Abstract
Several attempts have been made by scholars to document public opinion during the Third Reich; even more research has surrounded the various forms of propaganda in Nazi Germany. Few sources, however, have explored the effects of anti-Semitic propaganda and rhetoric on promoting the genocidal involvement of Germans under Hitler and the Nazi Regime. This thesis provides such material, presenting a broad spectrum of anti-Semitic views through propagandistic speeches, newspaper articles, and secret police reports. More importantly, I have attempted to gauge the effectiveness of propaganda on influencing German involvement in the genocide carried out against European Jewry through the examination of public opinion reports such as those collected by the Sicherheitsdienst, which aimed to monitor public mood and morale in Germany. I have concluded that anti-Semitic propaganda and rhetoric undoubtedly played a vital role in creating rampant indifference in Germany, the trumpeting of anti-Jewish feelings, and consequently, widespread participation of German citizens in the Holocaust.