Essay Sample about Propaganda in 1984

When someone thinks of Nazi Germany, they may think of a couple of things. World War 2, Hitler, and the Holocaust immediately come to mind. But what about the propaganda used to make the German citizens shells of themselves; emotionless people who didn’t care what happened to a Jewish person in a concentration camp. But how did they get that way? 1984, while fiction, provides a great lens into the tactics that Nazi Germany used to manipulate its citizens. By using the war and a sense of national pride in Germany, the Nazis were able to manipulate their entire population into doing whatever they wanted them to do. It was the same in 1984. Nazi Germany used some of the best propaganda, especially out of their enemies, to make the German citizens proud to be German. Wartime propaganda demeaning the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union made the German people in a state of complete and utter loyalty to Nazi Germany, something that the Party is able to do extremely well. Using perpetual war, the Party manufactures propaganda which creates unfettered patriotism in its citizens which puts people in a state of compliance and complete loyalty to Oceania.

The hatred of other countries and the ease at which people can hate countries is sometimes a part of being a patriot. Within years, the Soviet Union moved from one of the United States’ most trusted allies to a sworn enemy and Italy moved from being close allies with the German Empire and Austria-Hungary to a member of the Triple Entente, and people accepted that with no problem. Within a span of ten years, American patriots went from loving the Soviet Union due to its help during World War Two to reporting their fellow neighbors as communists. An event similar to this happens in Oceania, when all of a sudden, the enemy switches from Eastasia to Eurasia. The narrator says, “On the sixth day of Hate Week, after the processions, the speeches… after six days of this, when the great orgasm was quivering to its climax and the general hatred of Eurasia had boiled up into such delirium… at just this moment it had been announced that Oceania was not after all at war with Eurasia. Oceania was at war with Eastasia. Eurasia was an ally” (180). This quote states that after six days, six days of hatred of Eurasia, six days of watching hangings of Eurasian prisoners, and six days of getting it into their mind that Eurasia was an enemy and Eastasia was an ally, it switches, and no one questions it. Oftentimes, when people look for someone to view as an enemy, they look towards the state, and make their opinion accordingly. During the Red Scare, the enemy was suddenly the Soviet Union and nobody questioned it. During the Sino-Soviet Split, China suddenly thought the Soviet Union were fake communists and no one questioned it. In 1984, the government announced a change in allegiance, and because the people at large are fierce patriots and love Oceania, no one noticed it. Additionally, in Goldstein’s manifesto, he points out that the war is used as “a giant fighting arena”, saying, “The essential act of war is destruction, not necessarily of human lives, but of the products of human labor” (191). Goldstein is saying that by the Party using the bare minimum to improve the livelihood of citizens of Oceania, they can dump the rest of the industrial output of the populace into a large, anarchical, violent Colosseum. This raises the question, why would the Party wish to do this? The answer is simple: they don’t want to. By harnessing the war and the demand for brave soldiers, they can distract the people and manipulate them into thinking that their struggle is for the greater good. If they can survive with less chocolate rations, but their beloved soldiers on the Malabar Front get extra supplies and rations, they’ll gladly do it. This fake war that is used by the Party to make people “make sacrifices” for their soldiers and their country is making them even more loyal to Oceania, thus repeating the cycle of allegiance to the state.     

State propaganda, specifically propaganda related to the war, is something that the Party uses to keep the population in check. At the end of the book, Oceania is attempting a very risky attack on the Eurasian army in Africa. Who knows if the battle actually happened or if the battle happened as Oceania reported it, but according to the Party, it happened. The radio announces, “Vast strategic maneuver—perfect coordination—utter rout—half a million prisoners—complete demoralization—control of the whole of Africa—bring the war within measurable distance of its end—victory—greatest victory in human history—victory, victory, victory!” (297). This way of broadcasting news makes it sound like the Oceanian army is invincible. “Half a million prisoners”, “perfect coordination”, “control of the whole of Africa”, are all things that no army will ever accomplish. Additionally, calling the battle “the greatest victory in human history” is far from true. There have been far greater battles, but according to the Party, this is fact. Oceania just won the greatest victory in human history. The Party uses this propaganda to spin the narrative in their favor and to keep the population patriotic and happy. Joseph Goebbels, the Chief of Propaganda for Nazi Germany, once said, “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.” The Party is using this exact tactic. In fact, very early on in the book, the Party also repeats the lie that the war is coming to an end. On the radio, it says, “Attention! Your attention, please! A newsflash has this moment arrived from the Malabar front. Our forces in South India have won a glorious victory. I am authorized to say that the action we are now reporting may well bring the war within measurable distance of its end” (25-26). The Party pushes propaganda to make people more patriotic, to see Oceania as a beacon of freedom and hope in the world, and to essentially pledge subservience to Oceania. 

Using perpetual war, the Party manufactures propaganda which creates unfettered patriotism in its citizens which puts people in a state of compliance and complete loyalty to Oceania. The Party manipulates its citizens to make them more patriotic by quickly making them find a scapegoat in Eastasia or Eurasia, and uses propaganda to make the citizens of Oceania willing to accept any lie in regards to the war with the other superstates. Nazi Germany was a master at using propaganda, the best example of a state in the real world who can compare to the propaganda of Oceania. They used the Morgenthau Plan in 1944 and spun it in a way which made women and children convinced that they should pick up arms and defend the Reich. They made every citizen numb to the horrors of the Holocaust and made every citizen pledge their allegiance to Hitler. The propaganda used by Nazi Germany and Oceania are frightening examples and warnings of what could become if totalitarianism were ever to reign.