and figures, so many it almost overwhelms the viewer, and seeks to convince them of the Nazi’s technical abilities. Whilst the average person will walk away from this poster without remembering the actual figures, they will be left with a sense that they can trust the party with these complex issues because they know the numbers. The creator of the poster has chosen to write these numbers out in a particular way to emphasize the sheer size of success the party has had in this industry, writing 150 000 000 instead of 150 million; to a passerby, the number of zeros looked enticing when the economy had taken a downturn. Many propaganda posters were fairly minimalistic and were in keeping with a propaganda regime that requires material should be ‘simple’, yet this poster is bursting with facts with little whitespace, almost forcing a viewer to accept the party’s success is unfathomable and beyond their understanding.
Whilst most of these facts and figures and small, the figure referring to the number of jobs created in the industry, at 250 000, is in an especially large font. This certainly resonates with the swelling unemployed working-class population. The unemployment crisis ‘terrified and repelled’ the middle class, who I believe is the real target audience of this poster (Allen, 140). The Nazi party certainly did portray antisemitism in their propaganda, but they incorporated this within a barrage of anti-Marxism to try and entice the disillusioned middle classes, appealing to ‘small businessmen, shop clerks, and the rural population’ (Allen, 29). As the ‘traditional middle-class parties were in disarray’ and the threat of Communism was looming, the Nazis capitalized on the otherwise neglected middle class, who were concerned with the future of German industries. The creator has chosen to fixate on the automotive industry, a predominantly middle-class pursuit, and a symbol of technological advancement. With the West leading the way in terms of technology, Hitler was keen to catch up.
The Nazi party had significantly more difficulty convincing the socialist working class to join them; as Allen recalls, ‘Northeim’s workers were known for their extreme anti-Nazism’ (Allen, 55). Instead, the party relied on convincing their middle-class employers to join the party and fire those that refused. Bullying tactics employed by the railroad industry successfully coerced many working-class employees to join the party and Nazism ‘started with the highest officials and worked downwards’ (Allen, 116). This technique may have been used in other industries, such as the automotive industry as highlighted in this poster.
An interesting point to note is that this poster does not advertise the Nazi party as a whole but Hitler himself. The repetition of the ‘Führer’ followed by an action word, such as ‘gave’ or ‘promised’ is in line with typical Nazi propaganda, which focused on exposing the population to the same message countless times, whilst portraying Hitler as an active leader (Bloch, Lecture 5). Given that the Nazi party initially began with many local branches, it was essential that the leader could be portrayed as strong, competent, and able to bring Germany out of the economic downturn. With the rest of the political leaders imprisoned or simply floundering, Hitler began to appear like the only viable option. The celebration of Hitler in this poster is similar to that found in The Triumph of Will, directed by Leni Riefenstahl and released the year before this was created. The film paints Hitler in a somewhat romantic glory, as the savior of Germany, which is carried through into this poster, showing Hitler’s promises to the German people. The focus has shifted from the party to its leader, painting him as the person who will actually act in the interests of the frustrated German population.
By Olivia Bryant
Works Cited:
Allen, Willaim Sheridan. The Nazi Seizure of Power: The Experience of a Single German Town 1930 - 1935. Chicago, Chicago Quadrangle Books, 1965.
Bloch, Brandon. Lecture 5, History 1049, Spring 2020.
Riefenstahl, Leni. Triumph of the Will. Youtube, 13 Jan. 2020 ( accessed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntQMQTLxLSY)
Collection
Citation
NSDAP, “Hitler and the Automotive Industry: NSDAP 1936 Poster,” HIST 1049, accessed April 25, 2024, https://hist1049-20.omeka.fas.harvard.edu/items/show/25.