Even more important than direct speaker training is training the whole party membership for personal propaganda.
Many directives along these lines have been given, but very little has been done. Marxism, however, recognized the value of such propaganda, and did it. That was one of its main strengths. Each party member must be able to hold his own in conversations with opponents on the job, in the back yard, at home, and in business. Each individual cell leader must follow a system in his work.
That is not easy to accomplish, but it is absolutely necessary. The idea of our Führer, which is an expression of the German soul, lives in the heart and blood of each National Socialist. However, this idea slumbers in the soul of many (even National Socialists), overpowered by the waste products of the past decades. The result is that he cannot express the idea in his heart with persuasive force. The propaganda leader’s duty is show the man at the front how to clear away the slagheap of the past and find ways to express his feelings and wants, how to express his great ideas. One cannot demand that the ordinary person read Hitler’s Mein Kampf and speak about it. That would be too much for him.
Mein Kampf is the bible of National Socialism.
One does not read the Bible in one sitting.
Oral instruction is better for most people than reading books. Reading will follow if one is introduced to the right material. Reading material is more easily understood when the reader has had it explained to him in advance.
Therefore, it is necessary to bring together at the county level, or several counties together, party members from various occupations who are capable of listening, of mastering the material, and of passing it on. These party comrades will come together in a central place for an evening, or perhaps on a Saturday and Sunday. And not only once, but rather often (about 4-5 times in weekly or bi-weekly sessions), with a 4-5 week break, followed by more sessions of the same type. Party members will then use what they learned in their local group, and in discussion evenings for party members and guests brought by those members. They will speak not only at discussion evenings, but rather will train people in their county and local groups so that they will be able to conduct personal propaganda on the job and with their acquaintances.
What will these courses cover? What will the curriculum be?
First, they have to learn to think psychologically, in a short, crisp, clear speech. They must understand the condition and nature of the German people’s soul under the current situation. They must be taught not only what to say, but how to say it.
This will be followed by discussing individual topics, such as economics, town policy, state policy, job creation, or whatever else is necessary. The talk must not be too long, and must have a clear organization that can best be handed out to participants on paper. It must be expressed in a clear, disciplined manner that does not hopelessly confuse people, but rather deepens their understanding. That will lead to a good conclusion of the talk. It is a very good idea to ask the individual participants to write down questions about the topic beforehand, which they will know in advance. The speaker will then know what things are particularly unclear, and will therefore adjust his talk knowing which points need to be clearer and more comprehensive, which things may be evident to him (as an expert), but not as comprehensible by the masses as he may have thought. These written questions can also be dealt with during the breaks, or dealt with orally at some point.
Such expert talks should also provide reading material, but not in the form of dry books. Copies of the reading material should be available for display. In each case, the speaker should point out what is particularly valuable and worthwhile in each book or pamphlet, and what is of less value.
These courses should include oral training on how to organize and carry out personal propaganda (particularly for the local group leader and the local group propaganda leader). They must be told how to organize sections and cells (down to the block level), and how to carry on systematic, useful work. This material cannot simply exist on paper, otherwise it will be more a burden than an advantage for the movement.
In this regard, it is absolutely necessary that exact training be provided for all community council members so that they are not confused by government measures.
Everyone must be able to hold his own in local political matters. A local representative known to be unfamiliar with such matters will not have the necessary confidence of the voters, whereas he who gives the impression of a man who is confident, who knows what he is talking about and what he wants to do, will certainly win the confidence of the masses.
