The Big Lie By Adolf Hitler Now In Theaters
By: Nemanja Miljus
Tags: History, Marketing, Politics, Propaganda, Sociology

An American edition of “The Protocols” from 1934

“The bigger the lie, the more it will be believed,” said Joseph Goebbels, Minister of Propaganda of Nazi Germany.

The big lie is one of the most dangerous propaganda techniques. It has killed millions of people. Yes, it is so hazardous. And yet people believe.

When you tell a big lie, you need to support it actively, always. Modify and conceal data so that no one reveals the deception. And when the enemy starts to deny it, show it as proof of guilt.

The Nazis developed the rule of this propaganda technique.

In his book “Mein Kampf” from 1925, Adolf Hitler talks about using lies so big that no one would believe someone can be so rude to drastically corrupt the truth. Joseph Goebbels adds that the big lie needs to be copied repeatedly, and people will eventually accept it.

However, we have met this technique of propaganda before. In tsarist Russia, for example. In 1903, a pamphlet entitled “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” appeared there. It says about the conspiracy of the Jews to rule the world. It is a fictional anti-Semitic text.

The “protocols” are allegedly the minutes of a meeting held by Jewish elders at the end of the 19th century at the Prague Cemetery. They decided to establish the world hegemony of Jews by demoralizing non-Jews, controlling the press, and the world economy.

When the poor folks, more than a hundred million in Tsarist Russia at the time, rebelled, the tsarist regime, aristocrats and landowners needed to divert that anger from themselves to someone else. To the Jews? Why not.

If you wish to learn more, read the novel “Prague Cemetery” by Umberto Eco and the short story “The Book of Kings and Fools” from the book “Encyclopedia of the Dead” by Danilo Kiš.

The Nazis used big lies not only against Jews but also against communists.

In 1933, the German parliament building burned down in a fire. Who is guilty? Communists. At least that’s what the Nazis claimed. They used this event to suspend the civil rights guaranteed by the Weimar Constitution and deal with political opponents. In the first place, with the Communists.

The main news was that the communists had begun a violent takeover of power in Germany and that the Nazis would prevent them from doing so. The Nazis created a problem, but (don’t tell anyone) they also offered to solve the problem.

The Nazis arrested the person who allegedly started the fire, but they could not prove his guilt. As he had connections with the Social Democrats, they used it for dealing with that political party as well.

But using this kind of propaganda is not just a thing of the past.

Photo by History in HD on Unsplash; Picture’s up! Roll sound! Sound speeds! Camera speeds! Set! Action!

During Barack Obama’s campaign for the 2008 presidential election, there were claims that Obama wasn’t born in the United States. Therefore he cannot be the president of the state because he doesn’t fulfill the criteria prescribed by the American constitution. By the way, Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii.

In the early 2000s, the administrations of President William Bush Jr. and Prime Minister Tony Blair claimed that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. They used that allegation to invade Iraq in 2003 without a UN Security Council decision. This weapon was not found.

The UN Security Council was bypassed in 1999, too. At that time, NATO used the alleged “massacre” in Račak, Kosovo, to bomb Yugoslavia and establish a permanent military presence of NATO in that part of Europe.

But the big lie is not used only internationally but in the local politics as well.

The candidate for mayor can accuse the opponent of intending to demolish the children’s playground to build a shopping center, claiming the owner is a friend of the opponent. That is just one of the countless possibilities.

Big lies are all around us.

The 5G network spreads coronavirus. The government covers information that aliens visited the Earth. Kabbalists rule the world. The 1969 Moon landing was a hoax. Bill Gates wants to implant microchips in us all like we’re sheep. Oh, wait…

However, the problem with these big lies is that they are based on beliefs and not on evidence.

Our daily lives are based on the trust we have in other people. Most people tell little lies and are not surprised when others do the same. When someone says a big lie, we don’t believe he is capable of being immoral and telling such a big lie. That is why we trust big lies because we believe that no one is so evil to say such things without any proof.

For a big lie to survive, it is necessary to place new fabrications. And so again and again.

How to fight big lies? Don’t trust anyone. It sounds like a strict rule. But be skeptical; it looks better.

Take, for example, the news that the 5G network is causing coronavirus. Ask yourself, who, when, and where from announced this news. Who has an interest in not setting up a 5G network? What evidence does he offer for his claims? Do the critics of the 5G network otherwise deal with the protection of health from the tannery.

When you find the answer to all these questions, the intentions of those who publish this kind of news will be clear.

On the other hand, you will always be able to tell where there’s smoke, there’s fire. And that is perhaps the primary motive for publishing big lies. Even when people do not believe in them, that worm of doubt always remains. And what if it’s all true or at least a little accurate?

The one who published the big lie wants exactly that, to put a worm of doubt in you.