Download Examples of Propaganda

WWII Propaganda in the U.S.
When it was suggested that World War II was approaching, Americans did not
want to go to war. Having sustained losses in World War I and only now coming
out of an economic crisis, most Americans thought that energies should be spent
here at home, improving America, instead of becoming involved in war overseas.
Even as the war started in Europe with the invasion of France, many Americans
thought that the U.S. should avoid becoming involved. However, the government
recognized that American participation was necessary, and quickly stepped up
pro-war propaganda.
This was not extremely successful until after Pearl Harbor, when the war no
longer seemed comfortably distant but very close to home. At this point, it was
necessary for the American propagandists to continue to convince the public that
war was close at hand. It was also necessary to begin stepping up production and
conservation of materials for the war effort, because the Allies only tremendous
advantage was their great production power. As the war began in earnest,
America increased the flood of propaganda, utilizing especially the radio and
visual media, most specifically posters.
http://library.thinkquest.org/C0111500/ww2/american/amerprop.htm
Propaganda goal:
Get Americans involved in
the war efforts!
How to reach that goal:
make them see that they are
aiding the enemy if they
don’t.
This poster urges
viewers to conserve
gasoline by joining a
car-sharing club, also
belonged to a common
type of wartime poster.
The American is shown
to be unaware that he is
aiding the enemy,
which implies that
those who drive alone
are also uninformed.
Posters that
played on
workers’ guilt
and their
sense of duty
blended
traditional
themes of
workplace
discipline with
imagery of
sacrifice and
patriotism.
Propaganda goal:
Get Americans involved in
the war efforts!
How to reach that goal:
Make them fear what would
happen if they didn’t.
This poster attempts
to convince the
viewer that the Nazi
threat is closer than
they think.
Message: Buy war
bonds to prevent the
Nazi threat from
reaching American
children.
This poster implies that a
man is dying because
"someone talked." Posters
implied that enemy spies
were everywhere and that, in
the words of a similar poster,
"loose lips can sink ships.”
Message: If you talk, you
could cause someone to be
killed because of spies.
Propaganda goal:
Get Americans involved in
the war efforts!
How to reach that goal:
make them feel that they are
directly aiding their
American soldiers.
“Keep Us
Flying!”
represents
the
government’s
effort to
encourage all
Americans to
buy war
bonds and
defense
stamps.
Promotes
a sense of
common
purpose
during
World
War II.
Propaganda goal:
Get Americans involved in
the war efforts!
How to reach that goal:
patriotism.
The posters
presented a
vision of life
in an ideal
postwar
world, and
images of
men and
women
conveyed
certain
assumptions
about their
roles in that
world.
Making
comfort items
to send
overseas was
a very
popular
activity for
women on the
home front.
The “Purl
Harder”
poster
encourages
women to
“keep knitting
socks, vests,
sweaters, and
mufflers for
Propaganda goal:
Get Americans involved in
the war efforts!
How to reach that goal:
patriotism.
Because American
leaders realized that
the best hope of
winning the war was
through increased
production and labor,
many posters were
circulated urging
increased labor and
production as well as
conservation of
materials for the war
effort.
All the day long,
Whether rain or
shine
She’s part of the
assembly line.
She’s making history,
Working for victory
Rosie the Riveter
This poster informs
women that fighting
for their country will
not only help the
country and the war
effort but would also
help gain more
rights for women.
The government
turned to its
citizens and
encouraged
them to plant
"Victory
Gardens." They
wanted
individuals to
provide their
own fruits and
vegetables.
Support for the Chinese
people was urged in
posters. Even prior to the
United States' entry into
the war, many Chinese
figures appeared on the
cover of Time. Japanese
propaganda attributed this
not to any disgust
Americans felt for
Japanese atrocities in
China, but simply to more
effective Chinese
propaganda.
Propaganda goal:
Get Americans involved in
the war efforts!
How to reach that goal:
make them see the enemy
in the worst possible light.
One Marine unit was
briefed: "Every
Japanese has been told
that it is his duty to die
for the emperor. It is
your duty to see that he
does so.”
As in Britain, American
propaganda depicted the
war as an issue of good
versus evil, which
allowed the government
to encourage its
population to fight a
"just war."
During World
War II, the
Government
alerted citizens
to the presence
of enemy spies
and saboteurs
lurking just
below the
surface of
American
society.
Warner Bros. Studios gets involved in the war.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bnpd
wn1mR6c