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Okay, I was just givin one of my topics for one of my history Thesis' this year, and it turned out to be the influence of writing and literture on European history (up until the collapse of the Soviet Union). Anyway, after discussing it somewhat with the incompetant boob that is my teacher, I figured I'd throw it into the fray in SYM, getting everyone's view (and some good material in the process) on the subject. So, without further ado, please spread your call on it.

Oh yeah, my topic specific is on WWI, and WWII Propaganda and Written motivation.

Well TONS of propaganda was used under Hitler in Germany and under Stalin of Russia.

Do you want me to give examples of propaganda? What the reactions were? My opinion of it? Or how people can fall for it?

Propaganda is everywhere, try to keep in mind that history was written by the winners, which means no information available is totally objective.

Originally posted by /-\lastor
Propaganda is everywhere, try to keep in mind that history was written by the winners, which means no information available is totally objective.

Indeed. Propaganda IS everywhere and has been used for quite a while. But the propaganda used in the times of Hitler and Stalin made people much blinder than they should have been. It allowed evils to occur and manipulated the minds of the population. So those situations of propaganda are much more serious than today's propaganda of governers saying the governer running against him once stole an office pen, so therefor you shouldnt vote for him. Thats not quite as serious as having a couple of the most vile and evil people come to power of a super-power nation.

Originally posted by /-\lastor
Propaganda is everywhere, try to keep in mind that history was written by the winners, which means no information available is totally objective.

Well, that is what I'm going for in my Thesis. The problem is, is that I only have a few sources at the moment on where to get information on the subject, and figured what better place to get a nice discussion going.

Originally posted by Aegis
Well, that is what I'm going for in my Thesis. The problem is, is that I only have a few sources at the moment on where to get information on the subject, and figured what better place to get a nice discussion going.

Oh, so youre looking for current propaganda and where its seen in society? Well, alas, Im big in history, but not in current politics, so looks like you wont get a whole lot of useful info from me. If it had to deal with the things I mentioned, well then we can talk, but I dont know much about today's propaganda. Only minimal amounts. Maybe if you broaden the idea to just common ads and commercials and how they have been influenced by propaganda and how they share ideas with propaganda, I could help you out there too.

You might also want to try the various historical journals out there (they can be more useful than books sometimes). You can usually find specific articles on a subject and an added advantage is that you can photocopy them and thus mark them up at your leisure while being able to keep them as a handy reference.

Given that all history, especially officially recorded history, *is* in a sense propaganda (or, at the very least, was left lying around by people with a specific agenda), it would also be an idea to see if you can find any personal accounts/testimonials and the like. Perhaps, in order to bolster your argument, you could then draw some comparisons between what the "ordinary person" saw and what official documents conveyed....

@Aegis:
What is your thesis? Do you want to concentrate on the propaganda generated by the Allies or by the Axis? Are you examining its effects in the long term or are you studying the techniques used during the war.

One interesting thing to examine might be the change in American propaganda at the end of the war as our main enemy shifted from the Germans to the Soviet bloc. You might also want to study the relationship between the major media of the time (newsreels, radio and Hollywood studios) and the military.

Propaganda during wartime is a very broad subject. You might consider narrowing your topic down, especially if you're writing a short (10-15 page paper). For instance, you could write a Master's Degree thesis on the use of editorial cartoons during the Second World War alone.

Are you limited to written propaganda, only? What about film, radio, and television, and the arts?

Originally posted by fable
Are you limited to written propaganda, only? What about film, radio, and television, and the arts?

Sadly, yes.

@HLD: Heh, as much as I would love to write a 10-15 page essay, this is only a highschool Essay topic, and only has to be about 1500-3000 words (child's play really)

Also, I trying to focus on the Propaganda that was around in Europe, and Russia (things like the puppet government set up in Vichy, the brainwashing of the Hitler Youth, the "Do it, or we shoot you" mumbo jumbo the Russians had going on). On top of that, I would just like to see what everyone thought of the propaganda.

