Mass and Communications in WWII Communicating WWII Mass and Communications in WWII

Warm Up How does a government motivate its citizens to contribute to war efforts?

Propaganda Ideas, information, or rumor, especially of a biased, misleading or exaggerated nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view 1. ideas, information, or rumors 2. biased or misleading or exaggerated 3. promotion of a cause or point of view The definition for propaganda that will be used in this class. Each of the three critical attributes must be present for any item to be considered propaganda.

Is It Propaganda? Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Example 4 1: yes 3: no 4: debatable

Government controlled reporting of the war Office of Censorship Controlled communications in and out if the US Examples: Presidential travel and weather reports The US Government controlled the flow of information between the frontlines and the American public. Unlike later wars where news organizations were able to report directly from the frontlines to the public, all information was filtered through the Office of Censorship to prevent information deemed sensitive from getting out. Letters from soldiers, presidential travel, and weather reports were examples of items that were censored.

Public Morale Aimed to boost morale Ad campaigns kept Americans focused on the war Public morale campaigns needed to be conducted in order to prevent citizens from becoming weary or disillusioned with the wartime cause. This applied more to citizens and governments in Europe because of their proximity to the fighting. KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON stands as a popular and timely example of such a campaign.

Entertainment Industry Movies, plays, and shows to boost morale Increase patriotism Portray enemy stereotypically Donald Duck Propaganda did not only come from the government. The entertainment industry was eager to use the war as a way to capture an audience. The industry produced many examples of propaganda that not only served to rouse patriotism through positive portrayals of American values, but also through negative stereotyping of the enemies (usually German and Japanese citizens).

Review The United States government maintained strict censorship of reporting of the war. Public morale and ad campaigns kept Americans focused on the war effort. The entertainment industry produced movies, plays, and shows that boosted morale and patriotic support for the war effort as well as portrayed the enemy in stereotypical ways.

Propaganda Project (in class) Directions Create a propaganda poster based on the criteria below. Your poster be original, handmade*, and colorful. No printed images or type You will not be assessed on artistic ability, but rather on the thought and intention behind your art This is a partner project Country – You may create a poster from the perspective of: United States, Great Britain, Soviet Union, Germany, or Japan Topic Military Recruitment, War Bonds, Women in War, Rationing, Reasons to Fight Resources – For inspiration only! tinyurl.com/ww2posterstash tinyurl.com/ww2propaganda123 NO OFFENSIVE DEPICTIONS OF OR REFERENCES TO OTHER PEOPLE

Rubric Information Accuracy Propaganda Appropriateness All information should be of sound historical quality 1-10 scale Propaganda Appropriateness The poster should fit within the parameters for propaganda Poster Organization Product layout should reflect planning and consideration 1-5 scale Poster Effectiveness Directions should be followed and poster should reflect overall due diligence