American author and historian Doris Weatherford states that the role of the American woman in World War II, in both their numbers and their involvement, "made the margin of difference that won the war" (125). Many of the writers involved regarded their efforts as superior to governmental propaganda,[8] as they regarded their material as bolder and more responsive than governmental efforts. The tour began in Baltimore with a three-day exhibition on June 12, 1942, and finished on December 20 that year, after touring eighteen American cities. Journal of Advertising, Vol 32 No 1 Page 71, Terrence H. Witkowski "World War II Poster Campaigns: Preaching Frugality to American Consumers." Its popularity allowed it to pass over into mainstream distribution. [193], Many stories were set in the frontier era or on family farms, to emphasize traditional virtues such as hard work, innocence, piety, independence and community values. Background [ edit] By the 1930s, propaganda was being used by most of the nations that join World War II. At the request of General George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, Frank Capra created a documentary series that was used as orientation films for new recruits. This 1942 poster, titled This is the Enemy, circulated in the United States following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. [92] Indeed, some government officials found that both newspapers and radio were using uncorroborated news from Vichy France and Tokyo. [29] A comic book depicting Superman attacking the German Westwall was attacked in an issue of Das Schwarze Korps, the SS weekly newspaper, with the Jewish origin of creator Jerry Siegel given prominent attention. Working with the federal Fair Employment Practices Committee, the NAACP and CIO unions, these black women fought a "Double V" campaignagainst the Axis abroad and against restrictive hiring practices at home. [209], Conservation was the largest theme in poster propaganda, accounting for one of every seven posters during the war. [285] Songs on armed forces request programs were not about Rosie the Riveter, but of the girls who were waiting for the soldiers to return. [168], Earlier, people complained that the government was covering up the extent of the damage at Pearl Harbor, although this was partly to keep it from the Japanese. [140] This encouraged American forces to attack civilians, on the belief they would not surrender, which fed into Japanese propaganda about American atrocities. [69] At Roosevelt's urging, the film Mission to Moscow was made and depicted the purge trials as a just punishment of a Trotskyite conspiracy. [292], Home-front posters also invoked an idealized America, as in the series declaring "This is America", portraying "the family is a sacred institution," "where Main Street is bigger than Broadway," and "where a man picks his job". [28], Many superheroes were shown combating Axis spies or activities in America and elsewhere. [135] The Doolittle Raid was staged after urging from Roosevelt for a counter-attack, if only for morale reasons. WWII Propaganda: How Images of Women Made the Difference Historian D'Ann Campbell argues that the purpose of the wartime posters, propaganda, and censorship of soldiers' letters was not to foil spies but, "to clamp as tight a lid as possible on rumors that might lead to discouragement, frustration, strikes, or anything that would cut back military production. On 8 December 1941, the U.S. Army immediately moved 500 troops into Walt Disney Studios and began working with Walt Disney. [93], In 1942, the army's Bureau of Public Relations decided to produce a tour of the country to demonstrate to the public the army's capabilities. [301] On the other hand, the 1939 Greta Garbo film Ninotchka was not re-released as it ridiculed Russians. Persuasive Images by Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace. American media made much of demonstrations of anti-fascist sentiment as evidence that the Italian people were not the enemy. Either way, America's World War 2 propaganda soon took off, and special government agencies such as The Writers War Board were created to produce and distribute posters, radio advertisements, films, comic strips, and more. [146] Indeed, many Americans believed that Germany had convinced Japan to attack Pearl Harbor. The unannounced strike on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 sent a deep shock-wave through America and its people. His effort presented to the public as a device to prevent people with sensitive information from talking about it where spies or saboteurs could listen in. [244] Even product ads often contained the slogan, "Buy War Bonds and Stamps!". [316], American propaganda was circulated in occupied countries through the efforts of the underground movements. The Nazi Boycott of Jewish