Reichs Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, Berlin Reichsministerium für Volksaufklärung und Propaganda, Berlin (Fond 1363)

Rossiĭskiĭ gosudarstvennyĭ voennyĭ arkhiv 

Reichministerum fur Volksaufklarung und Propaganda (Berlin)- Reich Ministry for Public Enlightenment and propaganda (Berlin) was created after the Nazis came to power in 1933. As the central office of Nazi propaganda, it comprehensively supervised and regulated the culture and mass media of Nazi Germany. A major focus of the propaganda was Hitler himself, who was glorified as a heroic and infallible leader and became the focus of a cult of personality. Much of this was spontaneous, but some was stage-managed as part of Goebbels' propaganda work. An example of the latter would be the 1934 Nuremberg Rally. Hitler was the focus and his moves were carefully choreographed. The rally was the subject of the film Triumph of the Will, one of several Nazi propaganda films directed by Leni Riefenstahl. It won the Gold Medal at the 1935 Venice Film Festival. Goebbels and his ministry were involved in both the rally and the film production. Every department of the ministry engaged in anti-Semitic propaganda. The ministry ceased to exist in 1945 with the defeat of Nazi Germany. 

Reichs Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, Berlin Reichsministerium für Volksaufklärung und Propaganda, Berlin (Fond 1363) 

2 microfilm reels (partial), 16 mm 1,320 digital images, JPEG 

The collection contains circulars, instructions, directives, minutes of conferences held by Joseph Goebbels, reports, questionnaires, announcements, personnel files of staff, texts and overviews of radio broadcasts, articles, pamphlets, list of German newspapers published in the German occupied territories, clippings on the persecution of Jews in Germany, and documents on hiring personnel for the Nazi Institute for the study of Jewish Question. Included are reports and correspondence relating to the departments of propaganda and radio broadcasts; lists of authors, topics of reports, and a list of foreign anti-Semites to be used as lecturers on the"Jewish questio"; a list of foreigners willing to work for German overseas broadcasts; the dispatch of a special reporter to Katyń in April 1943; various clippings from Yiddish and Hebrew newspapers; propaganda brochures on the Freemasons and the"Jewish question" edited by the RSHA; political situation reports on Romania; and news clippings about Germans in Romania. Note: USHMM Archives holds only selected records. 

Copyright Holder: Rossiĭskiĭ gosudarstvennyĭ voennyĭ arkhiv 

Fond 1363 (1933-1945). Opis 1-7; Delo 1-646. Selected records arranged in three series: 1. Correspondence with departments of propaganda and radio broadcasts, 1939-1944; 2. Information bulletins on the"Jewish questio"; 3. Reports, newspaper clippings, and various records regarding political situation, Freemasons and Jews, 1933-1945. Note: Location of digital images; Partial microfilm reels #92-93; Reel 92: Image #2070-Reel end; Reel 93: Reel start-Image #1046.