War Propaganda During World War II, Essay Example

Abstract

This chapter considers the use of propaganda during the war II. Propaganda is a notion, a circumstantial message, which is distributed to a large audience. Its nomenclature, depends on the cause of hire, and essentially speaks a dialect to influence and interpret the cause of for what is being used. It is often used for the purpose of promotion of a thought or concept. According to Adolf Hitler, “All propaganda has to be popular and has to accommodate itself to the comprehension of the least intelligent of those whom it seeks to reach.” He further goes to say, “By the skillful and sustained use of propaganda, one can make a people see even heaven as hell or an extremely wretched life as paradise.”

World War II, or the Second World War was a major global war that involved the majority of the nations of the world. The great powers of the world were divided into two groups known as the Allies and the Axis. The Allis consisted of Australia, Cuba, Czechoslovakia Belgium, , Costa Rica, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ethiopia, France, Greece, , New Zealand, India, Iran, Iraq, Nicaragua Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Luxembourg, Norway, Panama, Philippines, Poland, South Africa, China, Colombia, United Kingdom, United States, USSR, Yugoslavia Mexico, Netherlands; the axis consisted of  Hungary, Italy Albania, Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, Slovakia, Thailand, Japan and Rumania.

World war II was the most catapulted and historic wars, which mobilized 100 million military resources, making it the most widespread event in the history. Since it involved the major superpowers of the world, the most extensive form of technology and knowhow was used in the entire war. They salvaged all their secret weapons, their secret services, modern artillery and warfare equipments, highly trained military personnel and a strong network of spy services. All the nations seem to be prepared for the worst. The nations also contemplated their entire economic, scientific, industrial and military resources. There was a strong undercurrent both within the political and civilian sector to give their best to the country. It reconciles a death of over seventy million civilians, the most deadly spectacle in the history.

How do you think the war assumed such a massive role? The obvious answer is the participation of the civilians. The struggle transcended from the political scenario to the civilians and became a mass movement. The emotions of war and conflict could touch hundreds of hearts, mobilize them and influenced them to give their every effort to make it a struggle for their own country. A lopsided, partial involvement of people would not have lead to such an upsurge. Thus the main bohemian factor for the civilian influence and involvement goes to the wide array of propaganda that the countries followed to gain precedence in the battle for survival of their own country.

Both the Allies and the Axis prepared for the war and it was important to them to create a common consensus among the people. Firstly each of the countries started a literary campaign to educate the population about their sentiments, beliefs and faith. They had to prepare long agenda nd plans to motivate people and help them understand the cause of this war. If they could not convince the masses, then the war would have been a half hearted effort and such a country was bound to lose. The countries started campaigns, posters, announcements, records, music, flags, and chits to inform the public about their ideologies. They involved the opinion of the public in open seminars and consortiums so that people get a platform and consider themselves as part of the major historic conflict. So propaganda influence spread like fire…among children, young and the elderly. It became the talk of the town; people whispered about the atrocities of the enemy countries and made their participation to the micro level.

Propaganda thus essentially means psychological warfare. It can be interpreted as a weapon that was first discovered to manipulate and use the strengths of the countrymen. Public enlightenment, misinformation…dictionary interprets propaganda deliberately spread rumor. The root interpretation is to propagate, spread, multiplying and reproducing of sources and is used to convince and induce people to believe certain facts or ideologies.

Role of Propaganda Among the Allies

In the onset, America was indifferent to the war. It was a secluded thought and apprehension to even being a part of the war. The economic depression, and the aftermath of the war torn economy needed refurbishment; they were thus busy planning ventures and initiatives for the revival of the economy. The American populations were apprehensive of the war and thought it was too costly and fatal for them to join this overseas war. Little did they know that war would come running down right down knocking their door. However, the United States government apprehended the danger and started to make people aware through the medium of propaganda.

The government started a massive propaganda about the importance of war. They distributed literature, pamphlets, made radio broadcasts, and created an ambience for the acceptance of war. The American government knew that resentment of people could further enhance their problems, so it was best for the welfare of the country and the people to accept the war as it comes. However, it did not take much effort to mobilise the opinions of the people because of the Pearl Harbour attack. Now America and its people knew that war was no longer alien and they had to use their ultimate potential to fight the enemies with fewer casualties. Americans conveyed these messages in their regular updates to the masses, to save on the reserves of gasoline and help in the increase of the power of production. The triumph and victory of America in World War II is largely attributed to the propaganda of the American government. America left no stone unturned in the exploitation of its propaganda resources like the radio and visual media, to interact with the masses.

Let us discuss some American propaganda material like the posters. The poster is a dark Nazi swastika, looming over a group of children; it meant that Germany was breathing on the shoulders of America. The propaganda intimidated the viewer, that the invasion by Germany would be fatal for both America and the innocent civilians, including hundreds of children. So it was the duty on behalf of the Americans to stand up and fight the cause. This poster was also used to buy the war bonds. America as it was inflicted in economic turmoil, so the country needed funds to support its warfare and artillery. People bought these war bonds to consolidate the fund position of the government to fight the war.

There was another significant poster which lead to widespread propaganda. A man was shown drowning and the theme was “someone talked”. The poster wanted to make the American population cautious about the spies during the World War II and asked the masses to be careful in divulging secrets, which may reach the Nazis and be fatal for America. This poster made the environment more wary and serious. People became aware of their surroundings and could envisage the threat on their country.

Propaganda of the Axis:  Germany was more succulent in the form of propaganda and Adolf Hitler was a patron of propaganda. He considered it as the best form of representation of thoughts, ideas and belief. It was the best weapon to win the sentiments and emotions of the people. The Nazi government had just assumed power, and were still a bit unsure of their foundation and reputation among people. They were a bit apprehensive and thought that propaganda would be the best way to educate the people about their existence. They also wanted to make sure that the internal conflict with the socialists does not pose a hurdle in the war. Thus propaganda was an essential medium to them to win over the confidence of the people for the Nazi government. They wanted to unify the sentiments of the German people, so that a combined force supported by the masses could help Germany win the war. Further, they wanted to make the masses aware of the war, its consequences and also the brutal atrocities of the enemy which has forced them to plunge in the war.

Germany tried to mobilise through propaganda, but received less accolades than that of America. Their appeal for production and energy savings were not as big as the allies, because the Allies had a more substantive and massive construction facilities which promoted greater production. Nazis also fought an internal cold battle that involved huge massacre of innocent victims. This could not escape the eyes of the Germans and people were not so confident about the new Nazi government.

Effect of Propaganda on Children

Children had a strong impact of propaganda in their lives. War resembled heroism and bravery, and soldiers were their favourite idols. They took pride in being a part of the war and part of the struggle. They prepared their own military appearance, often posing in uniforms of Boy Scouts and the High School Victory Corps. War was like a flash of heroism in their lives and they were highly motivated to see the propaganda and men in war clad uniforms.

Propaganda was thus a major source of influence in all levels of warfare during the World War II. It also became obvious that propaganda had the potential to be a potent force in being another wing of warfare that helped like the bombs and the missiles to bring victory to a nation. Thus publicity and its positive enhancement could even help a country win a battle.. it could even evade bunches of war missiles and guns. It

Propaganda played an important role before and throughout World War II. Propaganda helped accelerate the development of the war and hastened actually fighting. It also played a major role in unifying the sentimental and emotional wealth of the nation.

Reference

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