‘And What Concentration Camps Those Were!’: Foreign Concentration Camps in Nazi Propaganda,1933-9

Abstract

This article examines nazi propaganda on non-German ‘concentration camps’ in the years 1933—9. It shows how the regime publicized internment facilities in Austria, the Soviet Union and South Africa during the Boer War for rhetorical effect. This examination is placed within the context of extensive nazi propaganda concerning Germany’s own camps, demonstrating that the two propaganda strands worked not contrary to each other, but rather in a mutually reinforcing manner. In addition, the article will explore the legacy of this propaganda material in shaping popular attitudes with the onset of war and genocide.