Visions of War: World War II Propaganda Documentaries

This film is a German propaganda piece depicting the United States as a country that exploited its workers and farmers for the benefit of the wealthy, and presents Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill as the main promoters of war. The soundtrack is in German.

This a complex and disturbing anti-Japanese propaganda film produced to spur the sale of U.S. war bonds. The Japanese powerful commitment to the war is compared to the "lazy, easy living" American commitment. American successes are denigrated and Japanese losses are minimized. The devotion of the Japanese is compared to the immoral Americans. Content advisory: explicit racism and extreme violence.

This film examines enemy propaganda and its danger to American way of life, containing examples of media used by the enemy to disseminate propaganda. Actual samples including pamphlets, posters, broadcasts, photographs, and other material to show exactly what is enemy propaganda. Includes stock footage and original shots to show the use of enemy propaganda during war and in peacetime situations.

Intended for adults. Promotes family values in the midst of wartime. This film was a response to World War II's fracturing of the family, as adults worked late shifts or were in the military, and children, especially teenagers, ran amuck. Includes scenes of juvenile delinquency, gangsters and criminals, robberies, burglaries, vandalism, drinking and drug use.

On the danger of giving up information to the enemy. Dramatization compares activities of professional sports scout to information gathering activities of war. Lessons stressed; do not carry cameras, diaries, engraved lighters, etc. They are potentially useful to the enemy. Shows examples of careless behavior that resulted in giving up information which in turn led to disaster for friendly troops.

This film covers interrogation techniques and other intelligence activities.

This film was prepared by the War Department to help you to know and understand one of your Allies. Subsequent films of this series will deal with the other people beside whom we fight and with whom we stand or fall.

Reel 1 describes its history and descent of its emperor; importance of Shintoism; rise of Shogun and their Bushido code; isolationism; and trade agreement made by Comdr. Matthew Calbraith Perry. Reel 2 traces its modernization through World War II. Government control of education; social and economic distinctions; Russo-Japanese War, 1904; World Wars I & II; bombings of Pearl Harbor and Japan.

Our Enemy-The Japanese is a 1943 short film produced by the US Navy and Office of War Information to provide background knowledge about the wartime foe.

Stresses the importance of secrecy on the part of military personnel and workers engaged in defense activities, and shows the results of careless talk. Ship explosion, sabotage, and disastrous events result from thoughtless revelation of information to enemy.

There are many weapons of war; fighter planes, heavy tanks and skilled infantrymen but it could be argued that none is more powerful than the power of suggestion. Propaganda and the war of words played an undoubtedly vital role in both the successes and failures of WW2. Governments struggled to gain the upper hand. But one Nazi proved to have a deft talent for spin. Joseph Goebbels.

As the Second World War raged on, maintaining discipline in the Allied ranks was seen as one of the keys to winning the fight against the Nazis. In August 1944, the British Army released a training film to instruct officers on how best to lead their men. With clipped tones and with some tremendous acting it offers an extraordinary glimpse into a military past.

1943 For God and Country starring Ronald Reagan, first motion picture unit training film.

Dramatizes the destructive effects of racial and religious prejudice. Reel 1 shows a fake wrestling match and "crooked" gambling games. A Nazi speaker harangues a crowd in Germany denouncing Jews, Catholics, and Freemasons. Reel 2, a German unemployed worker joins Hitler's Storm Troops. SS men attack Jewish and Catholic headquarters in Germany, and beat up a Jewish storekeeper.

The movie centers around efforts by German intelligence to find the target of an upcoming raid by the mythical "B-99 bomber." To achieve this end, they interrogate a recently shot-down air crew. The German officers use various methods to discover this information, some of them quite subtle. Though no physical brutality is used, the Germans at one point stage a mock execution.

An American soldier, during his combat career, realizes the greatness of his country and determines to assume his share of the responsibilities of good citizenship upon his return to civilian life." Contains "seized enemy material.

Training film for U.S. soldiers embarking on occupation duty in Japan. Written by Dr. Seuss and formed the basis for his latter 1947 Oscar-winning film, "Design For Death." This film was seen as too sympathetic to the Japanese and MacArthur worked to suppress it.

A propaganda film, with Ed Murrow, made for American consumption to stress the dependence of the British war effort on US production via the Oerlikon gun in convoy defence. It feature's the Royal Navy's role in convoy protection with excellent footage of HMS Nelson, the Mediterranean Fleet and minesweeping by trawlers.