Radio and the rise of the Nazis in prewar Germany

Maja Adena, Ruben Enikolopov, Maria Petrova, Veronica Santarosa and Ekaterina Zhuravskaya

Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Economics of Change from WZB Berlin Social Science Center

Abstract: How do the media affect public support for democratic institutions in a fragile democracy? What role do they play in a dictatorial regime? We study these questions in the context of Germany of the 1920s and 1930s. During the democratic period, when the Weimar government introduced progovernment political news, the growth of Nazi popularity slowed down in areas with access to radio. This effect was reversed during the campaign for the last competitive election as a result of the pro- Nazi radio broadcast following Hitler's appointment as German chancellor. During the consolidation of dictatorship, radio propaganda helped the Nazis to enroll new party members. After the Nazis established their rule, radio propaganda incited anti-Semitic acts and denunciations of Jews to authorities by ordinary Germans. The effect of anti-Semitic propaganda varied depending on the listeners' predispositions toward the message. Nazi radio was most effective in places where anti- Semitism was historically high and had a negative effect in places with historically low anti-Semitism.

Keywords: Anti-semitism; dictatorship; media; Nazis; propaganda; unconsolidated democracy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D72 L82 N74 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cdm, nep-cul, nep-his and nep-pol
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (191)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Radio and the Rise of The Nazis in Prewar Germany (2015)
Working Paper: Radio and the Rise of the Nazis in Prewar Germany (2015)
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Working Paper: Radio and the rise of the Nazis in prewar Germany (2013)
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