businesses in April 1933. [241] Teachers passed out booklets to children to allow them to save toward a bond by purchasing war bond stamps. The committee consisted of 54 people, including political, industry, and entertainment luminaries such as Irving Berlin, Katherine Cornell, Marshall Field, Edsel Ford, Helen Hayes, Henry Luce, Paul Robeson, David Sarnoff, Spyros Skouras, and Thomas J. Watson. [250], Key symbolic figures such as "Rosie the Riveter" and "Mrs. Casey Jones" appeared in posters across the country representing strong women who supported their husbands in the war effort. [200] The Office of Price Administration urged Americans in restaurants not to ask for extra butter or a refill on coffee. [207] President Roosevelt sent a letter to Boy Scout and Girl Scout groups, urging the children to support scrap drives. Anthony Rhodes, Propaganda: The art of persuasion: World War II, 1976, Chelsea House Publishers, New York, Terrence H. Witkowski "World War II Poster Campaigns: Preaching Frugality to American Consumers" Journal of Advertising, Vol 32 No 1 Page 73, Terrence H. Witkowski "World War II Poster Campaigns: Preaching Frugality to American Consumers." (Available online at, Terrence H. Witkowski "World War II Poster Campaigns: Preaching Frugality to American Consumers." [27] Even before the war, sabotage and subversion were common motifs in action-oriented strips. [57], Authors of fiction were encouraged to show their characters buying warbonds, conserving, planting victory gardens, and otherwise acting war-mindedly; characters could refrain from calling loved ones to avoid straining the phone system, or a romance would start when a man and woman carpooled. [16] Government agencies held competitions for artists to submit their designs, allowing the government to increase the number of designs that it could choose from. Among the suggestions were a detective who was "cheerful" about following a suspect without using an automobile, a woman working in a traditionally male job, the importance of the 35 miles per hour speed limit and carpooling, and good Chinese and British characters. [74], Movies were also useful in that propaganda messages could be incorporated into entertainment films. Cartoons depicted those who talked about victory but clearly were sitting around waiting for others to ensure it[183] or showed how red tape was detrimental to the war effort. Disney and the U.S. Army wanted to depict Germans as living a life that belied the wonderful promises made by Hitler. [275] In fictional romances, women in uniform won the hearts of soldiers who preferred them to women who did not support the war effort. He called himself the "American Hitler". The puppet regime of Benito Mussolini remained an object of derision and hatred, and German troops were seen as agents of oppression of the Italian people. [199] Ladies' Home Journal explained the principles behind sugar rationing, for example, sugarcane could be used to make explosives. He concluded that the French military always highlighted German . [99] Hitler, Tojo, Mussolini and their followers were the villains in American film, even in cartoons where characters, such as Bugs Bunny, would defeat them[69]a practice that began before Pearl Harbor. [101], Roosevelt proclaimed that the war against the dictatorships had to take precedence over the New Deal. [302] It also omitted all references to the pre-War MolotovRibbentrop Pact. Others carried strong messages meant to arouse public involvement or set a public mood. [214], Industry was also called on to conserve. [235] These produced more vegetables than the total commercial production, and much of it was preserved, following the slogan: "Eat what you can, and can what you can't. [276] Black newspapers created the Double V campaign to build black morale and head off radical action. [81] A military officer was actually based in Walt Disney's office. Nazi Propaganda | Holocaust Encyclopedia New York, 1998. in the Niihau incident), only awaiting the signal to commit sabotage. [287] Themes of love, loneliness and separation were given more poignancy by the war. [115], Alternate history novels depicted Nazi invasions of America to arouse support for interventionism. [7], The Writers' War Board was privately organized for the purposes of propaganda and often acted as liaison between the government and the writers. As a result, fictional plots often dealt with the need for homeowners to take in boarders and the necessity for tolerance and unity between residents and newcomers. In America during World War II, the government was a propaganda machine attempting to sway Americans to help join the war effort. In addition, numerous Irish-Catholic Americans were pro-Nazi because they were openly hostile to the British and British interests. [86] Fiction was a particularly favored