Radio propaganda is propaganda aimed at influencing attitudes towards a certain cause or position, delivered through radio broadcast. The power of radio propaganda came from its revolutionary nature. The radio, like later technological advances in the media, allowed information to be transmitted quickly and uniformly to vast populations. Internationally, the radio was an early and powerful recruiting tool for propaganda campaigns.
Before television, radio was by far the most effective way to prevent or promote social change. In many areas, it still is. Radio propaganda can be broadcast over great distances to a large audience at a relatively low cost. Through radio, a propagandist can bring his voice and all the persuasive power of his emotions to millions of people.Horten, pg. 1 A similar approach is used in every war employing radio propaganda: aside from convincing those on the home front of the necessity of war, a different kind of propaganda must be directed towards the enemy. Radio became a powerful propaganda tool because it ignored national borders and made enemy lines more accessible. One of the most common ways hosts got the civilian and enemy populations to listen to their broadcasts was by dropping leaflets from hot air balloons or airplanes. Most programs were broadcast on selected stations at certain times of the day; the dropped leaflets explained exactly when and where the broadcasts could be heard.
World War II The use of radio as a wartime propaganda tool was made famous during World War II by broadcasting organizations such as Voice of America and by shows such as Tokyo Rose, Axis Sally, and Lord Haw Haw.
Nazi Germany
The radio was an important tool of the Nazi propaganda efforts and it has been argued that it was the Nazis who pioneered the use of what was still a relatively new technology. A few months after the break out of World War II, German propagandists were transmitting no less than eleven hours a day of programs, offering most of them in English as well.Chester, pg. 206 In the first year of Nazi propaganda programming, broadcasters attempted to destroy pro-British feeling rather than arouse pro-German sentiment. These propagandists targeted certain groups, including capitalists, Jews, and selected newspapers/politicians.Chester, pg. 207 By the summer of 1940, the Nazis had abandoned all attempts to win American sympathy and the tone of German radio broadcasts towards the United States had become critical.
German propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels, claimed the radio was the "eighth great power" and he, along with the Nazi party, recognized the power of the radio in the propaganda machine of Nazi Germany. Recognizing the importance of radio in disseminating the Nazi message, Goebbels approved a mandate whereby millions of cheap radio sets were subsidized by the government and distributed to German citizens. It was Goebbels' job to propagate the anti-Bolshevik statements of Hitler and aim them directly at neighboring countries with German-speaking minorities.Smith, pg. 153 In Goebbels' "Radio as the Eighth Great Power" speech, he proclaimed:
“It would not have been possible for us to take power or to use it in the ways we have without the radio...It is no exaggeration to say that the German revolution, at least in the form it took, would have been impossible without the airplane and the radio…[Radio] reached the entire nation, regardless of class, standing, or religion. That was primarily the result of the tight centralization, the strong reporting, and the up-to-date nature of the German radio.”
As well as domestic broadcasts, the Nazi regime used the radio to deliver its message to both occupied territories and enemy states. One of the main targets was the United Kingdom to which William Joyce broadcast regularly, gaining him the nickname "Lord Haw-Haw" in the process. Broadcasts were also made to the United States, notably through Robert Henry Best and 'Axis Sally', Mildred Gillars.
United Kingdom British propaganda during the First World War set a new benchmark that inspired the fascist and socialist regimes during the Second World War and the Cold War; Marshal Paul von Hindenburg stated, "This English propaganda was a new weapon, or rather a weapon which had never been employed on such a scale and so ruthlessly in the past."Smith, pg. 101 It was clear that large numbers of civilians could be mobilized for a massive war effort through persuasive techniques derived from the emerging disciplines of behavioral psychology and social sciences.
