Reynoldson, F. Home Front: Propaganda 1993

A good primary school book, one of many Reynoldson has written. The book is well illustrated with photographs and poster illustrations, accompanied by clear text which, of necessity, is simplistic. There are several quotes from key figures in the war, which, if the subject is developed at a later age, will become well known!

The ‘Home Front’ is often a popular topic in schools, as so many areas of the National Curriculum can be covered. For instance, one of the topics suggested in this book is that the children are set to designing a propaganda poster of their own, based upon what they have learnt.

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Paret, P.; Lewis, B.; Paret, P. Persuasive Images 1992

Although this book is derived from an American collection of posters, the range of posters shown is very wide-ranging. After a brief general poster history pre-1914, the book contains many posters from most (if not all) of the belligerent nations involved in warfare during the twentieth century – a century in which propaganda and the art of advertising has flourished. Most of the posters are accompanied by useful snippets of information which tries to set the context for the poster, and discusses the significance of some of the symbolic imagery used in the designs.

The book deals with the First and Second World Wars, the Russian Revolution, the Spanish Civil War, the rise of the Nazis and briefly considers the use of posters post-1945, an era in which the television became the prominent medium, and the poster largely a support medium.

A must-have (for at least a view) for anyone interested in the history of wartime poster design.

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McLaine, I. Ministry of Morale: Home Front Morale and the Ministry of Information in World War Two London: George Allen & Unwin, 1979

A key work for this project which fully considers the administrative history of the Ministry of Information, the lead government department for propaganda. He argues that for two years, the measures taken by government propagandists were:

• Unnecessary and inept
• Based on misunderstanding and distrust of the British public
• Products of the class and background of the propagandists themselves.
• He feels that after two years:
• The Germans were still characterised as irretrievably wicked.
• Efforts were made to separate Communism from the ‘Russian’ (not Soviet) war effort.
• Propaganda was intermittently prompted by doubts about people’s martial stamina and devotion to Parliamentary democracy.

McLaine felt that the achievements of the Ministry of Information were that:

• The MOI realised importance of full and honest news as a factor
• They recognised that in the fight against totalitarianism, it was important not to disregard one of its main weapons, although within a democratic context.
• With benefit of Home Intelligence, the MOI came to regard the British people as sensible and tough, and so entitled to be taken into the government’s confidence

See if you can get hold of a copy on Amazon.}

Grant, Mariel Propaganda and the Role of the State in Inter-War Britain Oxford: Clarendon, 1994

This work is converted from Grant’s PhD thesis, and is obviously largely concerned with the inter-war propaganda, although the starting point taken was the initial ‘failure’ of the Ministry of Information at the beginning of the war. She feels that most other works have concentrated too much upon the negativity which surrounded propaganda after its use in the First World War, and upon staffing problems, with little or no consideration of peacetime propaganda which affected wartime propaganda.

The work considers inter-war developments, such as the development of publicity bureaux in many government departments, which caused problems in the formation of the Ministry of Information as they did not want to give up their independence to a centralised publicity bureau in the war. By 1937, there were seventeen publicity departments, which shows a rise in the acceptance of the idea of publicity as “legitimate function” of government departments, even if it was not fully accepted by the Second World War.

She considers propaganda developments in other countries, and debates about propaganda in the period in order to understand how, why and to what degree propaganda became an acceptable activity of government.

Purchase from Oxford University Press

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Freeman, R.A. Britain at War 1990

To describe this book as a ‘scrapbook’ is oversimplifying it rather a lot! There is a lot of good quality text also within this work, although the information is not referenced! The book IS aimed at the younger reader, or those with a general interest, and is well illustrated with many well-known (and not so well known) black and white photographs.

The book deals with life on the Home Front during the Second World War, maintaining a chronological layout as far as possible, but much of the ‘Home Front’ wartime life was ‘ongoing’ and therefore there are thematic chapters devoted to rationing, salvage, to life on the land, entertainment, all the while promoting the ‘Blitz spirit’.

