Propagandaministerium (Goebbels' Propaganda Ministry), Berlin

Shortly after Adolf Hitler assumed the position of Reich Chancellor of Germany in January 1933, Joseph Goebbels, chief propagandist of the Nazi party, was rewarded for his part in helping the Nazis seize power. He was appointed as the Reich Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, holding a seat in the Cabinet. The role of the new ministry, which took over palatial accommodation in the 18th-century Leopold Palace, just across from Hitler's offices in the Reich Chancellery, was to centralize Nazi control of all aspects of German cultural and intellectual life, news media, literature, visual arts, filmmaking, theatre, music, and broadcasting. An unspoken aim was to convey to the world that the Nazi Party enjoyed full and enthusiastic support from the entire population.

A significant focus of propaganda efforts centered on Hitler himself, who was glorified as a heroic and infallible leader and became the focus of a cult of personality. Some of this adulation was spontaneous, while other aspects were carefully orchestrated as part of Goebbels' propaganda machinery. An example of the latter can be seen in the 1934 Nuremberg Rally, which marked one of the first carefully choreographed events where Hitler's actions were staged for the camera. This rally was the subject of the film "Triumph of the Will", one of several Nazi propaganda films directed by Leni Riefenstahl.

With nationalist socialist architecture expressed in the building's structure and façade design, the Propaganda Ministry grew steadily from five departments and 350 employees in 1933 to seventeen departments and 2,000 employees by 1939. World War II witnessed a significantly heightened level of propaganda, particularly through the emerging media of film, newsreels, and radio broadcasting. Thanks to practical experience and the scientific study of propaganda in Europe and the United States, propaganda efforts were meticulously planned, giving rise to a new era of psychological warfare.