The Land of Hope

The propaganda used by Britain during World War 2 was used by the British government to hire the right personal for the war effort and motivate the populace at home to do the same. Although some of the propaganda used was over the top most of it actually did an excellent job at keeping the average British civilian motivated during times of war. Even though Great Britain was on the winning side they were no strangers to suffering as cities were bombed to dust and casualties were enormously high both at home and on the front. Strategic usage of propaganda by the British government gave everyone hope by allowing them to see their efforts were not in vain. Jobs opportunities such as nursing were marketed as crucial to the war effort and should be filled at a moment's notice.

 The British government used propaganda as a tool to effectively help keep the war sentiment at home positive for its civilians. Showcased in the following sections are images that show how propaganda was used to help recruit personnel for the war effort and inspire those at home to do whatever possible to help their troops overseas. We also include posters that showcase the attitude the British government was trying to instill in the populace at home during the war. Below, there will be an image of women propaganda aimed at inspiring and recruiting women to aid in the war effort. Britain was very successful with their fighter jets and we aim at showcasing this by including images that demonstrate men proud of being pilots and using highly successful and innovative British war machines to protect their home. Britains persistent usage of inspiring propaganda was aimed at inspiring those at home to aid in the war effort however possible and also maintain a positive sentiment about the war at home.

This particular propaganda poster was used by the British Ministry of Labour and National Service to help recruit women for the war effort. It pressured women by claiming that if they did not join, then Britain would potentially lose the war. We can get a sense of how desperately Britain needed women to step up and fill jobs that men once did or were probably not able to do because of shortage of workers. One thing to note about this poster is that it mentions how once someone was registered in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, there was no need to wait for an interview to start working. The idea was to come forward and begin working right away. Britain was portraying itself as a mighty army and their ability to gather large numbers of troops and auxiliary members only reaffirmed this. One reason this was released was to give British citizens a sense of assurance of victory if they did what was asked of them.

This image shows how more pilots and air crews members were recruited to participate in the war. There seemed to be a sense of urgency in the recruiting of these pilots because of how the propaganda called for their action by using the all capital “NOW!”in black letters that really stood out. There was also urgency because Germany had proven to be a very formidable threat and Britain must have realized they would need more troops to fight back. This poster conveys a sense of panic on part of the British.The three jobs listed in this particular poster are Pilot, Air observer, and wireless operator air gunner. The three jobs listed call for action of British army men. The image also says that the recruits were wanted immediately, with the hopes that the faster they enlisted the sooner they could complete boot camp and be sent over seas. Britains purpose for releasing this piece of propaganda must have been to inspire or motivate young men into pursuing an exciting, unique and important job fighting the enemy in the heavens.

Britains purpose for creating this poster was to motivate young women into pursuing an important career that would benefit the country and themselves. Here we see a poster showcasing a young nurse doing a crucial task and taking care of the wounded and sick. With this poster one gets the sense that the British government was creating a win-win scenario. If women would take on nursing responsibilities they would be helping take care of soldier and freeing up men for other duties, and by doing so they would be rewarded with new job opportunities after the war. The poster says, “It’s war work with a future”, further proving this point. In the background of the image we see what appear to be two wounded soldiers or civilians, giving the impression that these women would be put to work immediately since there was so many sick and wounded needing attention. The British government strategically used piece of propaganda to offer idle females an opportunity to aid in the war effort and feel important.

This is an iconic piece of propaganda considering WW2 was the first time WAAAF or the Women's Auxiliary Air Force was seeing action. Having been created in June of 1939, the branch had barely been active before WW2 officially began in September 1939. This image says “keep them flying” which was the purpose of WAAAF. The British government sought to provide a useful and exciting job opportunity that would draw women into aiding the war effort. The women would conduct all the maintenance and paperwork, freeing up the men to take flight. One interesting tidbit about this poster is the lady in the poster looks very average with little make-up and in her Air Force uniform. This is strategically included to try and get all women despite where they were from or how they looked to do this essential job.

The British government was always trying to calm their citizens and ensure them that there was nothing to worry about. Despite struggling at the beginning of the war and ultimately losing 300,000 soldiers the British government ensured everyone at home that the war continued and Britain was at the forefront pushing the Nazi's backwards. remained positive throughout it all. This document was strategically created to show the government's gratefulness for all the sacrifices the British people made. It ensured them that their sacrifices would not be in vain and victory was coming soon. The government had delivered messages like these often to urge the community that Britain was strong and would make it out of the war successfully with their help. This image is extremely interesting as it states “unwearied and resolute” to describe the state of the British war efforts. Unwearied is a strange word to describe a participant in this war, with the brutalities on all sides.

Forward to Victory represents the vision of the British throughout the struggles of the war. Propagandists created this poster with the purpose of creating a positive mindset at home. The poster shows pilots rushing to their planes, with a smile on their face. The poster plays on the old saying "another day in paradise". If soldiers abroad who faced the horrors of war could smile and enjoy their duty, then those at home should embody that same spirit and push forward remaining strong, and providing whatever essential support they could to aid those overseas. The British routinely put out propaganda that aimed at spreading positivity to their citizens despite the hardships being experienced because of the war. There were many things from the war that could push a young man away from joining the fight. So the British created a poster that showed fighting in the war could be fun and fulfilling.

