Teaching With Primary Sources Lesson - Propaganda
Annotated Resource Set (ARS)
Adapted from the website “Teaching American History in SW Washington”, March 22, 2012
URL http://esd112tah.wordpress.com/2012/03/22/teaching-with-primary-sources-lesson-propaganda/
Title / Content Area:
World history
Developed by:
Greg Ross, Steve Doyle, Tulani Freeman, Kinsey Murray, Tyson Bjorge
Grade Level:
10th grade
Essential Questions:
How do governments use propaganda to manipulate people?
How do these posters reflect national priorities during times of war?
We chose these WWII posters in order to provide multiple perspectives to
students. The purpose of this lesson is for students to examine how governments
use propaganda to manipulate people. All of these posters are examples of how
each individual country used different techniques to accomplish the same goal.
This lesson meets the standard of being able to analyze and interpret historical
materials from a variety of perspectives.
Contextual Paragraph
COUNTRY
CONTEXT
USA
“This is the Enemy”
USA
What are YOU going to do
about it?
IMAGE
URL
http://prints.encore-editions.com/0
/500/world-war-poster-117-karl-koe
hler-and-victor-ancona-1942-this-isthe-enemy.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe
dia/commons/thumb/c/c4/Anti-Jap
an2.png/250px-Anti-Japan2.png
COUNTRY
USA
USA
CONTEXT
USA: Stamp out the Axis by artist
Phil Von Phul shows a fist holding a
stamp with an American star ready
to stamp out a Nazi swastika during
World War II.
Besides the very real need to convince
citizens to sign up for military service,
governments also had to convince the
people who stayed behind of the
importance of their war efforts. In the
U.S., which found itself in need of an
incredible amount of skilled workers to
produce the materials it, the U.K., and
Russia needed to fight the Axis, many of
the most memorable propaganda posters
were aimed at the civilian population.
IMAGE
URL
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2
010648603/
http://www.toptenz.net/wp-content/u
ploads/2011/12/We_Can_Do_It-540x70
0.jpg
COUNTRY
Russia
Russia
CONTEXT
“in response to every attack and
every blow we are going to triple
ours with all the power of our
noble Red Army”
Will you volunteer?
IMAGE
URL
http://allworldwars.com/image/011/Po
ster105.jpg
http://dc84.iz.piccy.info/i4/84/dc/bab5
7b7351c4d393a3d42b8d9ce6.jpeg?cora
l-no-serve
COUNTRY
Russia
CONTEXT
Title: “Russian Breakfast”
IMAGE
URL
http://englishrussia.com/2007/02/1
4/russian-japan-war-propaganda-po
sters/
Note: This website has many more
Russian Propaganda posters from
WWII.
Russia
Propaganda poster depicting Hitler
Hitler strangled by fabric pulled
tight by Russian, British, and
American hands.
http://www.printsandphotos.com/print
s_photos/4511.html
OR
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/955
04324/
COUNTRY
Russia
CONTEXT
“Motherland Is Calling You”
Once the Russians entered the war,
they produced a recruiting poster
of their own that rivaled Uncle
Sam’s call for soldiers in popularity
and effectiveness. Instead of using
a steely eyed father figure to recruit
soldiers to their patriotic duty, the
Russians used a woman.
IMAGE
URL
http://www.toptenz.net/wp-conten
t/uploads/2011/12/motherland-is-c
alling-you-206x300.jpg
COUNTRY
Spain
(Catalin)
France
CONTEXT
Title of Poster (not a transcription)
“The Farmer Too is Contributing to
the War Effort”
“We French workers warn
you…defeat means slavery,
starvation, death”
IMAGE
URL
http://www.allposters.com/-sp/The-Far
mer-Too-is-Contributing-to-the-War-Eff
ort-Posters_i1877694_.htm?aid=10351
88808&LinkTypeID=1&PosterTypeID=1
&DestType=7&Referrer=http%3A%2F%
2Fwww.squidoo.com%2Fpropaganda-p
oster
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/907
12764/
OR
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/pow
ers_of_persuasion/this_is_nazi_brutalit
y/images_html/images/french_workers
.jpg
COUNTRY
Japan
CONTEXT
Japanese propaganda booklet
from WWII
IMAGE
URL
.
http://2bangkok.com/wwiipropagan
da.html
The booklet details the Imperial
Army’s plan for dominating the
nations of the region. See the
website for images, interpretations
and translations.
NOTE: The booklet has many images. See the
website for additional images and
explanatory text
Rise of Asia
Japan
To them, their invasions of Korea, Taiwan,
China, the Philippines, and the island chains of
the South Pacific were an attempt to relieve
the region of outside influence and create an
Asian-led “Co-Prosperity Sphere.” To further
this idea, and to convince the people of their
new colonies to accept the reality of Japanese
rule, they created the “Rise of Asia” poster.
Depicting a noble looking Japanese soldier
throwing off the chains of European rule and
standing over defeated caricatures of Britain
and the United States, it was meant to signal
that a new order was rising to free the long
oppressed peoples of Asia.
http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-ww
ii-propaganda-posters.php
COUNTRY
Japan
CONTEXT
“CAPITALISTS DEMAND RED
ENDLESSLY! It’s your blood
doughboys! But more and still
more is to be squeezed out.”