A good book for schools!

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Doherty, M. Nazi Wireless Propaganda: Lord Haw-Haw and British Public Opinion in the Second World War Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2000

This  is the first book devoted exclusively to the analysis of the Nazis’ radio effort against the United Kingdom during the Second World War. It traces the development of the German propaganda service and looks to erode the myth surrounding Lord Haw-Haw -the ‘superpropagandist’. Propaganda is presented in context: the purposes behind it, the changing patterns, themes, styles, and techniques employed, and the impact upon the target audience and its morale. An analysis of the Nazi wireless broadcasts to Britain for the whole of the Second World War reveals a sophisticated and intelligent propaganda assault on the social and economic fabric of British society. In the end the British failed to succumb to the stupefying effects of Nazi propaganda and they traditionally congratulate themselves upon the national unity which immunised them against it. The author argues that this traditional view disguises a more complex, less appealing reality.

Edinburgh University Press Review. Further Details

The book looks at the organisation behind the broadcasts to the United Kingdom during the Second World War: the RMVP (German Propaganda Ministry). It considers the subjects used in broadcasts during the `Phoney war`, including the type of social problems in Britain upon which the Nazis focused. It also discusses the subject matter used during a time of seemingly `unstoppable victories` for the Nazis, and also reflects upon how they dealt with the issue of defeat. The book also considers how the British, including the state, the media, and the people, reacted to the broadcasts.

People often felt that they were not being given enough facts by their own government, so turned to `Lord Haw-Haw` for information. Along with other recent books by James Chapman ‘The British at War: Cinema, State and Propaganda’ (1998) and Mariel Grant ‘Propaganda and the Role of State in Interwar Britain’ (1994) this book is a converted, well-researched, PhD thesis dealing with an otherwise under-researched area in the ever-widening field of British propaganda studies, with a particular focus upon the highly mythologized figure of `Lord Haw-Haw`

An interesting extra to the book is a CD which contains a selection of wartime broadcasts by `Lord Haw-Haw` and other broadcasters from Germany, spanning January 1940 to April 1945. It is interesting that new media has allowed a wider circulation of such topics, with a reasonable sound quality.

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Chapman, J. The British at War: Cinema, State and Propaganda, 1939-1945 London: I.B. Tauris, 1997

This work is converted from Chapman’s PhD, and is described as a “comprehensive history of the role, nature and organisation of film propaganda in Britain during the Second World War.” Chapman challenges the received wisdom that WW2 propaganda was shambolic and disorganised.

He shows how film propaganda was more successful than alleged. He examines the roles of both commercial film industry and government film units; through an analysis of government and trade sources he explores the relationship between the Ministry of Information & sectors of the film industry. He discusses the role of the cinema as a vehicle for propaganda – set within the context of a country at war. He identifies themes and images through the analysis of key films, whilst exploring their competing entertainment and propaganda values.

Chapman investigated a wide range of different sources including government records, the trade press, newspaper reviews, Mass-Observation surveys & some private letters, memoranda and committee minutes to produce a thorough, well-written, analytical work.

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Cantwell, J.D. Images of War: British Poster 1939-45 London: HMSO, 1989

The first half of the book contains some illustrations, but is largely text covering a brief history of the Second World War. Cantwell claims that “No British poster of the Second World War had the dramatic impact or the ensuring quality of Kitchener’s ‘Your Country Needs YOU’ in the First.” But many poster slogans have never been forgotten by those who lived through the war years, but most people who DIDN’T live through that time could name at least one or two poster slogans: ‘Careless Talk Costs Lives’, ‘Dig for Victory’, and ‘Coughs and Sneezes Spread Diseases’ – although I’m sure you can remember many more!

