Category: History

Lessons from Hitler

Ganja Granny sez How did the Nazis use censorship?

When the Nazis came to power in 1933, the German constitution guaranteed freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Through decrees and laws, the Nazis abolished these civil rights and destroyed German democracy. Starting in 1934, it was illegal to criticize the Nazi government. Even telling a joke about Hitler was considered treachery. People in Nazi Germany could not say or write whatever they wanted.

Examples of censorship under the Nazis included:

Closing down or taking over anti-Nazi newspapers;

Controlling what news appeared in newspapers, on the radio, and in newsreels;

Banning and burning books that the Nazis categorized as un-German;

Controlling what soldiers wrote home during World War II.

How did the Nazis use propaganda?

The Nazis used propaganda to promote their ideas and beliefs. Beginning in March 1933, the regime tried to centralize its propaganda efforts in a new ministry led by Joseph Goebbels. This ministry was called the Reich Ministry of Enlightenment and Propaganda.

The Nazis used a variety of propaganda tools to spread Nazi ideas. Examples of propaganda under the Nazis included:

Glorifying Adolf Hitler by using his image on postcards, posters, and in the press;

Spreading negative images and ideas about Jews in magazines, films, cartoons, and other media;

Making radios more affordable so that more Germans could listen to Nazi ideas and news;

Broadcasting Nazi speeches on the radio and public loudspeakers;

Organizing large and celebratory Nazi Party rallies;

Creating groups, like the Hitler Youth and League of German Girls, that fostered Nazi ideals….

Photo of Joseph Goebbels speaking at a Book Burning….

Today in History: September 17, U.S. Constitution signed

On Sept. 17, 1787, the Constitution of the United States was completed and signed by a majority of delegates attending the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.

Do Americans still honor the document? Does the president honor his pledge?

The oath of office of the president of the United States is the oath or affirmation that the president of the United States takes upon assuming office. The wording of the oath is specified in Article II, Section One, Clause 8, of the United States Constitution, and a new president is required to take it before exercising or carrying out any official powers or duties.

This clause is one of three oath or affirmation clauses in the Constitution, but it is the only one that actually specifies the words that must be spoken. Article I, Section 3 requires Senators, when sitting to try impeachments, to be “on Oath or Affirmation.” Article VI, Clause 3, similarly requires the persons specified therein to “be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution.” The presidential oath requires much more than that general oath of allegiance and fidelity. This clause enjoins the new president to swear or affirm: “I will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”[1]

Today in History: August 6, the atomic bombing of Hiroshima

On 6 and 9 August 1945, the United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively, during World War II. 140,000 people were killed by the first bomb. The atomic bombing of Nagasaki resulted in an estimated 40,000 to 70,000 deaths, according to the U.S. National Archives.

The United States is the only country to use atomic weapons in a war.

“Monkey Trial”

ON THIS DAY: One hundred years ago, the so-called “Monkey Trial” ended in Dayton, Tennessee, with John T. Scopes found guilty of violating state law for teaching Darwin’s Theory of Evolution.

The conviction was later overturned. https://abcnews.visitlink.me/xS5yvM

The movie “Inherit the Wind” does an outstanding job of telling what happened. The names of the characters were changed but the story is factually correct. Who knows who the lawyers were in the actual trial? I do!

Today in History: April 11, the liberation of Buchenwald

On April 11, 1945, during World War II, U.S. Army troops liberated the Nazi concentration camp Buchenwald near Weimar, Germany.

This April 16, 1945 photo shows inmates of the German KZ Buchenwald inside their barrack, a few days after U.S troops liberated this concentration camp near Weimar. The young man seventh from left in the middle row bunk is Elie Wiesel, who would later become an author and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. (AP Photo)