Cultivating Fear: The Image of the SA and the Presence of Propaganda in the Late Weimar Offentlichkeit

Abstract

On March 19, 1928, Joseph Goebbels affirmed in Der Angriff that the "lords of money are preparing their final blow. They have robbed our people of faith and will; they have shamed and dishonored us, and now want to grab us around our neck. No speeches, no begging, can stop that-only resistance, battle, attack!" Goebbels-who was eventually appointed Reich minister for Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda-had, in a few words, briefed his fellow ideological soldiers on just how to deal with the enemies of National Socialism, namely: violence and aggression. This violent and belligerent approach to politics was not unique to the NSDAP but was derived from, and helped to reinforce, an ongoing, systemic culture of fear in Germany.