At Aces High we are all about World War II; no, not just about the combat, although our online flight sim game is the number one combat flight simulator on the market. No, we are all about every facet and fact about World War 2. You might call us WWII junkies because we can’t get enough of that fascinating part of our history.
So each week we write an article about another area of the war that we hope you find interesting, and this week we want to talk briefly about the propaganda used in the United States during the war.
Posters were used extensively in the Unites States as a way of bolstering moral during the war years. Businesses, government, and private organizations all printed posters calling upon citizens to do their part for the war effort. Other posters attacked the enemy and made them look to be evil characters.
There were also eight separate bond drives pushed by the government, and Hollywood and sports celebrities were used to push this propaganda item. The War Bond drive helped greatly in financing the war, and Americans were asked to put 10% of their earnings into war bonds; interestingly, the war bond movement was a huge success as Americans signed up and did their part.
Hollywood, of course, did their part in a big way. Movies such as Yankee Doodle Dandy, Going My Way, and Casablanca all helped to increase the patriotic fervor. Cartoons were developed with the war as the central theme, and movies were made as training films. There were also films that were blatant propaganda depicting the Germans and Japanese as evil beings intent on destroy America.
There was, in fact, a new Federal office, the Office of War Information, that had to approve every single film made about the war, to make sure that the correct information was being fed to the public. The Feds worked closely with directors, producers, and writers to make sure the right message was being relayed in the films.
Hollywood also sent entertainers to the war front countries to entertain the troops. Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, and many more, became household names here and in Europe because of their efforts.
When you think about it, it was really a remarkable effort by the military and civilians during a four year span. From the massive production of aircraft, tanks, and ships, to the awesome shooting of films, this was truly a total effort by the United States.