He claimed that “Visually, they cannot be regarded as great works of art; neither were they intended as such by the artists concerned, many of them distinguished within their own profession.” It was not only the message that was important, the posters also “tell us something about the prevailing manners and customs. They also mirror the changing fortunes of the war…”[p4]

The second half of the book is devoted to some of the many posters produced during the war, by the Ministry of Information, amongst others. The only shame is that with so many posters to choose from, and so little space, there are three or four series which are over-represented amongst the selection.

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Related Projects of Interest

There are many others working on, or have already completed, theses that are also of interest to me as a researcher in this topic, and therefore may also be of interest to others.

• Boon, T., ‘Film and contestation of public health in interwar Britain ‘, PhD, 1999
• Chapman, J., ‘Official British Film Propaganda during the Second World War’, PhD, 1995
• Carruthers, S.L., ‘Propaganda, publicity and political violence: the presentation of terrorism in Britain, 1944-60′, PhD, 1994
• Davies, S.R., ‘Propaganda and popular opinion in Soviet Russia, 1934-41′, D.Phil, 1994
• Efstathiadou, A., ‘The Art of Seeing: visual representation of women during WWII in Greece and UK’, PhD, in progress
• Fisher, S. J. ‘The Blitz and the Bomber Offensive: A Case Study in British Home Propaganda, 1939-45′, PhD, 1993
• Griange, P., ‘Monochrome Memories: Nostalgia and Style in 1990s America’, PhD, date?
• Howling, I.R.C. ”Our Soviet Friends’: the presentation of the Soviet Union in the British Media 1941-45′, M.A., 1988
• Kertesz, M.A. ‘The Enemy – British Images of the German people during the Second World War’, D.Phil, 1992
• McCarty, E.A. ‘Attitudes to women and domesticity in England, c.1939-1955′, D.Phil, 1994
• McPherson, E., ‘The impact of the Second World War on local authorities in South Lancashire 1935-45′, PhD, 1995
• Noakes, L. ‘Gender and British national identity in wartime: a study of the links between gender and national identity in Britain in the Second World War, the Falklands War and the Gulf War.’, D.Phil, 1996
• Parker, K.L. ‘Women MPs, Feminism and Domestic Policy in the Second World War’, D.Phil, 1994
• Rennie, P., ‘An investigation into the design, production and display contexts of industrial safety posters produced by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents during WW2′, PhD, 2004
• Royall, K., ‘Posters of the Second World War: The Fourth Arm of Defence?’, M.A., 1991
• Ryan, S.F., ‘British perceptions of the meaning of the war: the government, the public and the fate of France: 1939-42′, M.Phil, 1993
• Sinclair, G., ‘Propaganda and Churchill in the Second World War: the Making of an Icon’, PhD, in progress
• Spears, L.W., An Enquiry into the use of propaganda on the Home Front during World War Two with special reference to the role and effectiveness of the poster as a means of conveying Government policy MA, 1998
• Taylor, P.H., ‘The role of local government during the second world war, with special reference to Lancashire.’, PhD, 1992
• Taylor, P.M., ‘The projection of Britain: British overseas publicity and propaganda, 1914-1939, with particular reference to the work of the news department of the Foreign Office.’, PhD, 1978

Please contact me with your details if you are also working upon a topic of interest, at any level, and wish to be added to the list. Please provide a link to a webpage if you have one, otherwise a synopsis of your project would be good.

See theses completed and in progress for more history theses. If your university is a registered user, you can access abstracts of theses online. Mine was completed in 2004.

Min.

Katrina Royall: ‘Posters of the Second World War: The Fourth Arm of Defence?’

Royall, K., ‘Posters of the Second World War: The Fourth Arm of Defence?’
MA Thesis, completed 1991. Westminster University

Poster campaigns from the Second World War are a part of people’s collective memories. Frustrated by the lack of published information on the subject, this project investigates the British posters of the Second World War produced by the Ministry of Information and the response to them.

In 2004 Royall was Course Administrator at the V&A.