During American involvement in World War II (1941–45), propaganda was used to increase support for the war and commitment to an Allied victory. Using a vast array of media, propagandists instigated hatred for the enemy and support for America's allies, urged greater public effort for war production and victory gardens, persuaded people to save some of their material so that more material could be used for the war effort, and sold war bonds. Patriotism became the central theme of advertising throughout the war, as large scale campaigns were launched to sell war bonds, promote efficiency in factories, reduce ugly rumors, and maintain civilian morale. The war consolidated the advertising industry's role in American society, deflecting earlier criticism.Inger L. Stole, ‘’Advertising at War: Business, Consumers, and Government in the 1940s’’ (University of Illinois Press; 2012) The leaders of the Axis powers were portrayed as cartoon caricatures, in order to make them appear foolish and idiotic. The American government produced posters, films, and radio programs as much as it produced ammunition and weapons of war. In fact, posters, films, books, and animations were weapons to capture the hearts and minds of American citizens. This was all designed to create a society that supported the war.

Campaign At first, the government was reluctant to engage in propaganda campaigns, but pressure from the media, the business sector and advertisers who wanted direction persuaded the government to take an active role.Maureen Honey, Creating Rosie the Riveter: Class, Gender and Propaganda during World War II, p 30, Even so, the government insisted that its actions were not propaganda, but a means of providing information.Leila J. Rupp, Mobilizing Women for War, p 90, These efforts were slowly and haphazardly formed into a more unified propaganda effort, although never to the level of World War I.William L. O'Neill, A Democracy At War: America's Fight At Home and Abroad in World War II, p 140

In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Office of War Information (OWI).Clayton Laurie, The Propaganda Warriors (University of Kansas Press) This mid-level agency joined a host of other wartime agencies, including the War and State Departments, in the dissemination of war information and propaganda.Allan Winkler, The Politics of Propaganda: Office of War Information, 1942-1945. (Yale University Press) Officials at OWI used numerous tools to communicate to the American public. These included Hollywood movie studios, radio stations and printing presses.Barbara Savage, Broadcasting Freedom (Duke University Press)

The Writers' War Board was privately organized for the purposes of propaganda and often acted as liaison between the government and the writers. Many of the writers involved regarded their efforts as superior to governmental propaganda,William L. O'Neill, A Democracy At War: America's Fight At Home and Abroad in World War II, p 141 as they regarded their material as bolder and more responsive than governmental efforts.Lee Kennett, For the Duration. . . : The United States Goes To War p 166 However, the writers both responded to official requests and initiated their own campaigns.

In 1944 (lasting until 1948), prominent U.S. policy makers launched a domestic propaganda campaign aimed at convincing the U.S. public to accept a harsh peace for the German people. One method used in this campaign was an attempt to remove the commonly held view that the German people and the Nazi party were separate entities.Steven Casey, (2005), The Campaign to sell a harsh peace for Germany to the American public, 1944–1948, [online]. London: LSE Research Online. Originally published in History, 90 (297). pp. 62-92 (2005) Blackwell Publishing A key participant in this campaign was the Writers' War Board, which was closely associated with the Roosevelt administration.

Media

Posters The United States used posters to advertise, and produced more propaganda posters than any other country fighting in World War II.Terrence H. Witkowski "World War II Poster Campaigns: Preaching Frugality to American Consumers." Journal of Advertising, Vol 32 No 1 Page 72 Almost 200,000 different designs were printed during the war.Robert Heide and John Gilman, Home Front America: Popular Culture of the World War II Era p 36

These posters used a number of themes to encourage support for the war, including conservation, production, recruiting, home efforts and secrecy. Posters were usually placed in areas without paid advertisements. The most common areas were post offices, railroad stations, schools, restaurants and retail stores.William L. Bird, JR. and Harry R. Rubenstein. Design for Victory: World War II Posters on the American Home Front. Princeton Architectural Press. New York, 1998. Page 12 Smaller posters were printed for the windows of private homes and apartment buildings.Robert Heide and John Gilman, Home Front America: Popular Culture of the World War II Era p 37 These were places where other propaganda media couldn't be used.The Poster's Place in Wartime

The Office of War Information (OWI) Bureau of Graphics was the government agency in charge of producing and distributing propaganda posters. The main distinction between United States poster propaganda and that of British and other allied propaganda was that the U.S. posters stayed mostly positive in their messages. The United States posters focused on duty, patriotism and tradition, whereas those of other countries focused on fueling the people's hatred for the enemy. The positive messages on U.S. posters were used to increase production on the home front instead of insuring that the "money raised was not lost." American posters rarely used images of war casualties, and even battlefield scenes became less popular, and were replaced by commercial images to satisfy the "consumer" need for the war.William L. Bird, JR. and Harry R. Rubenstein. Design for Victory: World War II Posters on the American Home Front. Princeton Architectural Press. New York, 1998. Page 48

