German Holidays
Christmas is considered the “most German” of German holidays. Celebrations of Christmas became incorporated into National Socialist propaganda. The KdF sponsored celebrations of Christmas and promoted a “people’s Christmas,” intended for middle-class Germans. Celebrating a National Socialist Christmas also meant participating in Nazi political culture. In “Nazifying Christmas: Political Culture and Popular Celebration in the Third Reich” Joe Perry describes how activities such as singing National Socialist Christmas Carols and baking holiday cookies in the shape of a fertility symbol were some of the ways in which German holidays and activities became nazified.
Nathalie Giller, Psychology Sophomore, Loyola Marymount University