NEW: Noelle-Neumann threatens legal action to bar publication of captured Nazi records concerning her opinions and activities in Hitler-era Germany.
 

Click here for a directory of documents concerning Elisabeth Noelle, 1935-1945.

Click here for a Journal of Communication citation and order form for "Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann's 'Spiral of Silence' and the Historical Context of Communication Theory," by Christopher Simpson.

Click here for links to Noelle's denunciation of her critics.

Click here to send comments about these pages or this controversy.
 
 
 
 

Academic discussion of Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann's claims about public opinion and the news media often have been distorted by Ms. Noelle's attempts to evade or downplay basic facts about her activities and writings during the Hitler years. Several of Noelle's most prominent protoges have adopted the same practice. I created this WWW page in order to place documents on these matters on the public record.

In order to ensure authenticity, the documents reproduced here have been scanned as .gifs rather than re-typed. In some instances, the originals are captured Nazi records or have been drawn from damaged microfilm copies of original documents, and are thus difficult to read. For best viewing, set the preferences on your web browser to read documents that are 600 pixels or more across. The documents reproduced here are not copyrighted, except for Noelle's article, "A Nazi Version", which is reprinted with permission from the Columbia Missourian.
 
 

Christopher Simpson
School of Communication
American University
Washington DC 20016-8017 USA

July, 1997.

Click here for information on books by Christopher Simpson.