venue, and was used to subtly shape attitudes. For instance, True Story toned down its Great Depression hostility to working women and featured war work favorably. Using a vast array of media, propagandists instigated hatred for the enemy and support for America's allies, urged greater public effort for war production and victory gardens, persuaded people to save some of their material so that more material . Journal of Advertising, Vol 32 No 1 Page 79, Chrisptopher C. Thomas, A Thousand Words: Themes and Trends in Home Front Posters, pages 62-84, Christopher C. Thomas. [317] Stockpiled books were shipped to France within weeks of D-Day, in order to counteract Nazi propaganda, particularly anti-American propaganda. An equal number of American and British efforts were included in these shipments. was the source of such propaganda in the U.S. [208] Cartoons ridiculed those who did not collect scrap. [191] For example, Roosevelt's fireside chat described the damage at Pearl Harbor as "serious" but he could not "give exact damage. A non-profit corporation War Shows, Inc. was created to oversee the business aspects; the ticket revenue was turned over to the Army Emergency Relief Fund. [261], The woman war worker was commonly used as a symbol of the home front, perhaps because, unlike a male figure, the question of why she was not serving in the armed forces would not be raised. [55] The film The Purple Heart dramatized their story, with an airman giving a concluding speech that he now knew that he had understood the Japanese less than he had thought, and that they did not understand Americans if they thought this would frighten them. [248] Propaganda was also directed at husbands, many of whom were unwilling to have their wives working. [257] Books and magazines addressed women with the need for their labor. It wouldn't be until the surprise attacks on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 that the United States would be thrust into World War II. "Rosie the Riveter" and many other wartime propaganda posters remain relevant 75 years later. By: Evan Andrews Updated: August 29, 2018 | Original: August 13,. Many productions were musicals, comedies, melodramas or westerns. [194], The Office of Civil Defense was created to inform Americans what to do in case of enemy attack. "[52] While audience participation and man-on-the-street programs were immensely popular, broadcasters realized there was no way to prevent enemy agents from being selected, and these were discontinued. Many actors such as Peter Lorre, Conrad Veidt, Martin Kosleck, Philip Ahn and Sen Yung specialized in playing Axis spies, traitors and soldiers. [311] Divide and Conquer depicts German conquests in Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands and France. Posters rarely used images of war casualties, and even battlefield scenes became less popular, and were replaced by commercial images to satisfy the "consumer" need for the war. [82] Troops became familiar with Private Snafu and Lance Corporal Schmuckatelli. [103] The government rarely intervened in such debates, only occasionally suggesting lines for art to take. Princeton Architectural Press. Inger L. Stole, Advertising at War: Business, Consumers, and Government in the 1940s (University of Illinois Press; 2012), Clayton Laurie, The Propaganda Warriors (University of Kansas Press), Allan Winkler, The Politics of Propaganda: Office of War Information, 1942-1945. The government issued a Magazine War Guide which included tips for supporting the war effort. "[152][153] This was a major topic endorsed by the Office of War Information. American propaganda during World War II - Wikipedia [86] General Mills distributed a Betty Crocker "cookbooklet" with wartime recipes. [232], The government encouraged people to plant vegetable gardens to help prevent food shortages. One method used in this campaign was an attempt to remove the commonly held view that the German people and the Nazi party were separate entities. [195] Within a day of the attack of Pearl Harbor, it produced pamphlets describing what to do in event of an air raid. [13] Smaller posters were printed for the windows of private homes and apartment buildings. "The propaganda was run by an old newspaperman," Paul Fussell, a WWII veteran and author of the memoir Doing Battlesaid. Sara Harrington. [266] Stories showed that war work could redeem a woman with a sordid past. World War II Propaganda | Can American citizens' thoughts be controlled? [56], And some topics were considered off limits. The Power of Propaganda in World War II Published: August 29, 2018 In a world before social media and the internet, how did the United States encourage and promote American citizens in the 1930s and 1940s to contribute to the war effort? [296] Frank Capra's film The Battle of Britain (1943), in the Why We Fight series, depicted the RAF's fight against Germany. 