World War 2 Propaganda

American Studies Research Paper

Only a DRAFT!

May change/be updated - still in progress - may still contain inaccuracies

Paper

As the United States entered World War II, Franklin Delano Roosevelt needed a way to communicate the war to the American people. With Executive Order 9182, he created the Office of War Information, consolidating different agencies in order to "dissemination of general public information on the war effort." FDR appointed Elmer Davis to head the new agency tasked with coordinating the press, radio and film industries into selling the war to the American people. The agency had 2 purposes: glorify the war and tell the Americans at home why their sacrifices were necessary. At first the agency tried to truthfully represent the war, but later moved onto present slanted works filled with stereotypes of the enemy.

The OWI gathered data and controlled the release of news to the American people, emphasizing the importance of the war and why we needed to win. For example, Frank Capra’s films Why We Fight gives background on the war and warns of the danger of the imperialistic Axis. The movie starts by presenting the United States as the "free world" which has a long history of freedom set by religious and political documents. It then contrasts this with a world of slavery lead by a "rabble-rouser", Hitler, who is out for his selfish interests. The people in this slave world gave up their individualism to allow their governments to pursue imperialistic pursuits. In addition the governments of these countries controlled all of the news sources and filled them with propaganda. However it does not mention that the US government was similarly controlling public information. (made it up to 17 min – use more if needed)

Messages of sacrifice

Wartime posters tried to use the advertising techniques of the time to sell the idea that the factory and home were also arenas of the war and the factory workers and families were vital to the war’s success.

Roles:

Factory worker (battlestation)

Keep the war from home

War bonds

Gardens

Woman’s

Personal sacrifices to win war

The OWI also had the responsibility of reviewing the government’s posters. At first the two groups clashed over the poster designs. One group liked the "war art" style featuring stylized symbols and images. Another group, which had worked in the advertising industry, wanted the government’s posters to be more like advertisements. Francis Brennan, who was the former art director of Fortune Magazine wanted posters to combine the sophisticated style of contemporary art with the promotion of war aims. For example, "Strong in the Strength of the Lord", used artwork combined with an abstract message of supporting "the cause". Other posters tried to combine the messages of sacrifice with the smiling faces and carefree households found in advertising.

The OWI even conducted surveys in factories to test worker’s impressions of new posters.

Some posters were simple, made with silk-screen technology to quickly reproduce color posters so they could be put in places traditional advertising did not reach such as schools, factories, offices, and store windows. The WPA published the handbook How to Make and Reproduce Posters, which declared that "Anyone can make a poster."

Private firms also made posters, even outnumbering the amount of official government-issued posters. Manufactures also used posters and the war effort to get employees to "suspend union rules, abandon traditional work patterns, and make sacrifices in the name of patriotism." S. D. Warren Company even published a catalog of posters that they were selling to business to encourage workers to increase production. The government also urged "joint labor-management coordinating committees" to work together to increase morale and to resolve issues between labor and management. General Motor’s poster "Together We Can Do It" exemplifies this. The posters also tried to paint workers as "production soldiers", for example in "Wear it Proudly". Some posters encouraged workers to ask their supervisors if the had any questions ("Any Questions about York Work? Ask Your Supervisor!"). Others suggested that wasting time was hurting Americans ("Kiling Time Is Killing Men").

Posters frequently used stereotypical images of the enemy giving instructions to workers telling them to work slower. For example, "Thanks for Loafing, Pal!" shows Hitler thanking an American worker for slacking. These posters tried to get Americans to reject this possibility by working harder.

Posters also idolized America’s streets, families, optimism, and standard of living.

Others tried to show the grim realities of a war at home. For example, "Dear God, Keep Them Safe!" by the Kroger Grocery and Baking Company shows two school children wearing gas maskes.

Rosy the Rivitor

Production incentive posters example http://americanhistory.si.edu/victory/victory3.htm

The OWI and the government

Movies

Posers like ads

Photographs

Nor all rosy

Powerful+

Outline

• Basics and OWI
• Reasons and Importance
• Types and Artistic Styles
  • 7 questions evaluating movies
• Causes Advocated for
• Effects

Sources

• U. S. Office of War Information (OWI) Collection. 3 Fed 2008. Library of Congress. 2 Apr 2008 <http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/awhhtml/awrs9/owi.html>.
• War Aims Through Art: The U.S. Office of War Information. 18 Jan 2000. Smithsonian Institution. 2 Apr 2008 <http://americanhistory.si.edu/victory/victory5.htm>.
• Collection of posters: http://digital.library.unt.edu/browse/collection/wwpc/
• Faragher, John Mack, Mari Jo Buhle, Daniel Czitrom, and Susan H. Armitage. Out of Many. Revised 3^rd edition. Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ: 2002.
• Bauer, Lt. Colonel Eddy. Marshall Cavendish Illustrated Encyclopedia of World War II. Vol 6. Pg 1689-1715. Marshall Cavendish: NY, 1985.
• Roosevelt, Franklin D. Executive Order 9182 Establishing the Office of War Information. 13 June 1924. Office of the President. 2 Apr 2008 <http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/print.php?pid=16273>.
• Photos: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/fsahtml/fahome.html
• Soroka, Kristin. "Motion Pictures and Propaganda." Hollywood at War. 13 Mar 1999. University of San Diego. 2 Apr 2008 <http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/st/~ksoroka/hollywood2.html>.
• Soroka, Kristin. "Office of War Information." Hollywood at War. 13 Mar 1999. University of San Diego. 2 Apr 2008 <http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/st/~ksoroka/hollywood3.html>.
• Soroka, Kristin. "The Battle Ground." Hollywood at War. 13 Mar 1999. University of San Diego. 2 Apr 2008 <http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/st/~ksoroka/hollywood4.html>.
• Soroka, Kristin. "Morale Films: Courage, Comedy, and American Nostalgia." Hollywood at War. 13 Mar 1999. University of San Diego. 2 Apr 2008 <http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/st/~ksoroka/hollywood5.html>.
• Soroka, Kristin. "The Stars Go to War." Hollywood at War. 13 Mar 1999. University of San Diego. 2 Apr 2008 <http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/st/~ksoroka/hollywood7.html>.
• Soroka, Kristin. "Hollywood Homefront Mobilization." Hollywood at War. 13 Mar 1999. University of San Diego. 2 Apr 2008 <http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/st/~ksoroka/hollywood8.html>.
• Soroka, Kristin. "Selective Filmography." Hollywood at War. 13 Mar 1999. University of San Diego. 2 Apr 2008 <http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/st/~ksoroka/hollywoodfilm.html>.

=To Research

• http://www.purewatergazette.net/propagandainamerica.htm
• http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/index.html
• http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/designs_for_democracy/index.html
• http://www.bartleby.com/65/of/OfficeWa.html
• http://www.unt.edu/honors/eaglefeather/2004_Issue/PierceD2.shtml