U.S propaganda and the Nazi Germany Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

U.S propaganda and the Nazi Germany - Essay Example U.S propaganda and the Nazi Germany Propaganda and war is aimed at influencing people’s attitudes and perception towards the war rather than being involved in open dialogue (Randal, 2002). American propaganda during world war was used to increase American commitment and support for the war. American propagandists used various media to foment animosity and hatred against American enemies especially the Nazi Germans, Authoritarian Italy and Aggressive Japan. For instance, American propagandists persuaded American people to fully participate in the war by urging them to do what they can by providing war materials such as victory gardens and to extent that they sold war bonds. Americans perceived propaganda as a tool of totalitarian dictatorship. In addition, they recalled with fear and anger the fervor of the First World War propaganda efforts, which was recognized as violation of human rights as well as dissemination of wrong information. The United States was reluctant to participate in propaganda campaigns but it succumbed to pressure from business sector, media and advertisers who wanted the government to take active role in propaganda campaigns. In 1944, policy makers in the U.S began convincing Americans to accept the harsh peace for the German citizens since it was thought that the German people and the Nazi party were different entities. Hitler was often depicted in scenarios ridiculing and embarrassing him, and that cartoons always portrayed him in caricature. Hitler’s rule was often satirized. In order to raise war morale and motivation, American cartoonists often released cartoons showing Hitler as doomed. He and Nazi-Germans were depicted as fools to an extent that a German father was scolded saying that Germans did not eat food instead they ate countries. Among authoritarian regimes of the time such as Japan and Italy, Nazi-German was seen as the deadliest threat to the Americans. American propaganda often stereotyped Germans as evil and bad people in posters and films, despite the fact that many crimes or atrocities were ascribed by Hitler and Nazis. Similarly, American propaganda did not leave out other authoritarian regimes such as Italy and Japan in that they always portrayed as evil and bad. For instance, Mussolini appeared in an editorial Cartoon which presented him as a two-bit dictator. In Japan, propaganda depicted Japanese as uncivilized and foreign enemy of the United States of America just like Italy and Nazi-Germany. Basing on samurai traditions, American propagandists depicted Japanese as blindly ruthless and fanatic with a history of looking and desiring for an overseas conquest. More so, they argued that Japanese people were one mindless and unified mass that had no vision. The U.S applied propaganda to influence and manipulate its citizens. In addition, propaganda in war is used in deceiving your friends with lying to the enemies. On the other hand, between States, it involves lying about potential acquisition and development of new and powerful weapons, which can be used to convince other nations that something which is feasible, is in fact not in order to pour disinforming party a head start in looking for the technology/weapons (Andrew, 2011). The use of propaganda in war is applicable with the compliance of mass media and popular culture that allows it to procla im a new mobilization of society and military against an imagined or real enemy without altering the status quo