HAROLD D. LASSWELL'S ANALYSIS OF HITLER'S SPEECHES

Abstract

The War-Time Communications Project (WTCP), conducted during the Second World War, was a major event in the evolution of communication science. A prominent place in it was occupied by Professor Harold D. Lasswell's study on Hitler's speeches, in which the ‘speech model’ was examined in reference to its vocal components and non-verbal communication elements – in terms of ‘how spoken’, rather than of ‘what said’, with an emphasis on audience feedback. This approach formed part of Lasswell's innovative idea: quantification of the word domain. The study was of one of a series of content analysis research works undertaken at the Library of Congress at that time, part of an attempt at ‘keeping an eye’ on world peace. The present article, the first exposition of Lasswell's opus, highlights one of his central concepts – linguistic transformation.

Keywords:

• Harold D. Lasswell
• Hitler speeches
• non-verbal communication
• propaganda

Notes

1. On Harold D. Lasswell, see Muth, Finley and Muth 1–13; B.L. Smith 41–105; McDougall; Rogers 204–209; Klemperer 19.

2. On content analysis, see Krippendorff; Carney; Bittner 443.

3. On Lasswell as the founder of content analysis, see Franzosi 33; Carney 28; Pool Trends 2–3; Rogers 210; George; Krippendorff 16–18.

4. Lasswell, ‘Public Opinion and the Emergency’, 1 Dec. 1939, 11. This memorandum and correspondence between Lasswell and his collaborators can be found in the Harold D. Lasswell Archive at the Yale University Sterling Memorial Library, Manuscripts and Archives. Manuscript group 1043, Harold Dwight Lasswell Papers: General files, 1920–78; Topical files, 1930–70.

5. On current trends in content analysis, see Roberts; Franzosi; Neuendorf.

6. Joseph Goldsen to Paul Lewis, ‘Some Observations and Recommendations Based on Reliability, Consistency, and Sampling Test’, 24 Oct. 1941; Harris to Harold D. Lasswell, ‘The Code Procedure in Case Studies’, 27 Oct. 1941; Abraham Kaplan, ‘Provisional Glossary of Some Terms in the Theory of Signs Relevant to Content Analysis’, 3 July 1942; Janis, Fadner and Janowitz.

7. Harold D. Lasswell, ‘Content Analysis’, 23 Feb. 1942; Joseph Goldsen to Paul Lewis, ‘Some Observations and Recommendations Based on Reliability, Consistency, and Sampling Test’, 24 Oct. 1941.

8. On Hitler's public image, see Kershaw; Welch Nazi Propaganda; Carr; Stern; Zeman.

9. This point of view linked Lasswell to the forefathers of computer science: Alan Turing, inventor of the Universal Machine, Norbert Wiener, creator of cybernetics, and John von Neumann, creator of game theory.

10. Lasswell to David H. Stevens and John Marshall, ‘Research on Hitler's Speeches’, 9 Feb. 1942.

11. Lasswell to David H. Stevens and John Marshall, ‘Research on Hitler's Speeches’, 9 Feb. 1942.

12. Lasswell to his parents, 9 Aug. 1923.

13. On the University of Chicago and its effect on Lasswell, see B.L. Smith 42; Muth, Finley and Muth 1–13; Rogers 137–209; Rosten 6; McDougall 6; Rogow 125; D. Smith 14–30; Bulmer 8–15.

14. George Herzog to Lasswell, 29 July 1945.

15. Herzog to Lasswell, ‘Report on Voice Patterns and Performance in A. Hitler's Political Speeches’, 29 July 1945.

16. On the characteristics of the German masses, see Colm; Lederer 123.

17. Neumann 131. On propaganda and political applications in post-First World War Germany, see Sultan.

18. On Nazi propaganda, see Welch Nazi Propaganda; Baird; Taylor 208–49; Rotter 156–68; Balfour 103–24; Zeman.

19. Lasswell to Local Board No. 35, ‘Selective Service System, Professor George Herzog’, 28 Jan. 1942.

20. George Herzog, ‘Report on Voice Patterns and Performance in A. Hitler's Political Speeches’, July 1945, 7.

21. Neil Postman described a device called ‘Hagoth’ which measured tension in the human voice. He doubted its practicality, as its verdicts were unequivocal ‘truth’ or ‘falsehood’, while human nature was too complex for strict mathematical evaluation. In WTCP, a more realistic attitude was adopted; the conclusions from the tables were relegated to a ‘flesh-and-blood’ analyst. In any case, quantification of the world of human feelings is bound to remain problematic. See Postman 94.

22. Herzog to Lasswell, 25 Aug. 1942.

23. Herzog to Lasswell, 25 Aug. 1942.

24. Herzog to Lasswell, 30 Aug. 1942.

25. Herzog to Lasswell, 16 Sept. 1943.

26. Herzog to Lasswell, 16 Sept. 1943.

27. Herzog to Joseph Goldsen, 27 Jan. 1944.

28. Herzog to Lasswell, 16 Sept. 1943.

29. Herzog to Lasswell, 29 July 1945.

30. Herzog, ‘Plan for a Book on Voice Patterns and Performance in Hitler's Political Speeches’, 29 July 1945.

31. Lasswell to Luther Evans, 21 May 1947; Evans to Lasswell, 7 Aug. 1947.