Propaganda Posters
Author(s): Darlene C. Mahaney
Reviewed work(s):
Source: OAH Magazine of History, Vol. 16, No. 3, World War II Homefront (Spring, 2002), pp.
41-46
Published by: Organization of American Historians
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25163525 .
Accessed: 02/10/2012 12:30
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Plan ==^=^f=??:i=;'^^
Wesson
Posters
Propaganda
C. Mahaney
Darlene
The
of this lesson is to give students a better
understanding of the American homefront and war effort
through the use of government propaganda posters. After
a presentation/slide
show from the teacher, students will search for
II propaganda posters on theWorld Wide
of
World
War
examples
in
Web
hardcover
texts, magazine
articles, etc.), and
(and/or
two
assessments
of
their
different
understanding of the
complete
purpose
main
concepts
by
explained
the
teacher.
Information
Background
to
the
tool
used
shape opinion and influence
Propaganda,
behavior in pursuit of governmental
goals, has not only been
the world. Democratic
the
of
Hitlers
and
Stalins
employed by
nations such as the United States and Great Britain used propa
ganda extensively when they felt the need to get the backing ofthe
public for a significant purpose. As Archibald MacLeish, Director
of the Office of Facts and Figures during World War
II, once
war
not
is
"The
of
this
the
South
observed,
principal battleground
Pacific. It isnot theMiddle East. It isnot England, nor Norway, nor
It isAmerican
the steppes of Russia.
War
Information
out ofthe Office
had
the
paign,
was
the U.S.
and organizations
of
artists,
directors,
were
there
government
writers
of other
to
short
developed
II, and it
stories
that
propaganda
active
very
cam
agencies
to get
appeared
points
famous
using
across
to
the
actors,
people
ev
agencies commissioned
shown in theaters across the
in popular
magazines,
but
the medium that most clearly and vividly illustrates this massive
effort to educate and convince the public is the propaganda poster.
Posters did many things. They announced the call-to-arms for
able-bodied young men, with such messages as, "Join the Army
Navy-Marines-Coast
Guard."
They
of
meat,
gasoline,
canned
rubber,
office
goods,
supplies, waste fats, and more. They warned both soldiers and
civilians against accidentally divulging war information, with the
message, "Loose lips might sink ships." And, above all, posters
asked people to "BuyWar Bonds."
To be effective,
these posters had to catch and hold the
viewer's
eye.
Most
both
emotions,
American
positive
on
relied
posters
and
negative.
There were four basic types of posters:
The first carried a patriotic message. It could show men
women
as
proud
and
at
tugs
powerful
The
strong.
and
is a common
forearm
flexed
image, along with the colors of red, white and blue. These
depictions show a determined and optimistic America fighting a
and
just
right
cause.
The second carried a sentimental message. Itmight show a dog
loyally waiting for the master who will never return home from
a young
combat,
woman
or a family
overseas,
the V-mail
from her
loved
reading
a returning
to embrace
G.I.
one
rushing
The third type of poster relied on humor to get the point across.
industry,
quickly and effectively. Government
erything from feature-length movies
country
vast
of
conservation
(2).
a major
and
this
overseeing
a number
involved
became
Propaganda
that
agency
of Facts and Figures during World War
responsibility
although
The Office
opinion"(l).
the auxiliary
forces, the Women's
Auxiliary
Army Corps
Women
the
forVolunteer Emergency Ser
(WAACs),
Accepted
vice (WAVES), and theWomen Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs)
and told women of their duty to join the nation's workforce,
in heavy industry or civil service. They encouraged
whether
to increase industrial production. They promoted
workers
factory
recruited
young
women
into
An
image
civilian,
might
as a way
a caricature
contain
of making
the
of
enemy
a German
appear
or
Japanese
silly.
fourth kind of poster was more negative and blunt. It
could show images of soldiers fighting and dying, warnings of the
of defeat, visions of the horrors of Fascist
dire consequences
The
or
takeover,
of
stereotypes
demeaning
the Axis
leaders.
