Propaganda

**American WWII Propaganda** was the active use of multiple forms of communication in order to convince the general public to provide either their materials, time, support or positions for the war efforts of WWII.

During the early part of the war, many Americans were not pro-war, as most people had understood the repercussions of taking part in WWI. The US was also still in a depression that had been greatly affected by the war. Even after Germany's subjugation of France, Americans still refused to support the fighting. The American government soon began increasing the amount of pro - war propaganda in order to convince the public that the war was necessary for the success of the US.

Propaganda was not successful at first. It was not until Peal Harbor in which people began to realize that war was closer than they had thought. Because the American government knew that an advantage of the US was its ability to produce large amounts of products, the government focused on the production and conservation of supplies.

**Forms of propaganda** - The government often used entertainment as a way to expose propaganda. Radios, which were common during this time period, contained government mesages that would be heard by the public. Movies, which were also popular among the public, contained messages that attemped to sway people to help in the war anyway they could. Although visual media was a common form of propaganda, posters would be considered the most signifigant.

**Posters** - During WWII, the government used propaganda posters to not only rally support for the wars on the Pacific and Atlantic fronts, but also to convince both men and women to go out of their way to conserve materials in order to help the war efforts. Posters also stressed the enlistment of men. Posters against Germany reinforced the evil of the Nazis, calling them greedy savages. Japanese posters on the other hand, while debasing them like the Nazis, used the Japanese stereotype that they were "rats."

**Goals of Propaganda** - The US government sought for much using Propoganda. They include:

~Conservation and rationing of materials, including food, clothing and oil. ~The enlistment of men in the military and women for the Civilian Corps and WACS. ~People to not talk about the war in the presence of other people ~The purchasing of War Bonds ~The strive for the fast, mass production of goods

**OWI (Office of War Information)** - The OWI was an organization created by the government to spread propaganda. The organization send photographers who photographed American life in both training camps and factories. Members of the OWI would then use the pictures and caption them in order to use them for propaganda posters.

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The above poster depicts the importance of carpooling in order to save oil, an important susbstance necessary for war.

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The above image is a poster created by the OWI in order to convince young men to join the armed forces.

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The above image depicts the importance of not talking about the war in the presense of others.

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The image above shows the importance of preserving materials that could be used in the war efforts.

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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">This video is a Donald Duck cartoon where Donald must decide what he wants to do with his money. He can save it in order to pay his taxes on time, thus helping the American cause, or he can spend it.

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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">This video is a superman cartoon in which Japanese spies hi-jack an American bomber and Superman must save the day.

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<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">This video is a Walt Disney Production that portrays America as the three little pigs, and Hitler as the wolf.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Information Sources:

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