Joseph Goebbels and other propagandists depicted the "Volkssturm" as an outburst of enthusiasm and the will to resist. Historian Daniel Blatman writes that the "Volkssturm" was portrayed as the "incarnation" of the greater "Volksgemeinschaft", whereby "all differences in social status, origin, or age and unite all people on the basis of race. It was the service framework for members of the local community, who had been raised together and lived side by side, and now bore arms together in order to defend the community." In some regards, the "Volkssturm" was the culmination of Goebbels' "total war" speech of February 1943 and its formation was "given a big build-up" in the November 1944 newsreel episode of "Die Deutsche Wochenschau". Consistent messages of final victory from various Nazi media outlets accompanying the "Volkssturm's" creation provided a psychological rallying point for the civilian population. While it had some marginal effect on morale, it was undermined by the recruits' visible lack of uniforms and weaponry. Nazi themes of death, transcendence, and commemoration were given full play to encourage the fight. Many German civilians realized that this was a desperate attempt to turn the course of the war. Sardonic old men would remark, "We old monkeys are the Führer’s newest weapon" (in German this rhymes: ""Wir alten Affen sind des Führers neue Waffen""). A popular joke about the "Volkssturm" went "Why is the "Volkssturm" Germany's most precious resource? Because its members have silver in their hair, gold in their mouths, and lead in their bones."