In all posters symbolism is crucial. When amessage needs to be
conveyed immediately, symbols provide a great deal of informa
tion
rising
and
often
sun on
spark
the
a
Japanese
quick
flag,
emotional
the
OAH Magazine
response.
stars
and
stripes,
of History
Swastikas,
V
the
for victory,
Spring 2002
41
and Uncle
Sam all held specific meanings
formost Americans
in
the 1940s (3).
lesson plan based on propaganda
A
effective
to
way
introduce
various
posters
can be a very
of America's
aspects
involve
ment
inWorld War II.As O.W. Riegel, a propaganda analyst for
the Office ofWar Information once observed, "The function of
the war poster is to make coherent and acceptable a basically
incoherent and irrational ordeal of killing, suffering and destruc
tion that violates every accepted principle of morality and decent
living" (5).
Endnotes
1. BredhofY,
Powers
Stacey.
of Persuasion:
for the National
Archives
(published
by the National
6.
2.
Ibid.,
3.
Ibid.,
Trust
Archives
Poster Art
and Records
Fund
Board,
from World War
Administration
11
introduction.
1994),
2.
4. Ibid., 20
5.
Ibid.,
iii. Discuss
of this
your assessment of the effectiveness
to
aspects appealed
you? Why?
will answer these same questions
for all of the
poster. What
(Students
following categories:)
2. Recruitment/Armed
Services
orWar Jobs
3. War Production
4. Buy War Bonds
Part Three
(The following project was developed
together with former
now
a
Scott
member
of Ohio SchoolNet.)
Kane,
colleague
faculty
Students will create an original poster based on the concepts
to the poster should be a thorough
learned in this lesson. Attached
of
the
of
the
purpose
poster and of the methods used
description
the
Posters
will
be
scored on a scale of zero to five
student/artist.
by
(where "0" is the lowest score; "5" ishighest) on the ten criteria
below:
Score
cover
back
a clear and distinct
1. Poster demonstrates
Lesson
Objectives
1. To understand
ganda
2.
the methods
effective
posters
employed
that make
tools.
3. Text
ganda.
demonstrate
ing an original
information
of
understanding
these
concepts
by
should give a brief presentation
above,
presented
using
the
four
posters
outlining
that
illustrate
Part Two
individually or in pairs, students will search the
Working
internet for propaganda poster sites. A general search using the
phrase "World War Two propaganda posters" will uncover a
wealth of examples on the web. After they have found good
the following worksheet
examples, students should complete
questions:
an
example
a. Print
out
b.
In an
of a Rationing/Conservation
the
analysis,
i.What
42
OAH Magazine
describe
emotions
ii. Describe
and
poster
any
of History
its web
the
specific
poster.
location.
purpose
of poster:
does this poster appeal to?
symbolism
used.
Spring 2002
of the poster
is student's original work.
I-1
of poster
is student's original work.
I-1
4. Artwork
5.
Poster
is historically
6.
Poster
is creative
7.
Artwork
is neat,
8.
Analysis
discusses
purpose
discusses
emotional
'-'
accurate.
and
9. Analysis
10. Analysis
discusses
'-'
original.
-
colorful,
the
the Background
Information section to convey the basic ideas.
Ask students to describe each of these four posters, and to try to
articulate what the poster is asking people to do. How successfully
in this article (by
do these posters work? The two quotations
in the first paragraph and by O.W. Riegel in
Archibald MacLeish
the last paragraph) also act as good prompts for discussion.
1. Find
I-1
creat
poster.
Part One
The teacher
Poster clearly appeals to the emotions.
I_I
propa
2. To identify the major types of American propaganda during
World War II.
3. To identify the specific purposes ofWorld War II propa
4. To
intent.
Plan
poster's
eye-catching.
of poster.
_
appeal of poster.
symbolism,
tactics,
Total
etc.
Score:
|_|
As a follow-up activity, teacher may display posters in room
and have class vote on the posters they find most appealing and
effective.
Discuss
student
impressions.
Darlene Mahaney
teaches modern American history and European
at
Talawanda
history
High School inOxford, Ohio. She earned her
B.S. in education at Miami University, and has been the recipient of
four fellowships for seminars and independent study by theNational
Endowment for theHumanities and theCouncil for Basic Education.
She has used this lesson with her twelfth-grade students.
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