Fearing the Enemy

The media showed Americans what they should have feared during the war and who they had to protect. Posters such as the one below made viewers feel empathetic and think about their loved ones and how the war could impact them. Uncertainty of what would happen ran rampant in the minds of all Americans.

Koppes and Black’s article, "What to Show the World: The Office of War Information and Hollywood, 1942-1945" illustrates this point exactly. The Office of War information wanted to give the American people an idea of how the war was playing out, and overall sway those opinions. Elmer Davis, the OWI director said, "'The easiest way to inject a propaganda idea into most people's minds ... is to let it go in through the medium of an entertainment picture when they do not realize that they are being propagandized'" (Koppes). What medium of entertainment would this be? Films in Hollywood.

The cartoon below, Education for Death: The Making of the Nazi gives viewers a taste of what it is like to grow up as a Nazi. The cartoon gives some correct information in terms of the general history of how this group came to be, but also adds comedic relief or satire in some moments. For example, Germany is seen as an exaggerated woman getting saved by Hitler, who is represented as a knight in shining armor. Referring back to the OWI director's quote, it is these films that subconsciously shape the ideas of the American people without them even realizing it.