Goebbels vs. Hirohito

       Hirohito and Goebbels both give speeches to attempt to lighten the mood and conceal the truth of their losses while trying to maintain unity and loyalty among the citizens of their countries, even through the times of sacrifice and hardships they have to face, explaining the sacrifices the citizens need to make to maintain unity and loyalty. Although Hirohito and Goebbels goal is to attempt this retention of loyalty, and advise the times of sacrifice, each man has his own different position to take on the issue.

       Hirohito and Goebbels both give speeches to their countries after suffering a great loss. In both speeches,they make it so that the losses were not as bad as they seemed. Both speakers'main goal is to conceal the true weight of their losses,keeping the citizens unified and loyal, not questioning anything. Hirohito tries not to alert citizens of the fact that Japan had to surrender. He does not want to make Japan seem weak, to make it seem as if Japan fell while in his responsibility. Hirohito says “…the war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan’s advantage," when the truth is that Japan had to surrender, which he conceals to keep the people loyal . Goebbels also used a similar method when he calls the great losses at Stalingrad merely "blows and misfortunes," as if they did not cause any harm to the nation.


       Both Hirohito and Goebbels also explain the hardships their respective country will face in the near future. They explain that although they will go through sacrifice and times of hardship, it will help strengthen their nations that is constantly receiving blows. Goebbels says that the people must give up their living standards to increase war efforts, while Hirohito says that japan has to endure the ultimate suffering; that of having to surrender, to make way for peace in the world.

       Although Hirohito and Goebbels' goals are to maintain loyalty, and to alert the people of the sacrifices that need to be made, their positions are different. Goebbels is rallying the citizens of his country. He wants to call the nation to action in the war. While maintaining loyalty, he wants the people to start making sacrifices of their own to help with war efforts, that will in turn benefit the country. Hirohito, on the other hand, has a more moral approach. He does not want to rally his people for war , because the fight has already been lost, but he wants to calm the people down, and assure them that although Japan had to surrender, which isn't such a big deal, the country is paving the way for a more peaceful world, and that what they did is noble. He wants to make the citizens assured that what they did helped the whole world, and helped themselves to become better people for the ultimate sacrifice they made of surrendering, and keep them unified, loyal, and spirits lifted.