1. By: Brandi Vu
Period 1: History

2. 
 Information, usually officially communicated by the
government, that is aimed at large numbers of
people to influence their opinions.
 Used to state a lie or to be one-sided = enemy
communication.
 During WW2, BBC (British Broadcasting Channel)
was the most popular station to listen to newsreels.
o Exaggerated the Allies’ victories, or underplayed their
defeats.
o Became very popular; people believed their opinions.
What Is Propaganda?

3. 
 Governments wanted people to take action in their
opinions. This was known as the “telephone game”.
 Social network had to be biased – “Follow the
Leader(s)”.
 Imagery was also used (posters, films, photography)
 Slogans had to be simple and repeatable.
o Hitler said, “The intelligence of masses is small. Their
forgetfulness is great. They must be told the same thing a
thousand times.”
The Strategies of Propaganda

4. 
 Definition: The practice of officially examining books, movies,
etc. and suppressing unacceptable parts.
 The U.S. Army and Navy set this system up to protect military
secrets and guarantee domestic security by the late 1930s.
 Congress passed the Smith Act in 1940. This made sure that
civilians could not support the idea to overthrow the
government.
 Government officials were allowed to deport foreigners who
were connected with revolutionary organizations.
 Government regulated the publication of terrible images and
videos of war on the homefront. Armed forces censored
photographers and filmmakers.
Censorship

5. 
 Office of War Information and Bureau of Motion Pictures
assured that the Hollywood films that were being
distributed and played were not a harm to the war aims.
 December 19, 1941 – FDR created the Executive Order
#8985. This helped created the Federal Office of
Censorship.
o Expanded to 90 offices across the U.S. with more than
14,000 examiners.
o Scanned radio & movie scripts, magazine and newspaper
stories, listened to phone conversations, checked for
invisible ink, banned crossword puzzles, and reviewed
more than one million letters a day.
Censorship

6. 
 American filmmakers did not want to offend foreign
governments, so not all of their films were about
world issues.
 Most films anti-Axis were not distributed.
Movies vs. the Gov’t

7. 
 1939 - directed by German-born Anatole Litvak
(who lived in the U.S. during WW2).
 First anti-Nazi American film.
 Although it was a commercial hit, itwas banned in
countries who supported Germany (or did not want
to offend them).
 This movie urged civilians to persuade government
officials to enter the war to stop Germany
Confessions of a Nazi Spy

8. 
Sergeant York
 About the life of Alvin York, an American soldier
during WW1.
 His religion stated that he could not kill other
people, but fought for the U.S. anyway.
 Released in 1941 to give confidence to civilians.
A Yank in the RAF
 American pilot who joined Britain’s Royal Air Force
to fight the Nazis.
Sergeant York & A Yank In
The RAF

9. 
 Nazi leaders thought that the war would be short
and victorious
o Tried to persuade the civilians of Germany and the
areas they occupied – wanted support & cooperation
o Propaganda in other countries showed that Germany
wanted to win the war to make a New Order and a
new Europe
 Germany’s government shut down museums,
concert halls, and sport arenas; but, movie theaters
were not
German Films

10.  Famous movie maker – Goebbels
o Made Germany look like the best country; used Jews as
scapegoats in his movies.
Triumph of the Will
 Actress – Leni Riefenstahl
 This film made the Nazi party’s rally in Nuremberg look
good.
Jud Suss
 Wanted more Germans to be anti-Jewish.
 About a Jew who became an adviser to a German duke.
He and his friends wanted to take over a city in Germany.
Triumph of the Will & Jud
Suss

11. 
Kolberg
 Used 180,000 real German soldiers.
 German town who resisted the French emperor
Napoleon Bonaparte’s army in 1908. The Germany
army saved them at the last minute.
 Goebbels wanted German civilians to resist the
Allies.
 Opened in Berlin at the end of January 1945 as the
Allies were advancing to the heart of Germany.
Kolberg

12. 
 Released in 1942 and seen by 28 million people.
 About the romance and marriage between a German
singer played by Zarah Leander (a Swedish star) and
an air force fighter pilot.
 Zarah Leander sang the song, “I Know Someday a
Miracle Will Happen”.
o Became the theme song for German civilians.
Die Grosse Liebe

13.  When the U.S. entered the war, boosts in economy and a
dropping of the unemployment rate helped movie
productions get back on track.
 1944 – over 100 million movie tickets were sold every
week.
o Population in the U.S. was 130 million people.
 “The Motion Pictures Committee Cooperating for
National Defense” showed defense films made by the
government with no charge.
o Also called recruitment films – persuaded men and women
to be a part of the war effort.
 Women in Defense – Written by Eleanor Roosevelt. She
encouraged women to take their part in defense factories or the
armed services.
U.S. and Their Propaganda
Films

