You can't read two pages of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich without running across lies, lies, and more lies. Pants-On-Fire lies. Hitler and his propaganda minister Goebbels were experts of what came to be called "The Big Lie," a lie so huge that the people just couldn't believe it wasn't the truth. Shirer knew that Hitler considered lies a potent weapon of war, and the Ministry of Propaganda was probably the most important in the Reich.
Hitler was shameless in lying not only to the German people (not to mention the people he was planning to exterminate), but to the leaders of all the European countries he was planning to occupy. While troops were amassing on their borders, he was reassuring them that he meant no harm. The Prime Minister of Britain looked at Hitler and saw a man who could be relied on if he gave his word.
How'd they get away with all this? Was Hitler the most convincing sociopath ever? Were the German people so gullible? Were the other leaders of Europe just scared of the Fuehrer? Hitler's "Big Lies" weren't just big—he supersized them.
Questions About Lies and Deceit
- Do you think that leaders of European countries believed Hitler's fake peace overtures?
- What means did the Propaganda Ministry manage to deceive the German people?
- What was the extent of Hitler's self-deceit?
Chew on This
Goebbels was right that people would believe any lie if it was big enough and repeated often enough.
Even Hitler's and military staff who knew he was lying were too afraid of him to confront him.