Date of Award
5-1991
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
History
Abstract
Most studies of Nazi propaganda have focused on main events inside Germany. This thesis proposes to examine German efforts in the United States in the years before American entry into the Second World War. This will be done by examining one Nazi agency: the German Library of Information which operated out of New York City from 1936 to 1941.
The first chapter explores the formation of the German Library of Information and its goals. The question of whether it as controlled by the Foreign Office or the Propaganda Ministry is also discussed.
The second chapter cover the association between the German Library of Information and George Sylvester Viereck. This reltaionship was an important part of the expansion of the organization after the outbreak of World War II. Viereck provided the German Library of Information with most of its editorial guidance.
The third chapter delves into the German Library of Information's publication of propaganda pamphlets. Each of the major pamphlets is examined in detail. These works attempted to blame Britain for the outbreak, continuation and expansion of World War II. The publications also stressed the economic and military strenght of Germany and urged the United States to stay out of the war.
Chapter four focuses on the German Library of Information's weekly magazine Facts in Review. The magazine was set up to provide Americans with the German point of view on world events. Facts in Review continued the theme of British responsibility for the war. Germany's policies in Europe were explained in its pages as similar to American policies in Latin America. Facts in Review tried to convince its readers that they had the most to gain by working with, not against, the Third Reich.
Chapter five discusses the Dies Committee investigation into the German Library of Information's activites. In addition to covering the demise of the German Library of Information, this chapter also discusses the fate of its American editor George Viereck.
Recommended Citation
Olson, Craig S., "Spark Without Flame: The German Library of Information A Nazi Propaganda Agency in the United States, 1936-1941" (1991). Theses and Dissertations. 928.
https://commons.und.edu/theses/928