DC Weapons of War – Propaganda: War of the Mind (2000)

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 World War Two. Governments struggled to gain the upper hand in the war away from the battlefield, but one man proved to have a deft talent for spin. Joseph Goebbels honed the art of mass communication until, in the early days at least, it became one of Germany’s most effective weapons. Gobbels was the master of advancing the cause of National Socialism to his own people, although the attempts to take the message to his enemies were less successful; the British people treated the rantings of ‘Lord Haw-Haw’ -the traitor William Joyce – with derision.
This episode features rare examples of propaganda posters and leaflets, and insight from Chris Read and Robin Lenman both of Warwick University into the huge part propaganda had to play within World War Two.