WWII Propaganda!
OPHS
World History
Mrs. Abbott
What is Propaganda?
• Information, ideas, or rumors deliberately
spread widely to help or harm a person,
group, movement, institution, nation, etc.
• The deliberate spreading of such information,
rumors, etc.
• The particular doctrines or principles
propagated by an organization or movement.
WWII American Propaganda
• During World War II
(1941–45), American
propaganda was
used to increase
support for the war
and commitment to
an Allied victory.
War Bonds!
• During a war people
can buy war bonds
and then after the
war they got their
money back plus a
little interest.
• Children also
brought in pennies
to school to buy war
stamps.
Ducktators!
(Propaganda
Video)
Working Together!
• Rosie the Riveter was a
fictional character
featured in a propaganda
campaign created by the
U.S. government to
encourage white middle
class women to work
outside the home during
World War II.
• These posters were used
to inspire and motivate
American labor to work
longer and harder in
support of the war effort.
Loose lips sink ships!
• These posters
were used to
advise servicemen
and other citizens
to avoid careless
talk concerning
secure
information that
might be of use to
the enemy.
Victory Gardens!
• Victory gardens were
gardens planted at
people’s homes and
public parks during the
war.
• They were used along
with food stamps to
reduce pressure on the
public food supply.
• In addition to indirectly
aiding the war effort
these gardens also
boosted the moral of the
gardeners by making
them feel that they were
contributing to defeating
Germany.
WWII British Propaganda
• A motivational poster
produced by the British
government in 1939,
several months before
the beginning of WWII,
intended to raise the
morale of the British
public in the aftermath
of widely predicted mass
air attacks on major
cities
WWII Nazi (German)
Propaganda
• Nazi propaganda provided
a crucial instrument for
acquiring and maintaining
power, and for the
implementation of their
policies, including the
pursuit of total war and
the extermination of
millions of people in the
Holocaust.
Shhhhh…
• Translation: Shame on
you, chatterer! The
enemy is listening.
Silence is your duty.
• Similar to the U.S.: Loose
Lips Sink Ships
Vote for Hitler!
• Translation: Before:
Unemployment,
hopelessness,
desolation, strikes,
lockouts. Today: Work,
joy, discipline,
camaraderie. Give the
Führer your vote!
Hitler Youth
• Translation: Youth
Serves the Leader:
All 10-Year-Olds in
the Hitler Youth
• Remember Hitler
said: "He alone, who
owns the youth,
gains the future."
Defense of Extermination
• Translation: This
genetically ill person
will cost our people’s
community 60,000
marks over his lifetime.
Citizens, that is your
money. Read Neues
Volk, the monthly of the
racial policy office of
the Nazi Party.
Racist Propaganda
The Eternal Jew
(Propaganda Video)
• Translation: The
Jew: The inciter
of war, the
prolonger of
war.
• Translation: Get
the JewishBolshevist
warmongers out
of Europe.
Racist Propaganda
• 1933: Jewish
students and
teachers
expelled from
schools.
• Translation: The
Jewish nose is
bent. It looks
like the number
six…
How was the American
portrayal of Mussolini and
Chiang Kai-shek similar to the
portrayal of Jews by the Nazis?
How was it different?
Your Task
• Essay:
– Describe the similarities and differences in the
way that the United States & Great Britain used
Propaganda vs. the way Germany used
Propaganda.
– How can propaganda be useful?
– How can propaganda be harmful?
– Give specific examples from the powerpoint and
videos.