Fighting Fit in the Factory is a clever tactic by propagandists to convince men to work factory jobs if they were not fighting overseas. The poster shows a young man rolling up the sleeves of a shirt and revealing his well muscled arms gained for working his factory job. The posters draws on a mans masculinity by hinting that if they were to take the job they too could have muscles like that. The men would achieve bliss by being able to help out his country, improve himself physically and in turn gain the attention of the numerous beautiful single ladies in Great Britain. Propagandists could draw on mens desires to have muscles like the posters and use it to their advantage getting reinforcements in factories.

In the final image, we have a map of Great Britain that shows all of its resources. This image was strategically released to show that Great Britain had more than enough resources to be a serious contender in the war despite being much smaller than other combatants. Whoever saw this image back home had to feel a great sense of and pride knowing that Great Britain could stand toe to toe with Germany fi it came to it. The image shows that they had plenty of combat planes and ammunition stockpiles within the small country. It also showcases the plenty of natural resources deposits and industrial resources available should they be needed. The average civilian should have felt very confident in seeing this map and just to knowing that they had plenty of resources. Propagandists cleverly kept morale high showing that there would be enough resources to prevent shortages should the war keep going.

British government agencies also released propaganda pamphlets and books alongside the above posters to raise the morale of British citizens during the war. Here are two examples of such texts.

This is a pamphlet released by the British Information Services in 1944 titled, “50 Facts About Britain’s War Effort.” The British Information Services was founded in 1941 in New York with the aim of combating American neutrality in World War II. It was a department of the British Consulate in New York and an overseas post of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office based in London. The British Information Services during World War II informed the American people of how Britain was doing during the war. 

This pamphlet in particular was released in 1944. The reason for this was because Britain wanted to wait for the Allies to gain a strong foothold in the war front. Britain did not want to risk information getting leaked or found out by Nazi Germany and have it used against them. They wanted to play it safe. Prideful and patriotic language is used in the foreword and all throughout the pamphlet, portraying Britain as a country of brave freedom fighters who never surrendered and would not back down unless they absolutely had to. The foreword outlines what information will be presented in the rest of the pamphlet.

The pamphlet is only 18 pages long, and gives statistics on the logistics of Great Britain during the war. It outlines the distribution of the population of men and women in the armed forces, industry workers, students, and those unfit for service. It provides statistics on Britain’s manpower during the war, such as how many men and women were enlisted in Britain’s military throughout the course of the war. It outlines the role of women, and how their lives changed due to the men leaving to fight. Women worked in agriculture, government, public utility services, and transport, fishing, and shipping services. Women helped keep the foundation of the war effort intact.

Another piece of propaganda and empowered literature that will be included is a British propaganda book called “Air War at Sea”. This short book talks about the air and sea combat British military members partook in during their war against Germany. The book is accompanied by heavily romanticized propaganda posters showcasing British soldiers heroic acts and brave sacrifices. The book is tells a typical hero underdog story about how the good guy (Britain) defeats the bad guy (Germany) but also arouses the everyday citizen into feeling supportive of his/her troops overseas and more energized to support the cause. It tells the stories of several battles and how the British air and sea forces won due to their superior tactics and British will power. It is designed to keep the morale of the British people by showing how everyday people were performing such heroic deeds versus such a relentless and tyrannic enemy. The book was made by the British Fleet Air Arm Coastal Command & Air Sea Rescue Service in 1943.

The book focuses on telling the story of British heroism. The book recounts how the British won the Battle of Matapan, and how the Royal Air Force experienced success during several rescue missions. To drive its purpose home the book constantly compliments the superiority of the British forces over the Axis forces, calling them “magnificent” and “heroic”. This book was published with the purpose of raising moral at home and showing the everyday men or woman that although Germany may have had more troops and more vehicles they were no match for British ingenuity and sheer British willpower. The everyday man who fought for his country was making those at home proud, and letting them know that their sacrifices were not in vain.

50 Facts about Britain's War Effort. New York City: United Kingdom Information Office, 1944. 

“Air Crews Wanted Now! : Wanted Immediately for the R.A.A.F...Apply.” Cartoon. Calisphere. UC Berkeley, Bancroft Library , 1939. 

Ayre, David, and Roland Davies. Air War at Sea: the Fleet Air Arm, Coastal Command & Air-Sea Rescue Service. England: Raphael Tuck & Sons, Ltd., 1943. 

“Britain Stands Firm.” Cartoon. UC Berkeley, Bancroft Library, 1939. 

“Fighting Fit in the Factory.” Cartoon. UC Berkeley, Bancroft Library. London, England: H.M. Stationery Office By Fosh and Cross LTD, n.d. 

“Forward to Victory.” Cartoon. UC Berkeley, Bancroft Library , 1939. 

“Great Britain: Her natural and industrial resources” Cartoon. Calisphere. Berkeley, CA: UC Berkeley, Bancroft Library , n.d. 

Jardine, Walter. “Keep Them Flying!: There's a Job for You in the W.A.A.A.F.” Cartoon. Calisphere. Berkeley, CA: UC Berkeley, Bancroft Library , n.d. 

“Make Nursing Your War Job -- It's War Work with a Future : Ask Here for Explanatory Leaflet.” Cartoon. UC Berkeley, Bancroft Library. M.H.I., n.d. 

“Ministry of Labour and National Service: Government Appeal to Women: 200,000 Urgently Needed in the A.T.S. Now.” Cartoon. British and British Commonwealth War Posters from the Second World War. UC Berkeley, Bancroft Library , 1939.