Eight Testaments of Propaganda

A bus making its precarious way across a winding mountain road picks up some unwelcome passengers.

There are many weapons of war; fighter planes, heavy tanks and skilled infantrymen but it could be argued that none is more powerful than the power of suggestion. Propaganda and the war of words played an undoubtedly vital role in both the successes and failures of World War Two. Governments struggled to gain the upper hand in the war away from the battlefield, but one man proved to have a deft talent for spin. Joseph Goebbels honed the art of mass communication until, in the early days at least, it became one of Germany's most effective weapons.

Film opens on December 18, 1999, just a few days before the dawn of the new century. A local reporter, Iron Idem, announces that the Martians have landed. Shortly after that his program loses its independence: he is given the script telling the crowds how to welcome the invaders. Then the chaos breaks out: the Martians and police mistreat the populace; things become violent. Idem's own wife is kidnapped and it seems somebody is trying to reduce his effectiveness as a reporter. Idem decides to fight back: he illegally broadcasts a message during the rock concert, but nobody believes him anymore.

There are many weapons of war; fighter planes, heavy tanks and skilled infantrymen but it could be argued that none is more powerful than the power of suggestion.
Propaganda and the war of words played an undoubtedly vital role in both the successes and failures of World War Two. Governments struggled to gain the upper hand in the war away from the battlefield, but one man proved to have a deft talent for spin. Joseph Goebbels honed the art of mass communication until, in the early days at least, it became one of Germany's most effective weapons.
This DVD features rare examples of propaganda posters and campaigns, and insight from Chris Read and Robin Lenman both of Warwick University into the huge part propaganda had to play within World War Two.

Narrated by Graham McTavish.

Composer and musician Neil Brand presents a series on the movie musical - from Hollywood to China and the USSR, and from Snow White and Gene Kelly to Grease and La La Land.

One of the most influential members of the Nazi Party, and a part of Hitler’s inner sanctum was Joseph Goebbels, the Minister of Propaganda. His wife Johanna Magdalena Goebbels, commonly known as Magda, was also a prominent Nazi and she became the "First Lady of the Third Reich". At Hitler's insistence, she continued in the role despite the humiliations heaped on her by her demonic, lustful husband.She continued until the final act in the Bunker beneath a Berlin in Flames, where she calmly poisoned her six children and died with her husband, her Fuehrer and his thousand-year Reich.