Abstract
Mass rallies were among the NSDAP’s most important and effective
propaganda tools. They were supposed to symbolize the individual’s
solidarity with—or better yet, complete subordination to—the national
community [Volksgemeinschaft]. They
also aimed to mobilize the masses in ongoing support of Nazi goals. In
the photograph below, the two banners on the rear wall of the Berlin
Sportpalast read: “The Jews are our Misfortune” [“Die Juden sind unser
Unglück”] and “Women and girls, the Jews are out to ruin you” [“Frauen
und Mädchen, die Juden sind Euer Verderben”]. While slogans of this sort
were obviously used to advance the Nazi agenda, antisemitism was by no
means the party’s only or even its most common message (especially not
in the early 1930s). Rather, the NSDAP also appealed to widespread
ideals such as social cohesion, equal rights, and national pride.