The emotional appeal of shared fantasies in Nazi propaganda: A psychoanalytic view

Abstract

This paper explores the emotional appeal of Nazi propaganda from a psychoanalytic point of view. A shared ideological narrative connecting to unconscious fantasies within a large group psychology are utilized to explain this emotional appeal in the context of an intersubjective leader‐audience relationship. A narrative of narcissistic revenge, apocalyptic battle, and utopian unity and purification are explored utilizing speeches of Hitler as examples of ideological transmission. Prophesizing the extermination of the Jews of Europe is understood as integral to the emotional appeal of Nazi propaganda.