Landmark Speeches of National Socialism

by Randall L. Bytwerk (Editor)

"The power which has always started the greatest religious and political avalanches in history rolling has from time immemorial been the magic power of the spoken word, and that alone."—Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf

As historians have long noted, public oratory has seldom been as pivotal in generating and sustaining the vitality of a movement as it was during the rise and rule of the National Socialist Party, from 1919 to 1945. Led by the charismatic and indefatigable Hitler,

National Socialists conducted one of the most powerful rhetorical campaigns ever recorded. Indeed, the mass addresses, which were broadcast live on radio, taped for re-broadcast, and in many cases filmed for play on theater newsreels throughout the Third Reich, constituted one of the most thorough exploitations of media in history. Because such evil lay at the heart of the National Socialist movement, its overwhelming rhetoric has often been negatively characterized as propaganda. As Randall Bytwerk points out, however, the "propaganda" label was anything but negative in the minds of the leaders of the National Socialist movement. In their view, the clear, simplistic, and even one-sided presentation of information was necessary to mobilize effectively all elements of the German population into the National Socialist program. Gathered here are thirteen key speeches of this historically

significant movement, including Hitler's announcement of the party's reestablishment in 1925 following the unsuccessful Beer Hall Putsch, four addresses by Joseph Goebbels, the 1938 Kristallnacht speech by Julius Streicher, and four speeches drafted as models for party leaders' use on various public occasions. The volume concludes with Adolf Hitler's final public address on January 30, 1945, three months before his suicide. Several of these works are presented for the first time in English translation. Bytwerk provides a brief introduction to each speech and allows the reader to trace the development and downfall of the Nazi party.

Landmark Speeches of National Socialism is an important volume for students of rhetoric, World War II, Nazi Germany, and the Holocaust.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

176 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2008

About the author

Randall L. Bytwerk is a Professor of Communication at Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Reviews

[Royce Ratterman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collective highlight of speeches fills this work.
We observe within these speeches the 'mental seeds' which produced the powerful sense of right and wrong, based on existing social values that exalt one ethnic community while denouncing all outsiders, which sprouted from the fields of the racial popularizers who developed their propagandic infrastructure and rationale for their 'Jewish' racial suppression activities. "...our Führer Adolf Hitler... made genetic and racial thinking the center of our National Socialist worldview and the foundation of the rebuilding of our people's state... a political-ideological attitude that fundamentally determines our attitudes toward all matters and questions of life." -Gerhard Wagner, Nuremberg Rally, 11 September 1936.

One speech within 'claims', and as what we see across today's world, "Plutocratic Tyranny" has replaced the average citizens' desires and voice with its own will and desires. The comment concerning the "Jewish Liquidation Commandos" was slightly entertaining. Hitler wrote in 'Mein Kampf' that political propaganda was based on simplicity, repetition, and emotional appeal.

Eliminating factual history and replacing it with fabricated rewrites is nothing new and certainly nothing of a surprise to us today... "Getting back to the schools, which is why we mothers... said: 'Give German children a school that is free of all knowledge about foreign things and foreign countries.'" Gertrud Scholtz-Klink, Duties and Tasks of the Women in the National Socialist State, October 1936

-Excerpts:

"The swastika is a symbol of labor, the white a symbol of our national sentiments, and the red a symbol of out true socialist thinking."

"There are no parliamentary parties in Germany any longer. How could we have overcome them had we not waged an educational campaign for years that persuaded the people of their weakness, harms, and disadvantages? Their final elimination was only the result of what the people had already realized. Our propaganda weakened these parties. Based on that, they could be eliminated by a legal act."
Joseph Goebbels
Speech to the Nuremberg Party Rally 6 September 1934

"Jewish half-breeds, that is, half and quarter Jews. This bastardized mixed race is not wanted, and the goal of the legislation is to make it disappear--both biologically and politically--as soon as possible."
Gerhard Wagner, Nuremberg Rally, 11 September 1936
Race and Population Policy

-Flexible Tactics--Firm Principles-
"Fools are mostly stubborn both in tactics and principles. Intelligent and experienced political strategy, to the contrary, follows a clear and direct set of principles, but uses flexible tactics that change according to the situation. They are elastic and adjustable."
Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's 48th birthday eve speech, 19 April 1937

- Other works that may be of interest to you:
The Road to Serfdom by Friedrich Hayek (1944)
The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt (1951)
1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows: A Memoir by Ai Weiwei (November 2021)

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

really like what the author did here. each speech comes with a few paragraphs giving context plus he's included a speech from a Female Nazi which was really interesting as Female Nazi's are generally forgotten and ignored

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wondered for a bit how you rate a book of famous National Socialist speeches. By claiming I liked the collected speeches, do I mean I like what was said and am a Nazi sympathizer? No, not really. I liked this book for its historical significance and how the techniques (and sometimes parts of the message) of the Nazis can be seen in contemporary propaganda here in the U.S. and other countries.

While most of the speeches are blatantly anti-Semitic, there are also sections that sound very similar to ideas found in speeches here in the U.S. The us & them tactics used by the Nazis can be seen in more current U.S. talks against terrorism, Islamic extremism, or just Islam in general, and immigration. Also interesting is their ideas on womanhood, motherhood and the family; at one point I thought I was reading a 1950s Ensign article rather than a piece of 1930s Nazi propaganda. Sometimes there were moments when an idea expressed was, dare I say, correct and good. Course, it's then important to note that what was said in those speeches was at best half true. What the government says to the public and what the reality is can be sometimes quite different.

Like Leni Riefenstahl's Nazi docs, there is some real skill and technique here, but the message is rather frightening. Basically these guys were full of crap, but they made it sound convincing, and that seems to be all you need for an effective, persuasive speech.

[Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting read, the words that manipulated a nation.