State of Deception poster;

The Abbaye de Neumunster in Luxembourg-Grund has announced that a new exhibition entitled "State of Deception" will open this Friday 1 February 2019, with the vernissage at 18:30, until it closing on Sunday 17 March.

This exhibition, co-organised by neimënster, Zentrum first Politesch Bildung, Luxembourg Delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, documents Nazi propaganda methods. Starting from the trial of Julius Streicher, editor-in-chief of the German anti-semitic newspaper Der Stürmer, in 1945, it questions the effects of the hate calls printed in the newspaper.

Nazi propaganda is evidence that, during the twentieth century, political parties and states mastered the tools of communication to influence the masses. Their aim was to defend a radical electoral programme and justify the entry into war and mass executions under Nazi Germany.
 
“Propaganda is a truly terrible weapon in the hands of an expert”, wrote Adolf Hitler in Mein Kampf in 1924. The exhibition "State of Deception" examines how the Nazis used propaganda to win public support, implement radical programs and justify war and mass murder, while emphasising the importance of the issue today. 
 
Featuring rarely seen artifacts, "State of Deception: The Power of Nazi Propaganda" draws visitors into a rich multimedia environment vividly illustrating the insidious allure of much of Nazi propaganda; it is part of “Devoir de mémoire”, a broad thematic focus at the Abbey in the context of Luxembourg’s Chairmanship of the IHRA.
 
The exhibition reveals how the NSDAP developed a sophisticated propaganda machine that deftly spread lies about its political opponents, Jews, and the need to justify war. However, in order to also appeal to broad swathes of the population, not just a fanatical extreme a much more nuanced picture had to be painted.

“Adolf Hitler was an avid student of propaganda and borrowed techniques from the Allies in World War I, his Socialist and Communist rivals, the Italian Fascist Party, as well as modern advertising,” said exhibition curator Steven Luckert. “Drawing upon these models, he successfully marketed the Nazi Party, its ideology, and himself to the German people.”

"State of Deception" impressively shows how the NSDAP transformed itself from an obscure, extremist group into the largest political party in democratic Germany, as Hitler early on recognised how propaganda, combined with the use of terror, could help him gain mass support and votes. He adapted the ancient symbol of the swastika and the emotive colours of red, black and white to create the movement’s flag and establishing a potent visual identity. After seizing power, the Nazi Party took over all communications in Germany. It marshalled the state’s resources to consolidate power and relentlessly promote its vision of a “racially pure” utopian Germany that needed to defend itself from those who would destroy it. Jews were cast as the primary enemies, but others, including Roma, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and mentally and physically disabled persons, were also portrayed as threats to the “national community”. As Germany pushed the world into war, Nazi propaganda rationalised Germany’s territorial expansion as self-defence. The Nazis’ actions against the Jewish population, in Germany and occupied countries, were promoted as necessary measures to protect the population at large. 
 
Free admission.