Lee Hai In (14)
Kiona Loo (20)
Siti Sarah (25)
3GY
 Political
rhetoric is the art of using language
as a means to persuade by the government to
influence the people.
 Propaganda
refers to information, ideas, or
rumors deliberately spread widely to help or
harm a person, group, movement, institution,
nation, etc.
Political leaders of WWII used their rhetoric
to influence the public and gain their support
during wartime.
 The main political leaders of WWII were:
Neville Chamberlain and Winston Churchill
(Britain), Charles de Gaulle (France), Adolf Hi
tler (Germany), F D Roosevelt and Harry Tru
man (USA), Joseph Stalin (USSR), and Hideki
Tojo(Japan).

Throughout the war, people were constantly bom
barded with propaganda to help keep morale hig
h, and those on the front lines were bombarded
with propaganda intended to beat morale down.
 Posters, radio broadcasts, television broadcasts h
oardings were some examples of propaganda.
 One of the more widespread uses of propaganda
was in leaflets that were dropped on soldiers fro
m the air. These leaflets were intended to demor
alize the soldier so that he would lay down his ar
ms and surrender. The United States, Germany, a
nd Japan all used these leaflets.

The
poster shows two women
chatting. The caption reads “Don
’t forget walls have ears too.” Mo
st importantly, the walls have pat
terns depicting the looks of Adolf
Hitler.
The poster shows two women chatting. The capti
on reads “Don’t forget walls have ears too.” Mos
t importantly, the walls have patterns depicting t
he looks of Adolf Hitler.
 What does it mean?
The government is encouraging people to not m
ention any important details that may be benefic
ial to enemies like the Germans, as there may be
spies in the country. This is influential to the peo
ple because it makes the British more aware that
there may be people listening to their conversati
ons. Also, this will help in reducing the inside inf
ormation of Britain to Germany, as the people wi
ll not let go of any important information unawar
e of their surroundings.

Examples of Propaganda (Comparin
g between Britain and Germany)
Germany: late 1943 or early 1944. The caption reads: "The Jew:
The inciter of war, the
prolonger of war." Courtesy of
Dr. Robert D. Brooks.
The poster depicts the Jews
being the mastermind behind
the war. Poster should be
successful in arousing feelings
of hatred towards the Jews
because they are seen as the
cause of misery.
 The
poster shows a drawing of Winston Churc
hill pointing and saying “Deserve Victory”.
 What does it mean?
He is trying to influence the people that Brit
ain deserves victory. Very influential, not onl
y because Winston Churchill is a well known
man, but also as Britain is facing a crisis, it l
ed people into believing that a war would be
necessary for the victory that Britain deserve
s.
Compare and Contrast
 Similarities-
Both posters only have one main character as the mai
n focus. This is to emphasize on the message behind t
he poster in a more personal level- as if the character
s are visually talking to the audience
Both posters highlight the reason for war. For exampl
e, German poster states that “Jews are incitors of wa
r” and the British poster states that “victory” is the r
eason for war.
Compare and Contrast
-
Differences
The British poster depicts a more positive ton
e (“victory”) whereas the German poster has
a darker side to it- blaming the Jews.
-
The British poster reflects Winston Churchill,
someone who is liked and respected by the p
eople. The German poster, on the other hand
depicts the face of a Jew, who is hated by th
e people.
Internet
http://www.learningcurve.gov.uk/snapshots/snapshot43/sna
pshot43.htm
http://www.nebraskastudies.org/0800/frameset_reset.html?
http://www.nebraskastudies.org/0800/stories/0801_0121.
html
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/examples-of-propagandatechniques.html

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/charles_
de_gaulle.htm
http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/pos
ters/derjude.jpg
Book
Propaganda/Stewart Ross, Hove, East Sussex: Wayland Pub,
1993.

Comments:
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Good definitions for key words
Interesting posters that you have picked, but there is
a need to examine more posters so as to elicit a tren
d in German and English propaganda.
Isolated comparison of 2 specific posters alone will no
t be as useful if we’re talking about propaganda in ge
neral. The German one looks at the Jew as the ‘other
’/outsider, what about in the case of British propagan
da? Is there a group of people who are seen as traitor
s or spies etc that must be excluded from society?
You might want to consider looking into Hitler’s or Ch
urchill’s speeches to examine political rhetoric. What
is it that makes it so effective? Do they both use the s
ame tactic to rouse the feelings of the people? Or are
their approaches different?