Landmark Speeches of National Socialism (Landmark Speeches: A Book Series) [Paperback]

Randall L. Bytwerk (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Landmark Speeches: A Book Series | Publication Date: May 27, 2008

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.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Hitler’s Nazi Germany, like any totalitarian regime from Stalin to Franco to Pol Pot, relied on the principle of ‘carrot-and-stick’ in a sea of propaganda. Hitler and Goebbels and their slathering subordinates understood the power of speeches to praise and threaten friend and foe and to signal any sea-changing in policy. Thunderous speeches resonated in the hearts of the True Believers and the inevitable calls for sacrifice were answered with enthusiasm. For the generations before television, speeches were an important means of mass communication—in Nazi Germany, they were a studied art. Mr. Bytwerk has selected speeches which defined the Third Reich as it metastasized through the 1930s and the war. Each is thoughtfully introduced to place it in the proper context, and to describe the characters involved. This collection is a natural companion to any textbook on the subject.”--Professor Arnold Krammer, Author of Nazi Prisoners of War in America

(Professor Arnold Krammer, Author of Nazi Prisoners of War in America )

From the Publisher

RANDALL L. BYTWERK is a professor of communication arts and sciences at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The author of two previous volumes on Nazi rhetoric and propaganda, he holds a Ph.D. from Northwestern University. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: TAMU Press (May 27, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1603440151
• ISBN-13: 978-1603440158
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #451,524 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I went to Northwestern University as a graduate student in 1971 expecting to do research on John Calvin's rhetoric, an interest I'd developed as an undergraduate at the Calvin College, where I now teach. I quickly discovered that to do research on Calvin, I needed to know French and Latin. I knew German. Professor Robert D. Brooks, however, was looking for graduate students interested in propaganda, and I was the only one who knew enough German to be dangerous. He persuaded me to take up the subject, which has kept me occupied ever since.

With a few exceptions, my publications are on Nazi and East German political propaganda. A full list is available here:

http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/faculty/randallbytwerk.htm

Besides my books on the area, I maintain the German Propaganda Archive, a large and growing collection of translations and images from the Nazi and East German periods. It's worth a visit:

http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/

I'm currently working on how the Nazis used American rhetoric during World War II in their propaganda.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nasty Speech, September 24, 2008

By 

Cary B. Barad (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Landmark Speeches of National Socialism (Landmark Speeches: A Book Series) (Paperback)

From today's perspective, it's really difficult to see how crowds of thousands were enthralled and incited by these pompous and bombastic appeals to nationalism and hatred. Well, actually, I have seen films of frenzied chest beating mobs in the mideast cheering on their charasmatic leaders. So maybe the technique still works/