I remember watching a short documentary about Propaganda, its uses and its risks. One of their stories came from the Eastern Front of World War II, where Nazi Germany was fighting the Soviet Union. Summer had turned to Fall, and the German Army began to request winter coats so that they would not freeze to death in the upcoming Russian winter. To this they received stern rebukes from their leadership, and were told not to raise the issue any more. The Nazis had convinced the German people that the war would be over by Christmas, and that there would be no need for winter preparations.
Those proved, however, to be the best laid plans of mice and men. The army was unable to reach Moscow in time. As predicted, the weather turned frigidly cold, and soldiers began to become frostbitten. But the Nazi leadership again dismissed the issue, and in lieu of addressing the growing crisis, they instead turned to their secret weapon: Propaganda. They hired actors, and made movies depicting naked soldiers happily frolicking in the snow, all of which they broadcast via state television to the German people in an effort to convince them that the Russian winter was not a threat to the military. It was, after all, the era of post-truth, where facts no longer mattered... or so they thought.
But the truth often has a way of punishing those who ignore it. The Nazi leadership's lies gradually became a crutch of sorts, which they relied upon ever more heavily to brush off serious matters of state; so much so that otherwise simple issues, like the winter coat debacle, began to seriously undermine Germany's military superiority. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers began to freeze to death. Equipment and weapons froze over and were rendered inoperable. And supply lines broke down as vehicles became stuck on their way to the front lines, leading to starvation among the soldiers.
It all eventually became a logistical and military disaster, which the government did its best to cover up. But doing so only compounded its troubles, because ignoring the problems precluded a mandate to fix them. And so Nazi Germany slowly but surely imploded upon itself, in part a victim of its own deceitfulness.
There is a vital lesson in all of this: don't ignore the truth, for it is both the most powerful of allies, and the most merciless of foes. Whosoever accepts the truth, and lets it guide them, may face initial embarrassment. But in the end they will be victorious.
Add new comment