The war posters were not designed by the government, but by artists who received no compensation for their work. Government agencies held competitions for artists to submit their designs, allowing the government to increase the number of designs that it could choose from.William L. Bird, JR. and Harry R. Rubenstein. Design for Victory: World War II Posters on the American Home Front. Princeton Architectural Press. New York, 1998. Page

Advertising

Companies ran advertising supporting the war. This helped keep their names before the public although they had no products to sell, and they were allowed to treat this advertising as a business expense.William L. O'Neill, A Democracy At War: America's Fight At Home and Abroad in World War II, p 253-4 The War Advertising Council helped supervise such efforts.William L. O'Neill, A Democracy At War: America's Fight At Home and Abroad in World War II, p 254 Car manufacturers and other producers that retooled for the war effort took out ads depicting their efforts.Robert Heide and John Gilman, Home Front America: Popular Culture of the World War II Era p 128 Other companies connected their products in some way with the war. For example, Lucky Strike claimed the change from green to white in its packaging was to save bronze for weapons, and, as a result, saw its sales skyrocket.Robert Heide and John Gilman, Home Front America: Popular Culture of the World War II Era p 128-9 Food and soft drink companies such as Coca-Cola depicted their products being consumed by defense workers and members of the armed forces.Robert Heide and John Gilman, Home Front America: Popular Culture of the World War II Era p 129 Many commercial ads also urged the purchase of war bonds.Robert Heide and John Gilman, Home Front America: Popular Culture of the World War II Era p 130

Much of the war effort was defined by advertising, and the armed forces overseas preferred magazines with full ads rather than a slimmed down version without them.William L. O'Neill, A Democracy At War: America's Fight At Home and Abroad in World War II, p 255

Comic books and cartoons

Just as is done today, editorial cartoonists sought to sway public opinion. For example, Dr. Seuss supported interventionism even before the attack on Pearl Harbor.Richard H. Minear, Dr. Seuss Goes to War: The World War II Editorial Cartoons of Theodor Seuss Geisel (1999) p 16

Comic strips, such as Little Orphan Annie and Terry and the Pirates, introduced war themes into their stories.Robert Heide and John Gilman, Home Front America: Popular Culture of the World War II Era p 83 Even before the war, sabotage and subversion were common motifs in action-oriented strips.Lee Kennett, For the Duration. . . : The United States Goes To War p 6

Many superheroes were shown combating Axis spies or activities in America and elsewhere.Robert Heide and John Gilman, Home Front America: Popular Culture of the World War II Era p 84 A comic book depicting Superman attacking the German Westwall was attacked in an issue of Das Schwarze Korps, the SS weekly newspaper, with the Jewish origin of creator Jerry Siegel given prominent attention.The SS and Superman Similarly, the Marvel comics superhero Captain America is seen punching Hitler, while simultaneously deflecting bullets from Nazi soldiers, on the cover page of Captain America Comics #1.

In 1944, after being praised by Ernie Pyle, Bill Mauldin's cartoons were syndicated in the United States. This effort was supported by the War Department due to Mauldin's grimmer depiction of everyday military life in his cartoons.Bill Mauldin, edited by Todd DePastino, Willie & Joe: The War Years p 13 Mauldin's cartoons not only publicized the efforts of the ground forces, but they made the war appear bitter and onerous, helping convince Americans that victory would not be easy. While his cartoons omitted carnage, they showed the difficulty of war through his depiction of the soldiers' disheveled appearance, and sad, vacant eyes.Bill Maudlin, edited by Todd DePastino, Willie & Joe: The War Years p 15 This helped produce continued support for the troops, by conveying the hardships of their daily experiences.Anthony Rhodes, Propaganda: The art of persuasion: World War II, p150 1976, Chelsea House Publishers, New York

Leaflets Leaflets and newspapers could be dropped from aircraft, sometimes to populations in locations unreachable by other means; for example, when the population was afraid or unable to listen to foreign radio broadcasts. As such, the United States extensively used leaflets to convey short informational tidbits. In fact, one squadron of B-17 bombers was entirely dedicated to this purpose.Anthony Rhodes, Propaganda: The art of persuasion: World War II pp. 146. 1976 Chelsea House Publishers, New York Leaflets were also used against enemy forces, providing "safe conduct passes" that enemy troops could use to surrender as well as counterfeit ration books, stamps and currency.Anthony Rhodes, Propaganda: The art of persuasion: World War II, pp. 146-7. 1976 Chelsea House Publishers, New York The very scale of the leaflet operations had its effect on enemy morale, showing that the American armament industry was so productive that planes could be diverted for this purpose.Anthony Rhodes, Propaganda: The art of persuasion: World War II, pp. 147. 1976 Chelsea House Publishers, New York