Comparison of Media Propaganda Used During the Two World Wars

Propaganda is information that is biased and used to promote a particular cause or point of view. Propaganda was used through movies, radios, news channels, posters, and movies. Propaganda was very important during this time because without it, people won’t join the army and the country will be at risk. Everywhere people looked there was propaganda. Propaganda influenced many people to serve During World War Two. In A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, he shows how the students in there school were easily persuaded to enlist in the war. The three main ways that propaganda was used to persuade individuals to enlist in the war are posters, films, and media.

One of the first known uses of war propaganda was by Alexander the Great. After retreating in a battle, Alexander the Great realized that showing his weaknesses would allow his opponents to win. He overcame this problem by using propaganda to scare the enemy army. Alexander came up with an idea to make oversized armor and helmets. Alexander intended that the opposing army would be scared of the mass size of his soldiers, and not scare his army because the oversized armor made Alexander’s army look like giants. Another war that propaganda was immensely involved in was World War II. “During World War II, Propaganda was a driving force that kept the battles heated and each nation’s population united for a common cause.” During World War II, Germany was for Hitler, and America was for anyone but Germany and their allies

During World War II propaganda was ubiquitous. It consisted of a wide range of carriers including leaflets, radio, television, and most importantly posters. Posters were used based on their appeal: they were colorful, creative, concise, and mentally stimulating. Posters often portrayed the artist's views on the war. They demonstrated the artist concern for the war, their hopes for the war, and reflected the way enemies were envisioned. Posters also show a nations political status: they reflect a nations allies and enemies, how the nation saw itself, and its greatest hopes and fears of the war.

During World War II, propaganda was used for a number of reasons, it not only showed how anyond could be of use to the war efforts, but it also showed that every person could contribute as well. These posters empowered everyone to stand behind their nation's Army, and to continue contributing to the war efforts. The posters showed that everyone is needed, that anyone could make a difference, and some even emphasized certain values to those who are already helping with the war effort.

Such propaganda included posters asking people to “Wake up America! Civilisation calls every man, woman and child!” A British poster that emphasises the involvement of the total population in the war effort shows different kinds of people engaging in war responsibilities – men at battle, women in the workforce making uniforms, men making weapons – and it asks “Are YOU in this?” This kind of all-embracing propaganda had the aim to brainwash whole nations. The combination of the public’s thirst for information about the war and various governments’ urgent need to mobilise entire civilian populations for the war effort led to a moulding of the public’s thinking through the printed word. In Germany, for example, the military had the right to censor the press and any information that could distress the people was suppressed, while unfavourable news about a situation on the front was passed over silence, delayed or toned down. This was the same in Britain and France. The First World War was total because propaganda and censored news were used as weapons that could reach whole populations and intervene into everyday lives. Even though not all people were physically involved in battle, even children could look at a newspaper or propaganda poster and feel the impact of war through words that evoke fear, sadness, anger or give the urge to join the army.

Another way this propaganda was very useful was that it targeted specific groups of people such as African Americans. An example of this type of propaganda can be seen in the poster “Colored Man Is No Slacker”. This photo depicts an African American man, and an African American woman holding each other as the man goes off to war. (Pg. 143) As an African American seeing this poster hanging around the town, it would make them consider that if they go out to war people would not think of them as loafers and they would be behind their country. This poster was very successful in brining African Americans into the war effort. Without posters like these, many African Americans would have not volunteered their services to the war, which is why propaganda during World War 1 was so effective.

World War II is one of many, most horrific and crucial events in world history and one of the most important events in the 20th century. Leonard and John (2007) define propaganda as “notions, facts, or accusations that are spread purposely with the objective of furthering one’s cause or damaging an opponent’s cause”. (7) They used media and propaganda in order to increase support for their side of the war. An immense feeling of patriotism was building up, and the nations used all the resources at their disposal to get their nations ahead of the race regardless of how humiliating and misleading the allegations were. Throughout World War II, propaganda was used to maintain the heat in fights and create unity among the citizens of a nation to achieve a single cause. People receive information on a daily basis since the beginning of the war and the parties of the confrontation. United States of America used propaganda for the creation of massive advertisements in the course of the war that could be interpreted as degrading to rival forces (Cogan, Brian & Tony, 53). Propaganda and information were distributed through numerous sources—radio, films, books and newspapers. The major aim was to impose on people the way of thinking and acting, both consciously and subconsciously (Rhodes 5). Though news sources attempted to be objective, there has always been ways to influence the way in which people interpret information.

