Archive & Analysis
“When the United States and the Soviet Union became allies, a shift in the portrayal of the
Soviet Union within American media took place. The United States started to promote ideas of
unity with all the Allies as they worked to fight Nazi Germany specifically using film. Movies
such as Mission to Moscow and the Why We Fight series showed a more united America and
Soviet Union. While United States propaganda portrayed a unified front with the Soviet Union,
and the two countries did work together during World War II, that did not mean that the tensions
between the two countries went away. Underneath the depictions of unity from the various films
made in the United States laid a tension and aggression between the United States’ capitalistic
ideas and the communist ideas of the Soviet Union.”
This website functions as a historical archive containing research and resources for the above thesis; here you can explore the various linked media (films, magazines, political documents, and more), and read the accompanying analysis written by Emily Gall.
A 1933-1945 Timeline
1
1933
Hitler & Nazi party comes to power in Germany
2
1938
Munich Crisis
Germany invades Austria
3
1939
Aug 3rd: Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact is signed
Sept 1st: Invades Poland, Start WWII
4
1941
Jun 22nd: Operation Barbarossa
Dec 1st: Pearl Harbor
5
1943
Jan 31st-Feb 2nd: Stalingrad surrendered
6
1944
Jun 6th: D-Day
7
1945
Apr 30th: Hitler commits suicide
May 7th: Germany signs unconditional surrender
Aug 6th: Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
Aug 9th: Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
Propaganda Archives
Films
During World War II, Hollywood officially became involved with the American propaganda machine. Hollywood released films with antifascist sentiments without government oversight in the 1930s, but after World War II began, the Office of War Information (OWI) formed and worked with Hollywood to release more propagandic films. They released a variety of films including documentary style films regarding the war, adaptations of books, short films, and many more. OWI would have to approve of scripts to ensure that the proper message (one that did not go against American goals) was being sent to the audience. OWI also developed the United News, which featured many small clips from the war and presented the United States and allies in an extremely united fashion.
Newspapers
During the 1940s, many people bought and read newspapers. Like the radio, newspapers allowed for people to stay informed regarding current events. Stories ranged from front page breaking news, to opinion pieces, to ads, to job listings, obituaries, etc. By looking at the kinds of stories published in newspapers, a historian can begin to create a better understanding of what people may have been feeling at the time as well as opinions of the time. Newspapers worked for profit, meaning that what they printed was both relevant to the people reading them as well as interesting to them. So while the newspapers may be the words of a handful of journalists, the papers would not print things that those reading would not want to see.
Political Documents
By looking at a variety of government documents that have been made available historians can gain a better understanding of government actions and motivations during and around World War II. Some of these documents the public has always been aware of such as legal acts or executive orders, but other documents from government agencies like the U.S. Army’s Signal Intelligence Service (the precursor to the NSA) revealed actions that the public was unaware of. Using different political documents provides crucial context to the government situation that the propaganda was created in.
Magazines
Magazines were another form of print media that people would get for entertainment. These are not the magazines that are found in modern day waiting rooms, but large, 100 plus page magazines. They included photos, news stories, opinion pieces, advice columns, ads, etc. All of which could take a propagandic tone at times. Like newspapers, the goal of magazines was to sell more, so what they printed was most likely relevant or interesting to potential readers. So, by looking at what magazines contain, historians can gain an idea of what interested and concerned people at the time.
Radio
In the 1940s millions of Americans owned radio, and every night people all over the country would tune in to hear various programs, some ranging from episodic dramas to news reports to FDR’s famous fireside chats. It makes sense then that these programs also contained American media propaganda which reflected the attitudes of the country around World War II.