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Humour in Nazi Germany: Resistance and Propaganda? The Popular Desire for an All-Embracing Laughter

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 November 2007

Patrick Merziger
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Abstract

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Two directions in the historiography of humour can be diagnosed: on the one hand humour is understood as a form of resistance, on the other hand it is taken as a means of political agitation. This dichotomy has been applied especially to describe humour in National Socialism and in other totalitarian regimes. This article argues that both forms were marginal in National Socialism. The prevalence of the “whispered jokes”, allegedly the form of resistance, has been exaggerated. The satire, allegedly the official and dominant form of humour, was not well-received by the National Socialistic public. This article will reconstruct the rise of a third form, the “German humour”, and discuss the reasons for its success by looking at why satire failed.

Type
Research Article
Information
International Review of Social History , Volume 52 , Issue S15 , December 2007 , pp. 275 - 290
Copyright
2007 Internationaal Instituut voor Sociale Geschiedenis