Heroism and Propaganda in World War II

British propaganda during WWI

In contrast to the German propaganda machine, Britain not only found itself on the back foot compared to the German army, it also found itself at a considerable disadvantage when it came to propaganda. The Germans had taken modes of propaganda to such a specialized level that would very difficult to match. The reality is that this war would not be won with winning the propaganda battle; it would be won on the battlefield. If the war was only about propaganda, then the Germans would have had an enviable head start, with a fanatically loyal following and powerful instruments to shift their beliefs rapidly. The crucial element was to see who could translate the message in the most effective manner to contribute to the result on the battlefield. For the British, this effectively lay in the hands of one man.

During much of the 1930’s Winston Churchill had been vilified as a warmonger out of step with the world around him. With the events of 1939 he had been proven correct in his warnings about German militarization and their threat to Europe. After becoming Prime Minister on May 10th, 1940, Churchill became the face and the voice of the British war effort. With increasing regularity, national radio addresses reinforced the successes of the war effort and setbacks were acknowledged but not considered anything more than that. Following the loss of the African port of Casablanca to the Germans on November 10th, 1942, the general feeling was that Germany could not be stopped. Churchill famously responded, “This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”[1] This steadfast nature, the feeling of never giving up, had been woven into the British public by Churchill so intricately that no amount of German propaganda could undo it. His stature as a war hero, particularly poignant as it was happening in front of everyone’s eyes, meant that when his image was applied to propaganda posters, it simply reinforced the feelings that already existed. Unlike the Germans, the British did not need to generate a national cause for this war- it was already there.

In the following example, Churchill’s image is allied with one of his gentle phrases to reinforce the stunning effort of the Royal Air Force in overcoming the German Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain. This victory for the British Royal Air Force signaled the first defeat inflicted on the German war machine, impugning Hitler’s claims of German superiority.

Propaganda poster of Winston Churchill: "Let us Go Forward Together"
Winston Churchill Propaganda Poster

Churchill was also quick to identify the men in the battlefield and yet another stirring phrase would shine the light so brightly over the men who had forced the success of the Battle of Britain. This would also be reflected in posters issued by the British government.

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Winston Churchill quote poster

Churchill and his image were not the sole effort in the British propaganda effort. In much the same way as all the nations in the war, Britain generated posters and pamphlets that encouraged those remaining at home to also contribute. In many cases, this meant the wives and daughters of those in the battlefield going into the factories to boost the industrial output needed to supply the war. Those in the countryside were integral in taking in the children from the cities that were facing bombing raids, particularly London. With the newsreels brought back from the various fronts, Britain’s cinemas were put into action broadcasting the “Pathe News” reports, broadcasts that told those watching the latest details of the war. These could be considered the precursor to the modern day blog.

Whilst seemingly accentuating mostly positive messages, the British government did issue anti-German posters, although the tone and content was more muted due to the closeness of the Germans and the British. In a sense, it would be difficult to demonize the German as it might be perceived as demonizing the Briton too, such were the similarities. With no tangible racial or ethnic differences, it was not a course pursued by the British. In Churchill, the British had an easily identifiable hero, a true statesman whose effectiveness at bonding the population reduced propaganda to a supporting role only.

Soviet Communist propaganda

The circumstances of Soviet propaganda are equally as different to the British as they are to the German. The Communist Party under Stalin since 1923 had refined its propaganda techniques in the reinforcement of its communist ideology. It merely required some fine tuning to have an effect on its people. The “Stakhanovite” worker had become such an icon that it was not a stretch for the Soviet government to address the people so that they would turn out for the war effort. In contrast to the British, the Soviets were very willing to demonize the Germans. The Slavic ethnicity had no compunction about portraying the Germans in demeaning terms and as illustrated, their posters were graphic in content.

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The iron grip that Stalin had on the Communist Party apparatus meant that he was able to direct his propaganda machine’s attention toward the Germans and the results were evident. The Soviets were able to withstand a siege at Stalingrad in 1943 that eventually came to define the second major reversal for the Germans. It came at heavy cost, with the loss of an estimated seven hundred and fifty thousand Russians. In both cases, for the British and the Soviets, the men of the military and the civilian population came to define hero by the end of the war. They had withstood the might of the German military machine.

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