Propaganda Used In Filmmaking During

WW2

By: Brandi VuPeriod 1: History

Information, usually officially communicated by the

government, that is aimed at large numbers of people to influence their opinions.

Used to state a lie or to be one-sided = enemy communication.

During WW2, BBC (British Broadcasting Channel) was the most popular station to listen to newsreels.o Exaggerated the Allies’ victories, or underplayed

their defeats.o Became very popular; people believed their opinions

.

What Is Propaganda?

Governments wanted people to take action in

their opinions. This was known as the “telephone game”.

Social network had to be biased – “Follow the Leader(s)”.

Imagery was also used (posters, films, photography)

Slogans had to be simple and repeatable.o Hitler said, “The intelligence of masses is

small. Their forgetfulness is great. They must be told the same thing a thousand times.”

The Strategies of Propaganda

Definition: The practice of officially examining books,

movies, etc. and suppressing unacceptable parts. The U.S. Army and Navy set this system up to protect

military secrets and guarantee domestic security by the late 1930s.

Congress passed the Smith Act in 1940. This made sure that civilians could not support the idea to overthrow the government.

Government officials were allowed to deport foreigners who were connected with revolutionary organizations.

Government regulated the publication of terrible images and videos of war on the homefront. Armed forces censored photographers and filmmakers.

Censorship

Office of War Information and Bureau of Motion Pictures

assured that the Hollywood films that were being distributed and played were not a harm to the war aims.

December 19, 1941 – FDR created the Executive Order #8985. This helped created the Federal Office of Censorship. o Expanded to 90 offices across the U.S. with more than

14,000 examiners.o Scanned radio & movie scripts, magazine and

newspaper stories, listened to phone conversations, checked for invisible ink, banned crossword puzzles, and reviewed more than one million letters a day.

Censorship

American filmmakers did not want to offend

foreign governments, so not all of their films were about world issues.

Most films anti-Axis were not distributed.

Movies vs. the Gov’t

1939 - directed by German-born Anatole

Litvak (who lived in the U.S. during WW2). First anti-Nazi American film. Although it was a commercial hit, itwas

banned in countries who supported Germany (or did not want to offend them).

This movie urged civilians to persuade government officials to enter the war to stop Germany

Confessions of a Nazi Spy

Sergeant York About the life of Alvin York, an American

soldier during WW1. His religion stated that he could not kill other

people, but fought for the U.S. anyway. Released in 1941 to give confidence to

civilians.A Yank in the RAF American pilot who joined Britain’s Royal Air

Force to fight the Nazis.

Sergeant York & A Yank In The RAF

Nazi leaders thought that the war would be

short and victoriouso Tried to persuade the civilians of Germany and

the areas they occupied – wanted support & cooperation

o Propaganda in other countries showed that Germany wanted to win the war to make a New Order and a new Europe

Germany’s government shut down museums, concert halls, and sport arenas; but, movie theaters were not

German Films

Famous movie maker – Goebbels

o Made Germany look like the best country; used Jews as scapegoats in his movies.

Triumph of the Will Actress – Leni Riefenstahl This film made the Nazi party’s rally in Nuremberg

look good.Jud Suss Wanted more Germans to be anti-Jewish. About a Jew who became an adviser to a German

duke. He and his friends wanted to take over a city in Germany.

Triumph of the Will & Jud Suss

Kolberg Used 180,000 real German soldiers. German town who resisted the French

emperor Napoleon Bonaparte’s army in 1908. The Germany army saved them at the last minute.

Goebbels wanted German civilians to resist the Allies.

Opened in Berlin at the end of January 1945 as the Allies were advancing to the heart of Germany.

Kolberg

Released in 1942 and seen by 28 million

people. About the romance and marriage between a

German singer played by Zarah Leander (a Swedish star) and an air force fighter pilot.

Zarah Leander sang the song, “I Know Someday a Miracle Will Happen”.

o Became the theme song for German civilians.

Die Grosse Liebe

When the U.S. entered the war, boosts in economy

and a dropping of the unemployment rate helped movie productions get back on track.

1944 – over 100 million movie tickets were sold every week.o Population in the U.S. was 130 million people.

“The Motion Pictures Committee Cooperating for National Defense” showed defense films made by the government with no charge.o Also called recruitment films – persuaded men and

women to be a part of the war effort. Women in Defense – Written by Eleanor Roosevelt. She

encouraged women to take their part in defense factories or the armed services.

