World War II Propaganda

Propaganda during World War II was, by far, the most powerful weapon of war used by both Nazi Germany and the United States. Without the the increase in production and productivity encouraged by propaganda, the United States may have not been able to win the war (Carter). The main goal of propaganda was to shape public opinion, and countries were desperate to have influence over the information their citizens received. In Germany, the government agency Ministry of People's Enlightenment and Propaganda was created to spread the ideas associated with Nazi Germany and the Third Reich ("World War II Propaganda"). While the United States was one of the later countries to begin the use of propaganda, the office of War Information was created
Even Disney was well known for its film “Education for Death: The Making of the Nazi”, a somber documentary depicting the hate-filled education of German children (Stillich). The director Frank Capra, most famously known for his film It’s a Wonderful Life, was recruited by Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall to create a documentary series for the United States government. His series Why We Fight became increasingly popular across the country. However, the information expressed in the documentary and others like it were commonly accepted as impartial facts, when in actuality they contained extremely biased propaganda. In his series, Capra took propaganda footage from Axis countries and edited it to portray America’s enemies in the most negative light as possible (Navarro). Although, America was not the only country using film to influence the war effort. The Nazi regime produced several films such as “The Eternal Jew” to promote their anti-Semitic ideology and hatred of various ethnic, religious, and social groups. The famous German actress and dancer Leni Riefenstahl was even used as a spokesperson to gain support for the Nazi party ("World War II
Rationing and conservation were both heavily promoted in the United States in order to provide the war effort with goods and materials. Although rationing America was far less severe to that of other nations, it was still an ever-present annoyance to many Americans. The Office of Price Administration, in charge of food and product rationing, was one of the most disliked governmental departments in the nation. However, most Americans complied with the rationing demands (Carter). The slogan, “Use it up, wear it out it out, make it do or do without” became popular statement on propaganda posters. Carpooling was encouraged as a method to conserve gasoline and American families planted “victory gardens” in order to produce their own food (Winkler).
While rationing was able to provide the United States with some of the necessary goods for war, more goods still needed to be produced. New factories were built and expanded in order to produce more products. Almost every town in the country had something war production-related in the vicinity. Workers in “nonessential” jobs were moved to jobs that