Goebbels' Principles of Propaganda #14

PROPAGANDA MUST LABEL EVENTS AND PEOPLE WITH DISTINCTIVE PHRASES OR SLOGANS

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“Creeping Crisis”

During World War II, Goebbels wanted to give the impression that England was falling apart. He used the phrase “creeping crisis” to encapsulate the idea that there was “economic, social and political unrest” there. See Goebbels’ Principles of Propaganda by Leonard W. Doob, Public Opinion Quarterly, Fall, 1950.

The strategy was to create a cliche that could be used to change people’s perception of a situation. The goal, as always, was persuasion that would influence the actions of the target public.

There are certain words from which we should shrink as the devil does form Holy Water; among these are, for instance, the words ‘sabotage’ and ‘assassination.’

Propaganda phrases need to have four characteristics, according to Goebbels: they evoke, are easily learned, are repeated and are “boomerang-proof.”

Evoke and Link

Any message of propaganda must have a particular response as its goal. The message