I am exploring the factors that made propaganda an effective method of spreading hate, gaining support for a war, and influencing general opinion. My goal is to make an online exhibit that will display examples of propaganda created by both axis and ally forces. This exhibit is meant to bring access to pieces of propaganda and understanding to the motivations of the countries that I present. The objective of this project is to leave the viewer with unbiased information about propaganda. Considering how divisive propaganda can be, I thought that it would be productive to present viewers with an exhibit that just provided the facts and the motivations behind making the propaganda that I present.ach category will have three or more examples with a small excerpt explaining key parts of the presented piece. In each of these subcategories is an example of propaganda made by a few countries. These countries are Germany, the United States, Japan, and England. Each of these pieces of propaganda have descriptions of the piece that describes meanings, what is being displayed, and who it is directed toward. In some of the examples you can hover your cursor over text and other parts of the propaganda that will explain and or translate words that may be in a foreign language. You can tell that this is available because there is a little box surrounding text or certain parts of the piece.
Germany has a vast supply of propaganda to choose from. I chose some of the most appealing and interesting pieces that I could find. Each one has its own meaning and its own message intended for many different people. Each one presents a message that supports the Nazi party’s ideology. The Japanese examples were a little harder to find. Considering that finding examples of Japanese propaganda was difficult, it just adds more urgency to why I created this exhibit. I am providing a number of examples with clear explanations that allow the viewer, yourself, to understand and interpret the facts as you please. Japan has a number of pieces that are oriented towards recruiting and demonizing FDR. These are what most of the Japanese examples are. The US, however, has a number of clear examples of propaganda used during WWII. The propaganda made by the United States ranges from vilifying the enemy to promoting industry on the homefront. Each piece is a unique piece of art that has a very intentional and strong message. Some of these works are still quite popular today like “Rosie the Riveter”. These popular pieces from back then have continued to inspire the same message in a different age. Britain also has a few propaganda messages that have stuck around. One of those being “Keep Calm and Carry On”. Britain has a very stylized propaganda that does not always make the enemy monsters. Their approach was to make the enemy known but to inspire more morale and encourage British citizens to support the war effort by any means possible.
Each country has a common theme of using its propaganda to demonize the enemy and instill fear into its citizens eyes. These governments were able to make their opposing forces out to anything they wanted. Creating the enemy into a monster made it easy for people to support prolonged violence. It was used to justify killing and to validate the problems each country was having. Germany for example made the entire Jewish population as the reason for why Germany was in such a bad depression. The United States made its citizens fear the Japanese Americans living in the US. Each country could completely change the dynamic of people just by using colorful posters and divisive word play. There really is no limit to what propaganda can do. It can also come in many forms. In the United States propaganda was often used in hollywood. Even companies that we know nowadays used to make propaganda to support the war effort. Warner Bros. and Disney both used their popular lovable characters to teach children and adults that war bonds are a good investment or that loose lips sink ships.
Propaganda has also inspired further support in the art community. Unfortunately, because of the Nazis and Goebbels’ obsession with film, it helped evolve the film industry and contributed to the continued growth of cinematography. Other works also helped launch the art community into the light with beautiful illustrations made in their propaganda. While the pretenses to why these artists and their artforms became more popular is rather grim, it served as a good spearhead into modern day art.
During this exhibit my hope is that you are able to only have the raw and true facts in front of you. I encourage you to take the facts that are presented here and go further in research to make an opinion about propaganda or whatever it might be. Let this serve as an example for what it means to present the facts and step away. It is my job as a historian to only give what is objectively true and nothing more. I hope that if you find any emotion or subjective opinions, you look past them and only see the historical facts of the document presented. If you find a fact that is questionable or maybe you disagree with, please, I urge you to question it. Do not stop at the surface level. Go deeper into the subject and maybe you will find varying information deep within your examination.
Please take your time to look at each part of the pieces presented and question every minute detail. Do not leave any part unjudged by your eyes. Make sure that you share this with a friend or someone you might know that would be interested in this exhibit. I hope that you enjoy the exhibit and all that it has to offer. Make sure to check out the other sections of this WWII exhibit. Each part has something new and exciting to offer, so I encourage you to take a look at each part to understand the full scope of WWII.