An example of effective radio propaganda by the United States for the United Kingdom is the news reports of Edward R. Murrow. When the United Kingdom was at the time the only remaining nation opposing Germany in the autumn of 1940, Murrow covered the Battle of Britain and particularly the nightly bombing raids on London. His reports described the falling of the bombs, their impact, and the destruction they brought.Horten, pg. 38 As he described his approach to a London newspaper in 1941, "The official news is perhaps less important than the more intimate stories of life, work, and sacrifice."Horten, pg. 38
Murrow's objective was to focus on reaching the common man through his broadcasts, intimating to the world that the United Kingdom was fighting a "people’s war," not a war for its colonies, as the American isolationists charged.Horten, pg. 39 He wanted Americans to know that the UK was standing tall, united in its cause and protecting Western liberties and European civilization. He wanted Americans to see the UK as their natural ally and hurry to extend a helping hand. Many say he had far greater influence than the American ambassador to London; "He was an ambassador, in a double role, representing Britain in America as well as America in Britain.... He was a diplomat without a portfolio, a spokesman for a cause."Horten
United States Historians believe the moment when American radio made its debut as the preeminent means of foreign news was the Munich Crisis in September 1938. Early that month, Hitler began implementing his plans to dominate Europe by demanding self-determination for Germans living in a region of Czechoslovakia known as the Sudetenland. He left few doubts that he meant to annex the Sudetenland as part of an enlarged German Reich. High-level negotiations ensued, during which Britain's Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, journeyed to Germany three times in less than three weeks in a desperate attempt to save the peace.Horten, pg. 22 Fearful that a European war would once again entangle them, Americans became glued to their radios for daily and sometimes hourly updates and interpretations of the latest developments of the crisis. Within a couple of days, American listeners were bombarded with news programs, special news bulletins, and expert commentary on the crisis.Horten, pg.22
America's first real venture into international broadcasting was in 1940 after Nazi victories in Europe, when the Roosevelt administration was becoming increasingly concerned about the effects of Nazi propaganda, both domestically and internationally.Tyson, pg. 4 In August 1940, President Roosevelt issued an Executive Order establishing the Office of Coordination of Commercial and Cultural Relations to promote the use of government/private radio, and the Office of the Coordinator of Information. By 1942, the most famous radio program airing overseas became known as the "Voice of America." Even before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. government's Office of the Coordinator of Information began providing war news and commentary to commercial American shortwave radio stations for use on a voluntary basis.
A popular government wartime radio show, performed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was known as "fireside chats". Two of the most famous programs on the radio show were entitled "On National Security" and "On the Declaration of War with Japan". "The Arsenal of Democracy" was a slogan coined by President Roosevelt during his national security radio broadcast delivered on 29 December 1940. Roosevelt promised to help the UK fight Nazi Germany by providing them with military supplies in a program known as Lend-Lease, while the United States stayed out of the actual fighting. This announcement was made a year before the attacks on Pearl Harbor, at a time when Germany had occupied much of Europe and threatened the UK. The day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt delivered his famous Infamy Speech to the United States, which was broadcast to the American people. The President called for a formal declaration of war on the Empire of Japan. The Infamy Speech was brief, running to just a little over seven minutes, and Roosevelt made a point of emphasizing that the United States and her interests were in grave danger. In so doing, he sought to end the isolationist stance the United States had previously been advocating concerning involvement in the war. The overall tone of the speech was one of determined realism. Roosevelt made no attempt to glaze over the extensive damage that had been caused to the American armed forces, noting the number of American lives lost in the attack. However, he emphasized his confidence in the strength of the America to face the challenge posed by Japan.
"Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time, the Japanese Government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.”
"As Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense, that always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us. No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people, in their righteous might, will win through to absolute victory.”
"Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger. With confidence in our armed forces, with the un-bounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph. So help us God.”
President Franklin D. Roosevelt – 8 December 1941
With this declaration of war, radio became part of the propaganda campaign. Throughout the war, the attack on Pearl Harbor was frequently used in American propaganda. Direct wartime programming began shortly after the United States entry into the war. The first live broadcast to Germany, called Stimmen aus Amerika ("Voices from America") took place on 1 February 1942. It was introduced by "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and included the pledge: "Today, and every day from now on, we will be with you from America to talk about the war.... The news may be good or bad for us – We will always tell you the truth."
The Armed Forces Radio Service created a number of radio shows for American GIs stationed overseas. The most popular of these "mosquito networks" was GI Jive. In Agra, India, Virginia C. Claudon Allen broadcast nightly to counter Tokyo Rose.
Famous radio shows