Editing Gleichschaltung (section)

==Propaganda and societal integration==
[[File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-1989-0821-502,_Joseph_Goebbels.jpg|thumb|175px|[[Joseph Goebbels]] in 1942]]
One of the most critical steps towards {{lang|de|Gleichschaltung}} of German society was the introduction of the "Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda" under [[Joseph Goebbels]] in March 1933 and the subsequent steps the Propaganda Ministry took to assume complete control of the press and all means of social communication. This included oversight of newspapers, magazines, films, books, public meetings and ceremonies, foreign press relations, theater, art and music, radio, and television.{{sfn|Bytwerk|2004|pp=58–66}} To this end, Goebbels said:

<blockquote>[T]he secret of propaganda [is to] permeate the person it aims to grasp, without his even noticing that he is being permeated. ''Of course'' propaganda has a purpose, but the purpose must be concealed with such cleverness and virtuosity that the person on whom this purpose is to be carried out doesn't notice it at all.{{sfn|Evans|2005|p=127}}</blockquote>

This was also the purpose of "co-ordination": to ensure that every aspect of the lives of German citizens was permeated with the ideas and prejudices of the Nazis. From March to July 1933 and continuing afterward, the Nazi Party systematically eliminated or co-opted non-Nazi organizations that could potentially influence people. Those critical of Hitler and the Nazis were suppressed, intimidated, or murdered.{{sfn|Evans|2003|pp=381–390}}

<blockquote>Every national voluntary association, and every local club, was brought under Nazi control, from industrial and agricultural pressure groups to sports associations, football clubs, male voice choirs, women's organizations—in short, the whole fabric of associational life was Nazified. Rival, politically oriented clubs or societies were merged into a single Nazi body. Existing leaders of voluntary associations were either unceremoniously ousted, or knuckled under of their own accord. Many organizations expelled leftish or liberal members and declared their allegiance to the new state and its institutions. The whole process ... went on all over Germany. ... By the end, virtually the only non-Nazi associations left were the army and the Churches with their lay organizations.{{sfn|Evans|2005|p=14}}</blockquote>

For example, in 1934, the government founded the ''Deutscher Reichsbund für Leibesübungen'', later the ''[[Nationalsozialistischer Reichsbund für Leibesübungen]]'', as the official sports governing body. All other German sport associations gradually lost their freedom and were coopted into it.{{sfn|Wedemeyer-Kolwe|2004|pp=389–390}} Besides sports, another more important part of the "co-ordination" effort was the purging of the civil service, both at the Federal and state level. Top Federal civil servants—the State Secretaries—were largely replaced if they were not sympathetic to the Nazi program, as were the equivalent bureaucrats in the states, but Nazification took place at every level. Civil servants rushed to join the Nazi Party, fearing they would lose their jobs if they did not. At the local level, mayors and councils were terrorized by Nazi stormtroopers of the [[Sturmabteilung|SA]] and [[SS]] into resigning or following orders to replace officials and workers at local public institutions who were Jewish or belonged to other political parties.{{sfn|Evans|2003|pp=381–383}}

The ''{{lang|de|Gleichschaltung}}'' also included the formation of various organizations with compulsory membership for segments of the population, particularly the youth of Germany. Boys first served as apprentices in the {{lang|de|[[Pimpfen]]}} (cubs), beginning at the age of six, and at age ten, entered the {{lang|de|[[Deutsches Jungvolk]]}} (Young German Boys) and served there until joining the [[Hitler Youth]] proper at age fourteen. Boys remained there until age eighteen, at which time they entered into the {{lang|de|[[Arbeitsdienst]]}} (Labor Service) and the [[Wehrmacht|armed forces]].{{sfn|Benz|2007|pp=73–77}} Girls became part of the {{lang|de|[[Jungmädel]]}} (Young Maidens) at age ten and at age fourteen were enrolled in the ''{{lang|de|[[Bund Deutscher Mädel]]}}'' (League of German Maidens). At eighteen, [[League of German Girls|BDM]] members generally went to the eastern territory for their {{lang|de|Pflichtdienst}}, or {{lang|de|Landjahr}}, a year of labor on a farm. By 1940, membership in the Hitler Youth numbered some eight million.{{sfn|Stachura|1998|p=479}}