Answer to Question #174956 in History for Amira

Question

What did Marion Pritchard’s friend mean when she said, “I know that it was all ridiculous propaganda, but for the first time in my life I have a sense of them and us—Jews and Gentiles”? How do you explain her statement? What does her statement suggest about the way that propaganda can affect people?

Answer 1

Marion Pritchard , then a graduate student in the Netherlands, remembers watching the film with her friends. While watching the movie, they sat and made excellent comments all throughout the watching session and laughed at it since it was outrageous. The friend made such remarks to express feelings she had regarding the Gentiles and the Jews. Hence she promised to undertake anything to assist them as she regretted having the feelings. Further, the power of propaganda has limits and it only succeeds not because it influences the majority to trust an entirely new set of ideas but because it it substantiates the believes that people hold.