What is a good way to portray what life was really like in Nazi Germany?

Question

I have a few ideas like a collage or film, but I am interested in what else is out there. I need a way to portray what life in Nazi Germany was really like underneath all the propaganda and coverups

Answer 1

I think a play would be a wonderful way to do it. I envision a dialogue among German houswives. They might discuss their husband's joining or not joining the Nazi party, the local Jewish family, someone's son off to war or joining the Hitler youth, etc. I'm sure the web would have plenty of autobiographical sites.

Answer 2

One of the main themes of Nazi Germany was 'conformity' - image a political environment more intense than after 9/11, in which everyone was suspect of aliens, subversives, of a government paranoia of external threats. Imagine people's intolerance toward muslim's after 9/11 and apply that kind of thinking to Nazi Germany toward's jews, communists etc.

Go to the Immigration yahoo answers and look at the attitudes towards mexicans - and apply that American hatred of other people to how ordinary Germans thought of those people who did not work, the unemployed, the homeless, the sick, those with mental diseases.

Imagine a population living in constant suspicion of your neighbour having non-nazi sympathies, and think of the patriot act and how the nazi's used the enabling act to bring increasing government control over people's lives and diminish their civil liberties.

Think of a people who were willing to give up their freedoms and rights when they believed the government was protecting their homeland from communism.

Imagine a people living in constant suspicion and alert - and being suspicious of their neighbour's activities. A population that looked to conformity to weed out undesirables and who looked to the government rejection of foreign powers interference and which preached national pride.

Answer 3

There is a documentary on german tv in the 30's which does touch upon propaganda applications but actually does a very good job of capturing day to day life for ordinary Germans with cooking programs,etc.

Answer 4

Read " the Past is Myself" by Christabel Bielenberg an Englishwoman married to a German who lived through it all to the end of WW2

Answer 5

Go outside & say Hile Hitler, to everyone you see & solute them. You might find some kind of idea. Of course people might think you're crazy, & somebody might even call the cops lol.