State of Deception: The Power of Nazi Propaganda

“Propaganda," Adolf Hitler wrote in 1924, "is a truly terrible weapon in the hands of an expert." The Museum's groundbreaking exhibition State of Deception: The Power of Nazi Propaganda reveals how over two decades Nazi leaders showed the world new ways of using this weapon, communicating seductive ideas to millions of Germans and other Europeans. Dr. Ann Millin examines how the Nazis employed propaganda to acquire power and create a climate of hatred, suspicion, and indifference that facilitated their campaign of violence against those they deemed undesirable. She will discuss what propaganda is, how it was used to incite violence and genocide, and what its implications are for our world today.Speaker Biography:Ann Millin, Ph.D., is the Special Assistant to the Director of Leadership Programs and Historian in the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s National Institute for Holocaust Education. Before that, Dr. Millin was the Special Assistant to the Director of the Museum’s Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies, and the Program Coordinator of the Miles Lerman Center for the Study of Jewish Resistance. Earlier she was the Historian in the Museum’s Photographic Reference Collection, specializing in the photographs of German Jewry, Aliyah Bet, European Roma (Gypsies), as well as in the photography by the Wehrmacht Propaganda Company. She is currently coordinating the Museum’s outreach program to professional and academic journalists in support of the new special exhibition, State of Deception: The Power of Nazi Propaganda. She is also curating the exhibition Web site.