Oron J. Hale (1903–1991)

One of the best ways to make sure everybody’s on the same page, is to make sure thtey’re all reading the same pages. Part of the Nazi propoganda machine was to fully subvert German newspaper companies and publishing houses. Through an intricate weaving of interviews, business documents, and military records, Oron Hale details this process in The Captive Press in the Third Reich. This book goes through how the Nazi party outright bought some newspapers, put members in key positions at others, and then choked out any opposing viewpoints in the remaining news media, thus ensuring universal saturation of their message and mandates.

Hale’s account of this media sublimation is about as comprehensive as it can get. The vast majority of the book covers the pre-war machinations of the Nazi party, showing how simple, slow maneuvers quickly added up to a populace quietly surrounding by the Nazi message. The Captive Press is not really a casual read, but contains a immense amount of information about German publishing and journalism leading up to World War II. A dense but interesting read.… (mere)