This research essay is an analysis of the use of propaganda by the four major world powers, Great Britain, The United States of America, Germany and Soviet Russia from 1914-1945. I will identify the necessary conditions for effective propaganda acceptance, the evolving technologies that were instrumental in the evolution of propaganda and mass distribution strategies employed. I will identify common trends through the study of a number of examples of wartime poster designs, as well as identify key differences in how the culture and values of each nation influenced the style and tactics used when presenting propaganda to their citizens. Over the course of this document I aim to highlight the importance of understanding how propaganda strategies have been used in the past and how these same strategies have evolved into the digital age.

Introduction

“I saw newspaper reports which did not bear any relation to the facts, not even the relationship which is implied in an ordinary lie. I saw great battles reported where there had been no fighting, and complete silence where hundreds of men had been killed. I saw troops who had fought bravely denounced as cowards and traitors, and others who had never seen a shot fired hailed as the heroes of imaginary victories; and I saw newspapers in London retailing these lies and eager intellectuals building emotional superstructures over events that had never happened. I saw, in fact, history being written not in terms of what happened but of what ought to have happened according to various ‘party lines’.” (George Orwell. 1943)