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Forging Unity & Allegiance: The Hitler Cult
After January 1933, Nazi propagandists transformed Hitler from party leader into the personification of the "new" German nation and posted his likeness everywhere. They carefully cultivated his public image to radiate strength and a single-minded devotion to Germany. He was depicted as a young, dynamic, and gifted statesman who was rescuing the nation from political divisiveness and bringing stability, creating jobs, and restoring German self-confidence.
Germans were expected to pay allegiance to Der Führer -- the Leader -- in quasi-religious demonstrations of the raised-arm Nazi salute and the greeting "Heil Hitler!" Such public displays of faith in Hitler were intended to strengthen the bonds of national unity. Non-compliance signaled dissension, and criticism of the regime and its leaders were grounds for imprisonment. |