U.S. and Their Propaganda Films

U.S. Government made movies about the

Japanese to inspire American citizens The Fighting Lady – an aircraft carrier and the

lives of the workers on it With the Marines at Tarawa – the director used

real soldiers to film this movie of the Battle of Tarawa

Liberation of Rome – documentary about the Allies advancing to Rome and successfully freeing the civilians from German rule in World War 2

After Pearl Harbor…

American documentary pushed American's

emotions further that the United States were fighting for the best

Seven films made by the U.S. Army Signal Corpso Showed how the Axis' governments brainwashed

and treated their country. o Leaders were using civilians to win powero Teachers and principals had to teach their students

how pure their government and leaders were The famous Hollywood director - Frank Capra

Why We Fight

Information:

"Art, Entertainment, and Propaganda." World War II ReferenceLibrary. Ed. Barbara C. Bigelow, et al. Vol. 2: Almanac. Detroit:UXL, 2000. 369-390. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 4 May2013.

"Communication: Propaganda." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 04 May 2013.

Laurie, Clayton D. "Propaganda during World War II." InfobaseLearning. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 May 2013.

Stokesbury, James L. "World War II." World Book Student. WorldBook, 2013. Web. 4 May 2013.

Stults, Taylor. "Propaganda." World Book Student. World Book, 2013. Web. 4 May 2013.

Pictures: Adolf Hitler. Digital image. Biography Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 May2013.<http://www.biographyonline.net/military/images/adolf-hitler.jpg>.

Bibliography

American WW2 Propaganda Films: Charlie Chaplin. Digital image.http://www.car-ups.com/images/2012-12-12/american-wwii-propaganda-films03.jpgCar-ups. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 May 2013.

BBC Logo. Digital image.https://si0.twimg.com/profile_images/662708106/bbc.pngTwitter:BBC News Channel. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 May 2013.Eleanor Roosevelt Portrait. Digital image. Wikimedia/wikipedia.N.p., n.d. Web. 4 May 2013. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/Eleanor_Roosevelt_portrait_1933.jpg/144px-Eleanor_Roosevelt_portrait_1933.jpg>.

Franklin Roosevelt. Digital image. Biography.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 May 2013. <http://www.biography.com/imported/images/Biography/Images/Profiles/R/Franklin-Roosevelt-9463381-1-402.jpg>.

Hawaii - Honolulu - Internment - Camp. Digital image. Tofugu. N.p.,n.d. Web. 4 May 2013. <http://www.tofugu.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/hawaii_honolulu_internment_camp2.jpg>.

Joseph Goebbels. Digital image. Wikimedia/wikipedia. N.p., n.d.Web. 4 May 2013. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1968-101-20A,_Joseph_Goebbels.jpg/245px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1968-101-20A,_Joseph_Goebbels.jpg>.

Bibliography

Opened by Censor Stamp. Digital image. Stamps - Auctions(Images). N.p., n.d. Web. 4 May 2013.<http://www.stamps-auctions.com/images/aus-c1.jpg>.

Prelude to War. Digital image. Imdb Media. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 May 2013. <http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTMwODY5MzQ4N15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwODY0MzU1MQ@@._V1_SY317_CR51,0,214,317_.jpg>.

Prelude to War: For Hiter We Live. Digital image. Moma.org. N.p.,n.d. Web. 4 May 2013. <http://www.moma.org/explore/inside_out/inside_out/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/PreludetoWar.jpg>.

Sergeant York Movie. Digital image. YellowAirplane/Models/Famous People. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 May 2013.<http://yellowairplane.com/Models_Famous_People/sergent_york.jpg>.

Spy Poster. Digital image. TwentyFour Frames. N.p., n.d. Web. 4May 2013. <http://twentyfourframes.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/spy-poster.jpg>.

Bibliography

Why We Fight Series. Digital image. Paste Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 May 2013. <http://cdn.pastemagazine.com/www/system/images/thumbs/www/articles/Why_We_Fight_300x207.jpg?1273915419>.

With the Marines at Tarawa Movie Poster. Digital image. MoviePoster Shop. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 May 2013. <http://images.moviepostershop.com/with-the-marines-at-tarawa-movie-poster-1944-1020198776.jpg>.

Zarah Leander. Digital image. Wikimedia/wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 May 2013. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Zarah_Leander.jpg>.

Bibliography