Materials

• Copies of World War II propaganda posters
• Propaganda Poster Analysis Worksheet (Attachment C)
  

Instructional Activities

1. Gather a selection of magazine ads to display to the class, or have each student find and bring an ad. Ask students to consider the primary objective of a selected ad. What strategies or devices are being used in the ad to reach this objective? Have students share their answers with the class. Explain that advertising and propaganda are very similar in that both attempt to influence individuals by promoting ideas and beliefs that further either a product or a cause. Propaganda also attempts to damage any opposing ideas.
   
   
2. Work with students to help them identify some primary objectives of wartime propaganda. Emphasize that wartime propaganda is created and disseminated by the federal government, not by private advertising agencies. Some common objectives are
   • Recruitment of soldiers
   • Funding the war efforts (primarily through the sale of war bonds)
   • Conservation of resources, such as food, rubber, gasoline, steel
   • Unifying the country around the war effort — persuading them to take part in home-front efforts or organizations.
   
   
3. Have students refer to their ads and consider some possible strategies used by wartime propaganda to reach the objectives listed above:
   • Patriotism: using patriotic symbols, slogans, and colors
   • Fear: using people’s emotions to encourage resolve and action.
   • Name-calling or demonization: using negative stereotypes and name-calling or portraying the enemy as evil
   • Half-truths and lies: misrepresenting information to the public to put the enemy in a more negative light
   
   You may wish to write this information on the board and create a handout for students to use as a reference.
   
   
4. Put students into small groups, and provide each group with a set of WWII propaganda posters to examine and analyze. Be careful to choose a broad cross section of images that cover all the objectives mentioned above. Include some posters that appealed to the many women on the home front. Many propaganda posters can be found at <http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/wwii-posters/> and <http://www.library.northwestern.edu/govpub/collections/wwii-posters/>. Give every group the same set, or vary them. Assign a number or create a title for each poster to make it easier to reference the posters in class discussion. Have the students use the worksheet found at Attachment C as they work.
   
   
5. Optional: Have students create their own propaganda posters related to World War II.
   NOTE: Teachers also may consider showing propaganda posters from the opposing side, especially some from Germany. A large poster collection can be found at German Propaganda Archive of Calvin College at <http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/index.htm>. This lesson can also be used to discuss the use of propaganda in World War I.