IMAGE
URL
http://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=
ffb8abea57&view=att&th=134d85d490
bd562d&attid=0.2&disp=inline&zw
Another leaflet to the Philippines
depicted a hand squeezing blood out of
soldiers almost like a tube of toothpaste.
Dead soldiers are shown at the right and
the word "Philippines" at the left.
Japan
“Their true character is that of
devils and beasts”
This poster depicts caricatures of
Winston Churchill and Franklin
Roosevelt feasting on the bones of
their victims
http://www.psywarrior.com/JapanP
SYOPWW2.html
COUNTRY
CONTEXT
“England:
Keep Calm And Carry On”
England To keep up morale, the British
Ministry of Information commissioned
a series of posters to remind citizens
of their national character. The most
iconic of these was “Keep Calm and
Carry On.” A simple message in bold
type underneath a picture of the
crown, it captured the core of the
British identity.
England
Telegraph between
Churchill and FDR
IMAGE
URL
http://www.toptenz.net/wp-content/u
ploads/2011/12/Keep-calm-and-carry-o
n.svg_-213x300.png
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/church
ill/images/wc0213_1s.jpg
COUNTRY
CONTEXT
Mexico
“Mexico unido ante la agresion
1942, "Potrero del Llano"
Propaganda poster showing a stylized
armed soldier standing at the ready;
in the foreground is the sinking
Mexican oil tanker Potrero del Llano,
which was attacked by the German
submarine U-564, killing 14 crew
members and leading to Mexico's
entry into World War
Mexico
“Recuerda el 13 de mayo de 1942”
Propaganda poster created by artist
Santos Balmori showing a stylized
woman grieving over the sinking of
the Mexican oil tanker Potrero del
Llano, which was attacked by the
German submarine U-564, killing 14
crew members and leading to
Mexico's entry into World War II.
IMAGE
URL
A VERY small image is on the
Library of Congress. Larger images
might be available for purchase.
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2
008679868/
NOTE: Poster image is very small. Larger image is
available only at the Library of Congress.
Additional Mexican propaganda
posters can be found here at the
Library of Congress:
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/related/?f
i=subject&q=Propaganda--Mexican--19
40-1950
A VERY small image is on the
Library of Congress but copies
might be available for purchase.
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2
008679860/
FIND a larger image here:
http://www.imamuseum.org/sites/d
efault/files/mercurycache/4_colum
n/ima-collections/images/D2/71/D2
716038-006D-43CB-9CA5-44652469
CEA5/D2716038-006D-43CB-9CA5-4
4652469CEA5_o.jpg
COUNTRY
Germany
CONTEXT
“Behind the enemy powers:
the Jew”
During World War II, Nazi propagandists
frequently depicted “the Jew” as a
conspirator plotting world domination by
acting behind the scenes in nations at war
with Germany. This caricature represents the
“Jewish financier” manipulating the Allies,
Great Britain, the United States, and the
Soviet Union.
Hanisch, artist; ca. 1942.
IMAGE
URL
http://www.ushmm.org/museum/p
ress/kits/download.php?content=pr
opaganda&image=prop_10
Credit: U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum/Gift of
Helmut Eschwege
"Long live Germany!”
Germany This poster shows an astonishing
Christological comparison. An eagle
hovers against the seeming light of
heaven over an idealized Hitler, similar
to the story of a dove descending on
Christ when he was baptized by John
the Baptist.
http://rexcurry.net/socialism-poster
s/posters/dove.jpg
COUNTRY
CONTEXT
IMAGE
URL
“Behold the Liberators”
Italy
Ecco i "Liberatori!" Italian anti-American war
poster; a World War Two poster with truly
breathtaking and scary artwork; in English it reads:
Behold the "Liberators". Even though this gallery is
http://www.crazywebsite.com/FreeGalleries-01/USA_Patriotic/pg-WWII
_Posters_Vintage/Vintage_WWII_Pa
triotic_Posters_Italian_1_jpg.htm
a collection of American WWII posters I picked this
poster for the collection because of the awesome
and frightening imagery; a fiery version of the
statue of liberty characterized as a giant blazing
grinning grim reaper with American bombers above
its head which have dropped bombs on the Italian
City below which is mostly burning ruins and even
the hospital is ablaze. This poster is obviously from
the faction of Italians who favored the Axis Powers.
Italy
“Su loro ricade la colpa” which is
translated as
“The fault falls on them”
Boccasile’s 1944 postcard depicted “pistol-packing”
Churchill and Roosevelt over a ruined city and dead
children with a pirate flag in the background. The
title of the card was “Su loro ricade la colpa,”
which can be translated as, “The fault falls on
them.” Germans and Italians both referenced a
quote from a prewar Roosevelt speech in which he
told the American people, “I assure you again and
again and again that no American boys will be
sacrificed on foreign battlefields.”
http://cartoline.delcampe.it/page/it
em/id,147714321,var,1927-Militaria
-fascismo-Gorla-Roosevelt-ChurchillBoccasile,language,I.html