top of page

PRIMARY SOURCES

Source 1

Screen Shot 2020-08-25 at 9.05.53 pm.png

Source 2

Screen Shot 2020-08-25 at 9.06.01 pm.png

SOURCE ANALYSIS

Source 1 is a primary source because it was a genuine flyer taken from 1942. Source 2 is another primary source taken in 1943. The creator of source 1 was possibly created by Joseph Goebbels, who was appointed as the Minister of Propaganda in 1933 for Germany. The creator of Source 2 is unknown. Source 1 was created as a propaganda technique to influence the people of Germany to view the Jews as ‘evil’ and the Nazi party as the ‘heroes’. They wanted to make the people of Germany believe that the Jews were highly engaged in a conspiracy to start war. Without knowing the author of Source 2 we can assume that the motive behind it could either be as a way to document the horrible things occurring throughout Germany or for the Germans against Jews to look at this photo and praise the people capturing them. Source 1 is a propaganda flyer that supports the Nazi Party. In the flyer a stereotyped Jew is ‘conspiring’ behind the scenes to control the Allied powers. This is represented by the British, American and Soviet flags. The caption translated states ‘Behind the enemy powers: the Jew’. The flyer, when first created, was printed in Black and White but in time since then colour has been added. Source 2 is photograph showing a small group of Jews being escorted from the Warsaw Ghetto by the German soldiers. The Warsaw Ghetto uprising was the largest single act of Jewish resistance throughout the Holocaust. Around 13,000 Jews died fighting for their right in April and May 1943. The targeted audience for source 1 is all non-Jewish Germans, hoping to persuade them to stand beside the Nazi’s and support them in the killing of millions of Jews. These propaganda posters were very common during the Holocaust & World War 2 and were extremely effective in persuading the people of Germany. The targeted audience for source 2 isn’t for any particular person or group but simply for documentation. The poster was created through the perspective of the Nazi party, they wanted to mobilize hatred against the ‘enemy’, the Jews and propaganda was instrumental in altering the public’s perspective of this and had a tremendous impact. The photograph of the Jews was taken in the perspective of the photographer. There is no clear bias in this source as we are unsure of the photographer. Source 1 and Source 2 are both reliable sources for historians studying the holocaust because they are creditable and authentic resources from World War two. The poster is useful for historians learning about the experiences of the victims and survivors as it teaches them about the prejudice placed on the Jews throughout this time and also educates them about the mindset that the Nazi party had, as well as the types of propaganda posters they used to persuade the people of Germany. The photograph is also extremely useful to historians learning about the Holocaust as it teaches them important information about how they were treated and even though large groups of Jews would try to stick up for their rights, the Nazi’s were close-minded about who they were as people. It also teaches them about the Warsaw Ghetto.

© 2023 by Lara Chapman. Proudly created with Wix.com

bottom of page