Multimodal Analysis

A Multimodal Analysis of Your Job in Germany 

Conner Mulkerrins

 

Your Job in Germany is a propaganda film commissioned by the United States government and shown to the troops that would occupy Germany just after the Allied victory in WWII. It was directed by Frank Capra and written by Theodor Geisel, better known by the name of Dr. Seuss. The film was intended to be viewed by U.S. soldiers before they left for Germany so that they would have an idea of the task ahead of them; the government wanted the soldiers to remain vigilant in a new country and be wary of the German people as they may still hold loyalty to the Nazis. The film was made to ease concerns that the beauty of Germany and the hospitality of its civilians might soften American soldiers and cause them to stray from their mission as well as to reinforce in the soldiers’ minds that they had an important task ahead of them.

Propaganda techniques are used throughout the film to communicate this task and the threat of the German people to the soldiers carrying it out, but the specific section of the film from 6:35 to 7:40 uses these techniques in combination with visuals in a very compelling way. The most prominent techniques used are transfer, scapegoating, loaded language, and appeal to emotion. Film techniques are used in tandem with propaganda methods to strengthen the intended message and sometimes the film itself, rather than the narration, is the medium for the technique.  Techniques in both film and propaganda come together to form a not-so-subtle message that despite the war being over, the soldiers occupying Germany are still in hostile territory, surrounded by enemies.

Moments before the selected clip begins playing, the music is very sinister and there is audible chanting presumably from Nazis which creates a sense of fear and foreboding, highlighting the “threat” of the German people. The clip opens with a large swastika transitioning into flags with more swastikas, then pans over to children saluting the flags as the narrator says: “Guard particularly against this group, these are the most dangerous: the German youth.” 

Transfer is put into effect here as the viewer transitions from swastikas and sinister music to the assembled children and a quite drum beat, creating a serious tone that causes viewers to take the narrators words seriously. As the narrator speaks, his words combine with the negative reaction associated with swastikas and what they represent, and that negative reaction is subconsciously transferred to the children by the viewer. The transfer is later justified by the narrator’s description of the German youth: “They know no other system than the one that poisoned their minds… Trained to win by cheating. Trained to pick on the weak… Products of the worst educational crime in the entire history of the world.” (6:48-7:12) An appeal to logic is evident here as it makes sense that a child raised in the Nazi regime would hold on to those ideals even after the regime was dismantled. Synchronous use of narration and film technique creates and backs up the transfer effect in one fell swoop. 

Another instance of transfer occurs at the end of the selected clip; from 7:12-7:33 the narrator is still speaking about the children, but the clips shown switch to grown German soldiers. 

Keeping the narration about the children combined with the narrator’s appeal to the U.S. soldiers’ desire to protect their country causes the viewer to see these men as the aforementioned youth, only grown up and far more deadly. A marching drum beat and clips of assembled soldiers cause fear to set in at the thought of a new generation of Nazis starting another war and perpetuating the cycle of hatred and violence, which strengthens the message that soldiers must remain vigilant while in Germany.   

Transfer is the most obvious technique used in this clip but there is scapegoating layered in as well. Despite the logical appeals, when analyzing the film with the knowledge that it is propaganda one realizes that while these children most likely have warped ideals and perceptions, they are still children and their only “crime” is being raised in Nazi Germany. Classifying all German children as just as hateful and dangerous as Nazi soldiers is a tactic to incite fear and inspire vigilance in the U.S. troops occupying Germany. To say that the German youth are enemies in waiting who believe they are the superior race and “will try to prove it again” (7:30-7:32) is an attempt to lump them in with remaining adult Nazis who may truly try to bring back the regime. Making the children out to be inherently evil sets them up as scapegoats for the message of the film.

Throughout the clip, the narrator uses loaded language that ties into the other techniques. The narrator’s use of transfer, scapegoating, and emotional and logical appeals are all strengthened by the narrator’s use of language designed to evoke certain responses. The narrator’s description of the German youth as “the most dangerous”(6:40-6:42) is an example; the use of the word “most” makes this loaded language because rather than simply calling the children dangerous, they are labeled as the most dangerous, which elevates them to the position of the most prominent threat, strengthening the use of transfer and scapegoating. Furthermore, the narrator saying that growing up in Nazi Germany “poisoned their minds” (6:50-6:52) is loaded language because it creates a sense of internal corruption rather than simple miseducation and paints the children as incapable of normal or rational thought, suggesting they are beyond saving which causes the U.S. soldiers to lack empathy for them and only view them as enemies. Near the end of the clip, the narrator states that the German youth believes “we are inferiors, designed to be their slaves” (7:22-7:26). Loaded language is used here because rather than simply saying they think they are better than us, the narrator uses heavier words with more demeaning and evil connotations to strengthen the film’s message. 

Propaganda and film techniques are both used to convince U.S. soldiers that every German citizen is a Nazi element, none so much as the German youth. The clip regarding the youth is important to the film and reinforces the intended message because it shows that the perceived threat of the Germans goes to the country’s very core, and corrupts that which should be innocent: children. Appeals to logic and emotion work in concert with many techniques to effectively convince soldiers occupying Germany that they are not safe, that they are surrounded by the enemy, and that the threat of the Nazis is ever-present.