Answer:

“How different it is in tyranny. When artists are made the slaves and tools of the

state; when artists become the chief propagandists of a cause, progress is

arrested and creation and genius are destroyed.”

-Dwight Eisenhower, 1954

Thomas Jefferson once said that “difference of opinion leads to inquiry

and inquiry leads to truth.” Truth is found in the exploration of ideas. When a

society’s information is limited, their perception of truth is misguided.

Governments are responsible for the regulation of information given to the

people. The control of information is often positioned to promote or negate

specific ideas and opinions. When governments are in the depths of trying times,

they’ll often suffocate ideas that are circulated within a society, especially when

discussion conflicts with previously held notions or popular belief. “The urge to

censor and sanitize public discourse and entertainment comes of fear—fear of

youth, fear of new technology, fear of tastes and values that don’t match their

own” (McMasters 22). People are inundated with differing opinions and claims,

resulting in a more segregated society. The sharing and validation of ideas

encourages freedom of choice and variation in beliefs. This freedom of opinion is

extremely dangerous to a government that opposes democracy and the free flow

of ideas.

Censorship is highly dependent on the constructs of the society in which it

is exercised. Different cultures, governments and religions call for specific

regulations. It is important to recognize that censorship is not just banning or

Explanation:

suppressing ideas considered intolerable or threatening, it is the regulation and

control of those ideas. Censorship is also a type of distortion, Ideas and “truth”

can be promoted in the interest of previously held beliefs of society and the

government. This concept is readily seen in the use and dissemination of

propaganda.

Throughout history, propaganda has been used by the powerful to

persuade. It is exploited in times of fear and terror to unite people under a

specific cause of action or belief. World War II is one of the most notorious times

involving the development of propaganda and its power to persuade a society to

accept a belief or rise to action. Germany’s government disseminated its

messages of propaganda through a variety of different mediums. One extremely

powerful form of propaganda used was art (Ellul 20-23).

Art is not just paint to a canvas; it plays an important role in human

communication and is not only an expression of the artists themselves, but also a

reflection of the period in which it was created. Because art is used as a tool for

communication and expression, it is often censored or manipulated to coincide

with political beliefs. Germany used art to promote its political agenda. “The

society utilized rhetoric to politicize art and to exploit deep-rooted concerns

shared by large segments of the populations, namely, that an erosion of

traditional values threatens a familiar way of life” (Goggin 7).

Nazi Germany identifies how multifaceted and influential the power of art

as propaganda can be. Hitler’s propaganda was effective because the state of

Germany was undefined. People felt disconnected and lost and because of this