Propaganda and the Second World War (30's & 40's)

Notes

Nazi propaganda art

• in Nazi propaganda flags were used as part of bringing the nation together. Branding and advertising also used flags and symbolism.
• swastika was originally an indian sign for piece but the nazis took it and used the symbol in a totally different light and they used it to represent them. It is now seen as a bad symbol and is often not used in modern day life.
• propaganda was used as a form of advertising and preparing people the german people in advance for what was going to happen during the war. 
• a lot of propaganda posters used the same font, this font has became iconic of propaganda art. 
• All of the Nazi propaganda idolised Hitler (image showing hitler with light beams behind him, looks like Jesus Christ)
• Everything in Germany around this time was trying to convince people that what they were doing was right. For example books were written about being agains the jews and art work was making jews look bad.
•  A lot of modernist degenerate art was used. It was very popular in propaganda art.

Anti Nazi propaganda 

• left wing magazines showed a lot of anti nazi propaganda.
• they often played on words and used a lot of visual puns.
• Charlie Chaplin made a spoof of the film Triumph of the will (1935) The film was about hitler making a speech to the people of Germany. Chaplin made the spoof in protest of Nazi Germany.
• Henry Moore used art to document how war effected peoples lives hard hitting  horrible imagery made life at this time look like hell.

Art used for recruitment

• Recruitment used a lot of strong graphics
• These posters played a large part in equality for women. as it was getting women out of the house and working. Doing the jobs to keep society going whilst the men went away to fight.
• it was a big advance for feminists but sexism was still going strong as shown in a lot of posters.
• Keep calm carry on posters were made incase of an invasion to help people stay calm. They were never used because we weren't invaded. They were discovered years later and are now iconic artwork.

Research task

research Illustration, graphics and posters in the second world war

During the second world war posters were used for many different things  but they were mainly used for advertising propaganda.  Propaganda was used for many reasons but it was used predominately for preparing the civilian population for what the army was planning to do. It also was used to get people on side and persuade them that what they were doing was right even if what the army was fighting for wasn't quite right. For example in Germany the Nazi propaganda would depict the jews representing them in a bad light so the people of Germany would be more accepting of what hitler was doing. (Figure 1) shows a  cartoon style Jewish man and it could be said that within the image he looks very cunning and evil. 

The Nazis wanted to persuade Germans that jews were an inferior race so that they could carry out their plan to segregate and exterminate them. Posters depicting jews as ugly bankers, taking money from honest people. As the war went on the depictions of jews became less human. [1]

(Figure 1) 1937 publication advertising the Der ewige Jude exhibit.

In  Britain propaganda was used in a very different way. It was used in a much more positive light as it was made to spread good moral to the country.These posters would often feature positive motivational messages such as 'Let us go forward together' as this was what kept the country optimistic. The propaganda also played a large part in recruitment especially for women as most of the men were away fighting and they needed people to work in the shops and factories. This was a great step in equality for women. Rather than being sexist towards women these posters would speak highly of the women with slogans such as 'Women in the war, we can't win without them' as seen in (figure 2,) this was to motivate the women even more to start working. The colours used in this particular poster are the colours of the british flag this would promote patriotism and make the women feel proud to work for their country. 

as in Britain, the role of women both in services and factories was publicised. [2]

Although women had been working in factories for the previous 200 years, they often had to different work from men. The increase of female workers in the 1930's and 40's allowed them to work on equal terms with men, often performing the same jobs. [3] 

 

(figure 2) Propaganda poster, 1942 

[1] SAMUELS C, Propaganda, Brown bear books limited, 2013 p.16 
[2] MOORE C, Propaganda prints, A&C Black publishers Limited, 2010 p.156
[3]GUY J, 30's and 40's Britain, ticktock media Ltd, 2008 p. 23