1 of 20 Posters in both nations urged citizens to conserve energy, water, and other resources. [79], In 1933 William Dudley Pelley took a dissenting course. [70] Capra designed the series to illustrate the enormous danger of Axis conquest and the corresponding justness of the Allies. Enrolling in payroll deduction plans to buy war bonds was also urged through the media. [211] Butcher shops and markets handed out bulletins that urged the conservation of waste fat, which could be brought back to the butcher. [16] However, individuals purchased $36 billion in bonds, with children accounting for close to $1 billion. Racial tensions were high in overcrowded cities like Chicago; Detroit and Harlem experienced race riots in 1943. [154] Other slogans used for this type of poster were loose talk costs lives, "loose lips sink ships", Another careless word, another wooden cross, and bits of careless talk are pieced together by the enemy. The war happened in the time of an important national conflict: racial segregation. [196] It also promoted civilian morale, and its emblems helped remind people that the war was continuing. [252] Women were the primary figures of the home front, which was a major theme in the poster propaganda media,[253] and, as the war continued, women began appearing more frequently in war posters. [1] The National WWII Museum strives to help teachers explore the history and lessons of World War II with their students. It was a failure.[68]. The Government launched an aggressive propaganda campaign with clearly articulated goals and strategies to galvanize public support, and it recruited some of the nation's foremost intellectuals, artists, and filmmakers to wage the war on that front. However, the capture of Saipan not only shocked the Japanese because it was considered invincible, but allowed Americans to use medium-wave radio to reach the Japanese islands. The most elaborate training film produced, Stop That Tank!, was commissioned by the Canadian Directorate of Military Training and created by Walt Disney Studios. [90], Newspapers were told that government press releases would be true, and to give no aid and comfort to the enemybut this latter was not to be considered a prohibition on releasing bad news. [17], The war posters were not designed by the government, but by artists who received no compensation for their work. [9] However, the writers both responded to official requests and initiated their own campaigns. [309] However, this was not officially addressed, and American propaganda did not confront the problem of prejudice based on color. [179], When The Battle of San Pietro showed dead GIs wrapped in mattress covers, some officers tried to prevent troopers in training from seeing it, for fear of morale; General Marshall overrode them, to ensure that the soldiers took their training seriously. [240], The War Advertising Board did its best to convince people that buying bonds was a patriotic act, giving buyers a stake in the war. [110] The U.S. War Department supported the syndication of Bill Mauldin's cartoons because Mauldin was making the war appear bitter and onerous, showing that the victory would not be easy. [95], The task force assembled nearly 700 soldiers at Fort Meade in early 1942 to prepare. [222] Cartoons depicted labor unrest as pleasing Hitler and racial discrimination as preventing the accomplishment of essential work. [22] Coca-Cola, as did many other soft drink manufacturers, depicted its product being drunk by defense workers and members of the armed forces. [283] Betty Grable characterized it as women giving soldiers something to fight for,[284] but one soldier wrote to her saying that her pin-up photographs told them, in the midst of fighting, what they were fighting for. The Japanese had a good idea of the damage they inflicted, so only Americans were kept ignorant. These included Hollywood movie studios, radio stations and printing presses. [8], War bond rallies and drives were common, and were staged at many social events. [26], Comic strips, such as Little Orphan Annie and Terry and the Pirates, introduced war themes into their stories. [30], In 1944, after being praised by Ernie Pyle, Bill Mauldin's cartoons were syndicated in the United States. [215], Even prior to Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt called on the United States to be the arsenal of democracy in support of other countries at war with Fascism. Comic book propaganda: America used comics throughout the mid-20th How the US Government Used Propaganda to Sell Americans on - HISTORY Inside America's Shocking WWII Propaganda Machine U.S. forgers distorted Hitler's image on stamps like this one, which mimicked a real German stamp of Hitler.

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