14. 
 U.S. Government made movies about the Japanese to
inspire American citizens
 The Fighting Lady – an aircraft carrier and the lives of
the workers on it
 With the Marines at Tarawa – the director used real
soldiers to film this movie of the Battle of Tarawa
 Liberation of Rome – documentary about the Allies
advancing to Rome and successfully freeing the
civilians from German rule in World War 2
After Pearl Harbor…

15. 
 American documentary pushed American's
emotions further that the United States were fighting
for the best
 Seven films made by the U.S. Army Signal Corps
o Showed how the Axis' governments brainwashed and
treated their country.
o Leaders were using civilians to win power
o Teachers and principals had to teach their students
how pure their government and leaders were
 The famous Hollywood director - Frank Capra
Why We Fight

16. Information:
"Art, Entertainment, and Propaganda." World War II Reference
Library. Ed. Barbara C. Bigelow, et al. Vol. 2: Almanac. Detroit:
UXL, 2000. 369-390. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 4 May
2013.
"Communication: Propaganda." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 04 May 2013.
Laurie, Clayton D. "Propaganda during World War II." Infobase
Learning. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 May 2013.
Stokesbury, James L. "World War II." World Book Student. World
Book, 2013. Web. 4 May 2013.
Stults, Taylor. "Propaganda." World Book Student. World Book,
2013. Web. 4 May 2013.
Pictures:
Adolf Hitler. Digital image. Biography Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 May
2013.
<http://www.biographyonline.net/military/images/adolf-hitler.jpg>.
Bibliography

17. American WW2 Propaganda Films: Charlie Chaplin. Digital
image.http://www.car-ups.com/images/2012-12-12/american-wwii-p
ropaganda-films03.jpg
Car-ups. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 May 2013.
BBC Logo. Digital image.
https://si0.twimg.com/profile_images/662708106/bbc.pngTwitter:
BBC News Channel. N.p., n.d.
Web. 4 May 2013.
Eleanor Roosevelt Portrait. Digital image. Wikimedia/wikipedia.
N.p., n.d. Web. 4 May 2013.
<http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/Eleanor_Roosevelt_portrait_1933.jpg/144p
x-Eleanor_Roosevelt_portrait_1933.jpg>.
Franklin Roosevelt. Digital image. Biography.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 4
May 2013.
<http://www.biography.com/imported/images/Biography/Images/Pro
files/R/Franklin-Roosevelt-9463381-1-402.jpg>.
Hawaii - Honolulu - Internment - Camp. Digital image. Tofugu. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 4 May 2013. <http://www.tofugu.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/hawaii_honolulu_internment_camp2.jpg>.
Joseph Goebbels. Digital image. Wikimedia/wikipedia. N.p., n.d.
Web. 4 May 2013. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-
1968-101-20A,_Joseph_Goebbels.jpg/245px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1968-101-20A,_Joseph_Goebbels.jpg>.
Bibliography

18. Opened by Censor Stamp. Digital image. Stamps - Auctions
(Images). N.p., n.d. Web. 4 May 2013.
<http://www.stamps-auctions.com/images/aus-c1.jpg>.
Prelude to War. Digital image. Imdb Media. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 May
2013.
<http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTMwODY5MzQ4N15
BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwODY0MzU1MQ@@._V1_SY317_CR51,0,21
4,317_.jpg>.
Prelude to War: For Hiter We Live. Digital image. Moma.org. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 4 May 2013. <http://www.moma.org/explore/inside_out/inside_out/wp-
content/uploads/2011/06/PreludetoWar.jpg>.
Sergeant York Movie. Digital image. Yellow
Airplane/Models/Famous People. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 May 2013.
<http://yellowairplane.com/Models_Famous_People/sergent_york.jpg>.
Spy Poster. Digital image. TwentyFour Frames. N.p., n.d. Web. 4
May 2013.
<http://twentyfourframes.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/spy-poster.jp
g>.
Bibliography

19. 
Why We Fight Series. Digital image. Paste Magazine. N.p., n.d.
Web. 4 May 2013.
<http://cdn.pastemagazine.com/www/system/images/thumbs/www/
articles/Why_We_Fight_300x207.jpg?1273915419>.
With the Marines at Tarawa Movie Poster. Digital image. Movie
Poster Shop. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 May 2013. <http://images.moviepostershop.com/with-the-marines-at-tarawa-
movie-poster-1944-1020198776.jpg>.
Zarah Leander. Digital image. Wikimedia/wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web.
4 May 2013.
<http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Zarah_Leand
er.jpg>.

Bibliography