The Hitler youth wasn't brainwashed by literature. Their indocrination was a matter of martial discipline, and a lot of media figured into it. In fact, I once did a paper, many years ago, on the extraordinary part radio played in Nazi propoganda. Goebbels was a warped genius. He used the most powerful, all-pervasive medium of the day to build a remarkably airtight web of lies.

The Soviet didn't make much use of written propaganda, either. In the early days, their big medium was film. Lenin was probably the first modern leader to realize the importance of film as a tool to bolster morale both at the front and back home. He created special trains that filmed action against the Whites--developed it, edited it, and copied it on his trains, which were racing back home to distribute copies. Meanwhile, they brought documentaries of home life and families urging on soldiers, and returned to the front.

One curious note: the film production companies closed as soon as the Reds took over, not waiting to have all assets seized by the government. As a result, negative film stock was very, very hard to find, until someone discovered a technique for removing emulsification from prints that had already been made of earlier films. Very few pre-Soviet films as a result exist today because of this. At least one potential masterpiece made in 1916 is said to have vanished in this fashion. It was never shown abroad, but received raves from discerning critics, and sounds like it jumped at least a decade ahead in film technique.

Originally posted by fable
The Soviet didn't make much use of written propaganda, either. In the early days, their big medium was film. Lenin was probably the first modern leader to realize the importance of film as a tool to bolster morale both at the front and back home. He created special trains that filmed action against the Whites--developed it, edited it, and copied it on his trains, which were racing back home to distribute copies. Meanwhile, they brought documentaries of home life and families urging on soldiers, and returned to the front.

Not entirely true. While film was a huge part of the propaganda machine in Russia, the paper was another one. It wasn't until the Germans had pushed them back to Stalingrad that it truly became apparent. They would purposly put articles into the paper that would be used to boost the morale of the troops (which would be positive propaganda), or give a false sense of victory at times. While I have only scratched the surface of my essay information, I think there is a lot more out there in written propaganda then most suspect.

Just a suggestion...

...I would like to echo HLD's point on narrowing the topic and variables for your paper...(e.g., print/written propa in Nazi Germany)

...not unless you want to make a comparative study then you would expand the variables just a wee bit more.

But as far as SYMian discussion is concerned, definitely anything under the topic's roof.

Originally posted by Aegis
Not entirely true. While film was a huge part of the propaganda machine in Russia, the paper was another one. It wasn't until the Germans had pushed them back to Stalingrad that it truly became apparent.

I didn't mean the Soviets didn't use written propaganda, @Aegis. I assumed you were looking for a really cool, elaborate, brilliantly thought out plan for the use of a medium as propaganda. That's why I mentioned the classic film campaign of Lenin in the late teens and early 20s, and the German radio campaign in the 1930s and 40s. Of course, literature played in part in both cases, as it does in all conflicts. But I was hoping to find you something really juicy to report, which is why I asked about other media.

Does political cartoon satire count? If so, Hogarth and Gilray, who turned out the most extensive, beautifully drawn, remarkably crude satirical cartoons, might furnish a good, interesting topic.

Another interesting angle to take might be to study the iconography and symbolism of the Nazis and/or the Fascists.

Originally posted by Aegis
Okay, I was just givin one of my topics for one of my history Thesis' this year, and it turned out to be the influence of writing and literture on European history (up until the collapse of the Soviet Union).

This is an unbelievably huge topic. Propaganda in Europe has been around for 2500 years; Cesar's 'Gallic wars' is a good example.

Originally posted by Aegis


Oh yeah, my topic specific is on WWI, and WWII Propaganda and Written motivation.

This is a little better but still it is much too broad. My advice is to focus on the written propaganda of just one war. Your paper will be much better for it and you will have to do less work. I am sure that if you live close to a good library you will be able to find a book called 'Propaganda during WW?' or something like that.

Have you been given a piece of paper that tells you what you have too do? If so maybe post the bit telling you what the essay should be on.

Also how much freedom do you have in choosing the title and subject?