Propaganda and its use during wartime

Graphic Propaganda: Posters Used by the United States during World War II

Most Americans today are undoubtedly familiar with the ubiquitous and firm visage of "Uncle Sam" pointing a finger at them with the compelling message that, "I want you!" prominently displayed below. This famous poster has been used for decades as an appeal to patriotism and can still be found in military recruiting offices across the country. In a similar fashion, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Germany and Japan all used posters as effective propaganda tools during World War II for a wide range of purposes. Indeed, many of these propaganda posters contain some profoundly poignant graphic elements and remain the focus of study by researchers in the 21st century. To determine how and why these propaganda tools were used by the Axis and Allied Powers during World War II, this paper provides a review of the relevant peer-reviewed and scholarly literature concerning propaganda in general and its use in the form of posters by the United States during World War II in particular, followed by a summary of the research and important findings in the conclusion.

Review and Discussion

Propaganda, as an expression of a specific doctrine, can assume a number of forms, including print media, visual images, statements and other verbal methods, or a consistency in a nation's policies. In practice, though, propaganda generally has a specific purpose and intent and uses a coordinated approach to achieve its goals. In this regard, propaganda is ". . . An attempt or scheme intended for propagating a doctrine or practice. In fact, the Latin root of the word is propagare, which describes the act of transplanting young plant shoots in order to reproduce new plants which will later take on a life of their own."

While it may not have been described by this term in ages past, Murphy and White (2007) emphasize that propaganda has been used throughout history during times of war to help instill a sense of purpose and patriotism among a nation's citizenry as well as portraying the enemy as less than human to make the war effort more acceptable and palatable. According to Murphy and White, "Propaganda is any form of communication in support of national objectives designed to influence the opinions, emotions, attitudes, or behavior of any group in order to benefit the sponsor, either directly or indirectly. Certainly propaganda has been used from time immemorial as a tool in warfare."

While propaganda can and has assumed a wide variety of forms, few have been as powerful or unambiguous in their message as the posters of World War II. There was good reason for this lack of subtlety on the part of the propagandists of the era as well. Many modern Americans may be hard pressed to understand the degree of the threat represented by the Axis Powers during World War II. In fact, during the early years of the war, it looked like the outcome of the conflict might be very different from the way it turned out and in reality things could have gone either way. In this environment where the stakes were enormously high and the final outcome was uncertain, it is little wonder that the Axis and Allied Powers alike resorted to propaganda campaigns with their own citizenry as well as with the enemy forces arrayed against them in some imaginative and highly effective ways. In this regard, Tashijian (1996) reports that, "The concept of democracy in America, under siege by totalitarian governments, called for defense on ideological grounds, perhaps most blatantly in the form of propaganda."

One of the most commonly used propaganda tools used by the belligerents on both sides was posters. According to Darman (2008), "During World War II, posters were everywhere, imparting immediate and forceful messages. Posters were used in a variety of ways: as an appeal to patriotism in aid of recruitment; as warnings to maintain national security against spies and saboteurs; and as general pleas to aid the war effort, either by working in factories or buying war bonds."

In its efforts to maintain national security, one such poster (shown in Figure 1 below) clearly communicates the message that "loose lips can sink ships":

Figure 1. "Bits of Careless Talk" Poster used by the United States in World War II

Source: http://www.museum.state.il.us/exhibits/athome/1920/TeachR/posters/p1.jpg

Because they were effective at communicating their message, inexpensive to produce and easy to distribute, posters assumed an important role on both sides of the conflict during World War II. In this regard, Darman adds that, "During World War II, all the warring nations produced thousands of posters to mobilize their respective populations for the war effort. World War II was a 'total war,' and that required the total effort of not only members of the armed forces but also civilians on the home front."

Posters could also attract a great deal of attention, communicated their message instantly and efficiently and were typically placed in areas where large numbers of people tended to gather for various reasons such as factories, movie theaters and post offices. For example, Honey (1984) reports that, "The army produced recruitment posters, which were delivered twice a month to stores by the Boy Scout Dispatch Bearer Service and mailed to all post offices and cooperating businesses. The Outdoor Advertising Association provided posters to every community with a population of over twenty-five thousand."

Although some of these posters were not fine art by any measure, many of them contained specific graphic elements that made them both powerful and commanded the attention of onlookers. Moreover, many posters were colorful and the graphic elements were carefully arranged to focus attention on the central message being communicated. As more and more American women were being recruiting to replace men in the factories in the famous "Rosie the Riveter"-type roles and Americans of all walks of life were faced with shortages of food, gasoline and other materiel needed for the war effort, posters such as the one depicted in Figures 2 and 3 below became increasingly commonplace across the country.

Figures 2 and . Women's Land Army Recruiting Poster and "Victory Garden" Promotional Posters from World War II

Source: http://www.museum.state.il.us/exhibits/athome/1920/TeachR/posters/

These messages being communicated in World War II posters also tended to change as the war progressed. For instance, according to Sapre, "Japan brought America into World War II suddenly at Pearl Harbor. The United States had retained its isolationism for the first almost two years of World War II but could not resist reacting to Japan's surprise aerial attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. This abrupt exposure to the Japanese presented the American people with a very foreign picture of the Japanese man that involved not only ferocity and barbarity, but sneakiness."

The outrage on the part of the American people at what was widely regarded as a sneak attack that transcended the boundaries of "civilized" warfare was not lost on the U.S. government propagandists, either.

This perception was graphically portrayed in poster used for U.S. Navy recruiting purposes, for example, with an American sailor grasping the U.S. flag after being stabbed in the back with a sword by a Japanese soldier in an effort to promote the perception on the part of naive Americans as the Japanese being a race that was capable of further sneak attacks on the U.S. And its interests abroad.

As the war progressed and reports of atrocities committed by Japanese troops filtered back to the states, the posters reflected this shift in perception as well as shown in Figure 3 below.

Figure 3. American poster used as anti-Japanese propaganda during World War II

Source: http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/d-day-invasion-20.jpg

In today's age of oh-so-political correctness where the term "Jap" is widely regarded as being unacceptable, it may shock and perhaps even offend some Americans that the use of this term (and many that were worse such as "Nip," "Bow-Legs," "Monkey-Face" and "Slant-Eyes") in reference to the Japanese was commonplace on posters during World War II; however, as noted above, World War II was a "total war" and an all-out effort was needed to win it.

It is not surprising, then, that in the United States, the federal government was not the only sponsor of propaganda posters during the war effort. For example, portrayals of Japanese soldiers being buck-toothed, slanty-eyed buffoons with large round glasses was perpetuated in both print media and motion pictures, as well as a poster published by Texaco that was designed to encourage Americans to work harder for the war effort.