【Book Review】Show the preparation process to get the masses excited. "Hitler's Art of Mass Agitation" (Sung-Joon Heo/Saizu-sha)

In a nutshell

1. From a great statesman to a dictator. I wanted to learn about Hitler's madness.
2. The basics of mass agitation are to create enthusiasm, stir up emotions, and make people believe blindly.
3. He thoroughly staged Hitler's appearance, teasing the masses and driving them into a frenzy.

The unfathomable charm in Hitler's madness

There are still people who leave a strong impression. Steve Jobs and Adolf Hitler.

Every year when the new iPhone is released, people always say things like, "If Jobs were alive, this design would never have happened."

When looking back on the history of the 20th century, the person that everyone touches upon is undoubtedly Hitler.

"Hitler's Art of Mass Agitation" (Sung-Joon Heo/Saizu-sha) is a book that focuses on Hitler's agitation techniques and describes his life and strategies in detail.

Hitler's speeches, which drove the masses into a frenzy, are unforgettable once you hear them. I don't understand German. I have no idea what he's saying, but I can tell at a glance that he was a charismatic figure of his time.

In fact, Hitler's directing techniques were later used in movies such as The Lord of the Rings, and they drove the masses into a frenzy.

The basics of mass agitation are to create enthusiasm, stir up emotions, and make people believe blindly.

The Nazi propaganda principles, thus perfected, can be summarized as follows:
1. Excite the masses. Do not leave them calm.
2. Admit no mistakes or failures.
3. Accept no criticism.
4. Leave no room for alternatives.
5. Do not admit that the enemy has any good qualities.
6. When blaming the enemy, concentrate on only one enemy at a time.
Hitler himself thoroughly followed these principles.

This is a typical brainwashing technique, but it was Hitler who faithfully carried it out. Hitler adopted a distinctive style with a "toothbrush mustache," and after World War I, he targeted the wealthy Jews of the time, delivered speeches with excessive anger to the exhausted German people, and drove the masses into a frenzy, excited them, and made them believe blindly.

It is said that Hitler never missed a day of practicing his speeches for 2-3 hours. He used a three-way mirror that showed his whole body, had a photographer take pictures of scenes from his speeches, and continued to study how he appeared. Every day, every day.

Another factor that further enhanced Hitler's charisma was that he never revealed his private life. He basically lived in a villa in the foothills of the mountains (the Kehlsteinhaus @ Berchtesgaden), where he gathered his close associates and devised various Nazi strategies.

The fact that his private life was never revealed also contributed to his charisma. In fact, it is said that the area around Berchtesgaden was congested with the cars of Germans who came to catch a glimpse of Hitler.

An hour until Hitler appears. The meticulousness of the production

He used a rather unique method for a political rally, gradually building up the atmosphere before his speech began. This is very similar to the development method used in today's spectacle movies. In war movies, a story development is often used in which the tension is raised by showing the process of preparing for battle before entering the full-scale war scene of the climax. This technique is called build-up, and it is a technique that Peter Jackson, the director of the movie "The Lord of the Rings," also considered very important.

Hitler often used the build-up technique of gradually raising the atmosphere when he appeared on the podium. The numerous Nazi flags raised high, the solemn marches, the choruses, the chants, the cries of "Heil" repeated like a religious ritual. They were all a process of creating a mystical atmosphere to raise expectations for the speech of the "great Führer."

Hitler excessively produced his own speeches. Speeches were always at dusk. As it got dark, operas, marches, and choruses were performed. Eventually, a chant would arise from somewhere in the crowd, and the crowd would wait for his appearance, chanting "Heil Hitler." It would take 1-2 hours for Hitler to appear.

The ingenuity of raising the atmosphere and the simple chant "Heil Hitler" make the masses lose their sound reason. In modern times, a similar atmosphere is present at outdoor live music festivals.

I believe that this mechanism of showing the preparation process to get users excited is very similar to the mechanism of a lean startup's teaser site to beta version to product release. Even if a service suddenly appears, there is a temperature difference with the user. Instead, by showing the process openly, when the service is finally completed, the user will be enthusiastic.

Another modern application would be crowdfunding. The secret to a successful crowdfunding campaign, I heard from someone who succeeded, is "how to make the crowdfunding itself look exciting." They thoroughly use social media and release information, and spend time and effort to make people feel attached to the same product or service.

I am in the middle of preparing to launch a new service (as many of you probably know). I will learn from Hitler's production methods and do my best to make users enthusiastic about my service.

Aside (Recommended Book)

A recommended design book. It's packed with design tips that you can use forever. I use it often myself.