Positive and Negative Aspects of War Propaganda During WWII

Throughout World War II, there were many modes of communication used. Radio, newspapers, magazines, airplanes, mail, morse code and, telephones were all some to name a few (Dphepner). Although these are all ideal ways of communicating, propaganda was very popular as well. Being seen throughout history as early as the 1600s, propaganda has a long and elaborate history. Most believe it is a fairly recent term, being struck up only as of WW1 but it has in fact been around for much longer (Story).

To briefly describe the term, propaganda is a usually hidden message designed to coax the designated audience into believing a certain thing or behaving in a certain matter (Bkind2animals). Generally seen in a political context, propaganda usually refers to political powers, political ideologies or government funded projects (What is Propaganda). Propaganda was as popular as it was throughout the World Wars as it contained the power to influence the minds of many consumers as well as to distract them from the relevant news on the matter. It was generally communicated through the use of posters and drawings (Propaganda Galanize).

Propaganda can be seen all throughout WWII and in many different contexts. It can be seen as a way to manipulate soldiers, play on human emotions, glorify racism, encourage partaking in the war efforts, distracting citizens from reality and much, much more (Master). It was used all throughout the world during WWII and played a very powerful role. It had the power to persuade entire countries into leaning towards certain ideas and practices. For example, by the use of name calling, propaganda artists were able to get people of different ethnicities to hate each other. By American artists calling Germans “Huns” and Japanese “Japs”, there was a strong allowance for a wall of hatred towards each other to be built. Techniques such as name calling were commonly used upon artists. Catchy slogans, appeal to fear, emotional appeal, and bandwagon were all very common ( Propaganda during WWII). Another example of effective use of propaganda was that of war bonds. Posters were created using the right techniques in order to collect a large amount of war bonds from citizens. 185 billion dollars in war bonds was able to be raised by the use of effective propaganda (World War Ll).

Propaganda in World War II can be seen from both a positive aspect as well as a negative aspect. Looking at it from a negative point, propaganda whether it was truthful or not, right or wrong, it did not matter to political powers, as long as it was getting the message across (Visual Essay). This is wrong in many ways. People should not be deceiving to the public in order to make them behave a certain way or do what they want them to do. People should have the freedom to have their own thoughts and views without being brainwashed (Alleyne). From a positive point, it had the power to involve people in the war efforts and make the costs of the war less of a burden on the government with the use of war bonds. It may as well have held the power to lead the United States into the freedom that it holds today by the use of propagating enrollment into war (Snow).

Propaganda played a large role in WWII and has a very strong historical significance. It contained the power of persuading entire nations into doing many demanding things which consequently created everlasting consequences on the world.