World War Two Propaganda Pamphlets Essay

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Propaganda is an important tool for shaping public opinion during wartime. The United States initially resisted using propaganda, but later established two official government propaganda agencies: the Writers War Board and the United States Office of War Information (Riddle, 2016). The latter became the primary propaganda engine during World War Two. The Office of War Information used multiple media for propaganda dissemination, including the relatively new media like comic books and movies. Posters were a primary means of influencing public opinion, too. Through these different propaganda techniques, the United States government reduced the potential for anti-war sentiments, minimized dissent, and created a normative cultural environment of patriotism. The “loose lips sink ships” message is an example of how the government established norms of behavior, and also used fear as a driving emotive force behind its propaganda (Little, 2016). Propaganda posters were also designed to create a sense of community-driven war efforts, such as asking citizens to conserve or ration their food (Riddle, 2016).

In addition to the domestic propaganda used during World War Two, the American government also engaged in an even sneakier means of manipulating minds: disseminating propaganda among the enemy civilian population. The American Office of Strategic Services used what it called “black propaganda,” which was made to appear as if it originated within Germany and Italy (Little, 2016). The goal of the black propaganda included to weaken civilian support for their own governments, undermining trust, and also to spread misinformation that might mislead the enemy. As Riddle (2016) also points out, American soldiers often dropped leaflets over enemy civilian populations as a show of force, to demonstrate American might and instill fear within the populace. These various propaganda techniques might be considered manipulative, but they were effective means of influencing domestic and foreign populations.

References



Little, B. (2016). Inside America’s shocking WWII propaganda machine. National Geographic. https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/12/world-war-2-propaganda-history-books/

Riddle, L. (2016). American propaganda in World War II. War History Online. https://www.warhistoryonline.com/world-war-ii/american-propaganda-world-war-ii.html

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