There was propaganda produced to deliver these exact messages during the war in every country, however some good examples of this can be seen in the Propaganda Lecture Slides that were presented to us. One poster depicted a German soldier nonchalantly stabbing a baby with his bayonet. While another displayed God descending from heaven to care for what appears to be a wounded soldier. There were also posters used to enforce peer pressure, which can be seen in a poster with some children asking their father, “Daddy what did YOU do during the war?” These posters were effective, and unexpectedly powerful due to the unprecedented use of industrialized media (Lecture). Concludingly, recent media innovations allowed for mass production of the written word and higher literacy rates led to an even greater impact for propaganda. This could also be seen with prominent writers such as Arthur Conan Doyle, H.G. Wells, and others who were a part of the British War Propaganda Bureau, otherwise known as Wellington House (Lecture).

Propaganda, though not the most effective war time strategy, allows people to come together as one to contribute to the success of the country as a whole. However with this idea, there is also the idea that they are not whole truths being told by governments within countries. Propaganda is a form of a lie seen in both North Korea in the book Escape from Camp 14, and in one of the world’s darkest times, World War II; the world allows these lies to surface due to the fact that they do no outwardly hurt another race.

The posters were used to symbolize the will of the government to obtain assistance for the war by molding the public view. Propaganda is a method of communication that normally avoids the intellect and motivates a target group by appealing to their emotions. The posters produced for the home front throughout World War II were created to drive citizens and generate a feeling of patriotism that would transform the United States into an invincible war engine. These posters requested everyone to be a member of the war effort, not by simply taking a gun into action, but in numerous different influential ways. Methods like working in factories, purchasing war bonds, using less so

what techniques used in world war II propaganda? well first we need to establish what is a propaganda? a Propaganda is information provided to promote a specific cause. that can be done in many ways. The information can be completely true or it can be an embellishment. Creators of propaganda tend to select information carefully, avoiding anything that does not promote their cause. propaganda was used to increase support for the war and commitment to an Allied victory.

The government created special divisions that would be in charge of the creation and distribution of propaganda. The first of such special divisions was the Committee on Public Information, which was instituted by President Wilson towards the very beginning of World War I, and headed by Wilson’s friend George Creel, who was known for being a scandal-seeking journalist. The Committee on Public Information sent pro-war messages to almost every media source in existence. It even enlisted the help of 75,000 volunteers known as the “Four-Minute Men.” These men spoke about a wide range of topics. They lectured, and encouraged other organizations, such as Red Cross and the Boy Scouts of America, to help spread the word and raise more money for the war. One example of a Red Cross campaign poster slogan is “Help Them to Carry Their Cross: Join Now American Red Cross.” The poster depicts Jesus on a red cross, an army nurse, and a soldier preparing to go into battle. It is encouraging people to join by making them feel like helping the soldiers who are fighting for America is similar to helping Jesus when he was suffering on the cross to save and protect all people. The Boy Scouts of America helped raise money by selling stamps. The slogan of

During World War II, the use of propaganda was commonly used to get a point across or to encourage the citizens to do the “right thing.” An example of this is photograph 4 stating to “BUY WAR BONDS.” To win a war, it cost billions of money so this photo encourages the citizens to buy war bonds to contribute to the war. The photo also states “Keep him flying.” Those words state the reason why citizens would buy war bonds and if they bought some what the government would accomplish with

Throughout the Nazis’ reign they employed many different types of propaganda to lure the public to their views and ideals. Propaganda lurked in even the most innocent of places waiting to entrap the unsuspecting mind and often targeting the young men of Germany. The Nazis use of propaganda was meant to appeal to the public through a sense of nationalism and fear of enemy nations. The propaganda was tailored to the public preexisting opinions and prejudices. These aspects along with the Nazis opportunistic style of propaganda made for a dangerous trap that threatened to ensnare all of Germany. The Nazis used opportunistic propaganda to convince a nation to follow in their ideals and actions.

Wartime relations can cause a country to get down as we saw in the United States during Vietnam to a point where a large portion of the public doesn’t support the war. One of the ways countries, like the United States, curb this is by creating propaganda. In World War II, the United States used the propaganda to get the public behind the war effort and to unite the country. This propaganda included posters to advertise,