CafEd

Based on the Ed Café we did in class, it's surprising the true amount of items that one can research about World War II. There are so many elements from all over the world, it's surprising to think that anyone can really call themselves an expert or claim that they have studied all of it. It was, truly, a world war, with people living on the southernmost tip of South America still inadvertently contributing to the war effort. Between the topics discussed, such as the Aleutian Island Campaign, the role of women on the home front, or my personal favorite topic: the Manhattan Project, it surprises me that we barely even began to scratch the surface of the war effort. The Manhattan Project, a massive campaign of innovation and engineering, had hundreds of thousands of people working on it, and took place in over 30 locations across the United States and Canada, while using research from the British Tube Alloys program. All of this, however, only amounts to a mere fraction of what was even discussed, not to mention all that is there to discuss in the first place. It really puts into perspective the true scale of the World War.

Prop-O-Ganda

Propaganda. It has permeated the society of wartime nations for centuries, and has provided a useful role in the morale of troops and citizens alike during difficult times. There is both positive and negative propaganda, and it has had a huge effect, especially in the 20th century onward. World War II has some of the most well-known and widespread propaganda. The Keep Calm and Carry On poster, shown below, was made by the British government at the beginning of World War II. It's a very well known quote and image, and is prevalent in popular culture today, namely due to its popularity among graphic designers.

The iconic Keep Calm and Carry On image promotes nationalism and attempts to quell the fear that is rising in its citizens. This is part of a whole category of propaganda, which encourages its citizens to pitch in however they can, and to support their troops. They instill feelings of pride and nationalism, and try to create a stronger, more united nation. Not all propaganda is about nationalism, however. There are other kinds of propaganda that paint the "enemy" in an evil light and try to instill anger and contempt in the citizens of one's own nation, spurring them to support the war effort. These kinda of propaganda would depict the enemy as pigs or animals or even demons, or simply state the horrible things they have done to try and push people towards a stronger opposition. A derivative of this kind, there is a third type of wartime propaganda, which attempts to instill fear in the citizens, and tries to guilt them into supporting the war effort. These have images reminding them to be more conservative in their use of food and resources, or telling them that if they do not help our troops, they are supporting the enemy.

However, these can raise the question of just how morally just is propaganda? To what extent can a government go with it before they've gone too far? Is it just in peacetime as well or only during war? Oftentimes propaganda is seen as a bad thing, and is considered to be manipulative and deceitful, even. Governments spread messages and tell their people what to do and even what to think. They ostracize those that don't follow what they say, and some societies can even reject them altogether for disagreeing with it. A common trope of a dystopian society is widespread and invasive propaganda.

George Orwell's 1984 proves the effect that widespread propaganda can have. Many dictators and fascist governments use constant propaganda to keep people in line or promote their own public image. How can we, then, as a supposed "free nation" use the very same methods to condemn others for doing it?