2nd World War Propaganda Posters, Essay Example

Nature and purpose of 2^nd World War propaganda posters used in the US

There were reasons as to why the United States of America desisted from involving itself with the 2^nd World War. One, the country had sustained very heavy losses in the WW I and two, the country had just come improved from economic crisis which meant most Americans wanted to remain at home to rebuild themselves, and definitely not to engage in another war. 2^nd World War originated from Europe and liked to France invasion. The Americans however did not see any reason why they should be involved somebody else’s battles. But the American government later recognized why it was necessary for its army to participate in the war (Winkler, 1978).  This lead to the government initiating propaganda for war using various method and modes, such as posters, radios, films, etc.

It was not however; until the war reached Pearl Harbor that the American propagandists discovered that the American involvement was inevitable. Thus they tried to influence general public using such methods as campaign posters about the imminence of war. Additionally, it became imperative to start taking measures to increase production as well as promote preservation of the materials to be utilized in war (Moss, 1978).  This was necessary because the only advantage the Allies had was their tremendous production power. Thus as the war steadily progressed, America heightened the atmosphere for war propaganda, making use of visual media, the radio as well as the posters.

For instance, the picture indicated here which is typical of early war poster, was meant to influence viewers; that is American citizens about the threats posed by Nazi people were closer than most of them thought. The message to the viewers is to convince them towards taking appropriate actions of offering protection to children through assisting them out of the destiny which was forthcoming from Nazis people. The viewer is therefore urged to purchase some bonds in order to contribute to the war efforts. The U.S. government having recently survived from war lacked sufficient funds to facilitate their success for war with regard to multiple fronts. Such posters remained necessary as long as financial support from bonds of war remained to be a necessity. The U.S. government continued with such campaigns until it became quite clear that it had eliminated threats from Nazi. However, they eventually tapered off with termination of the war.

Different posters were being used for different types of propaganda campaigns. For instance, a poster such as the one shown here was used to give the scary message of the death of a victim after somebody uttered some words.  Such posters were meant to spread the propaganda the spies of the attackers were distributed everywhere, using words of analogous poster, “loose lips are likely to sink ships.” The popular believe was that in spite of the fact that spies did not pose a enormous threat to the U.S. citizens during the second world war, even with insignificant information would facilitate for the victory of the Germans. Posters with such propaganda also served as vehicles highlight war reality in the face of American citizens as perceived by their government (Price, 1942).  Posters of this nature became very effective in persuading the viewers to become conscious that spies were all over and posed significant danger to their lives. They also came into terms with the possible fact that individuals, just as the message depicted by the poster, faced dire consequences of death, and it clearly became evident war was a reality in the globe and American citizens were exposed to threats. Looking at the poster, the imagery and the color used appears scary. They became very effective tools of sending warning to the recipients about their lighthearted communication and give an indication of the real proximity in as far as the war was concerned.

For the American and its Allies the trick to winning the 2^nd World War was hidden in the increase in production and availability of labor. This led the American propagandist to embark on circulation of many posters which were called for a high level of labor along with production together with materials sustenance to aid in the wart such as the one the left hand side. Having just come out of the war in which they suffered heavy losses, the America’s military force was particularly weak. Also, the economy was coming out of the depression. However, it was imperative to rapidly produce majority planes in addition to tanks needed for conflict to the Germany as well as Japan. The Americans were also aware that the excellence of American tanks in addition to their weapons was inferior relative to the ones on the Germany side. Thus it could only count on numerical potency in which was fundamental to victory. On the contrary, the Axis states were ready for similar occurrence overtime even prior before the war outbreak. This therefore required a different type of propaganda which was to be sustained through out the war. Thus such posters as the one were tremendously widespread in the period of the war and almost certainly contributed to the greater part of wartime propaganda in the context of American.

The government through its propaganda machine introduced the concept of sharing. It uses such posters as shown on the left side below. The government was aware about the scarcity of materials along with supplies thus management was given priority during propaganda. Conservation of gasoline through car-sharing was to save Gasoline to be used especially, in fueling tanks in addition to aircraft. The message the poster was sending across to the viewers was that wastage was the same thing as aiding the enemy. These posters often mentioned Hitler by his name in place of addressing Nazis or even the Reich, due to the fact that propaganda was intended at personification of evil associated with Nazis in as far as Hitler was concerned. Fascinatingly, this is an opposite case of the happenings in Germany, in which case where Hitler personified the whole lot positive concerning Reich. Hitler’s image was stereotypically shown on the poster in uniform having an embellished moustache in addition to iron cross (Crawford, 1979).  The American was depicted as unaware that was offering help to the enemy. This seemed to mean the people who drive unaccompanied are likewise uninformed. Posters of this type were exceptionally common after the entry of Americas in to the war.

There were some posters that were less common such the one shown on the right. The purpose of posters was to inform the female the importance of war to their nation to assist in achieving more of their rights. The propaganda was s part of a continuous campaign to persuade more women to join not only the forces but also wartime production industries. The war took longer than was expected which meant that supplementary personnel from the forces in addition to laborers were essential. Women were persuaded to offer themselves for available vacancies in an attempt moving ahead the feminism cause.

References

Moss, M. E., (1978). Posters for Victory: The American Homefront & W W II., U.S. Military Academy: West Point

Crawford, A. R., (1979). Posters of W W I & W W II. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press.

Price, M., (1942). “War Posters that Get Action.” American Artist, 68-11.

Winkler, A.M. (1978). The Politics of Propaganda. New Haven: Yale University Press,