Kody Pryor

Professor Bedell

Rhetoric and Civic Life-CAS 137

October 5th 2018

The Propaganda to End all Propaganda

While World War I was called “the war to end all war”, World War II was an extremely

significant period for the entire world. It brought human suffering on an unprecedentedly

massive scale, along with the invention and use of nuclear weaponry. But there were also

breakthroughs in science, new tactics in espionage and air forces, all the while propaganda and

media were pumped out of and into everywhere. Propaganda was especially important in Russia

and Germany, as it is in any dictatorship. The Nazis even had an entire department in their

government dedicated to the production of propaganda. In the U.S., propaganda was more

privatized and the while the government did produce some propaganda of its own, they also

contracted the help of animators like Dr. Seuss, Warner Bros., and Disney. The propaganda from

Germany and the U.S. during the second world war utilized style, context and exerted the

intrinsic proofs ethos and pathos in order to raise support for each country’s respective war

efforts.

The use of character in propaganda creates an effective intrinsic proof of ethos. For

example, was the use of Mickey Mouse in American propaganda. By this time Mickey Mouse

was a household name, and most everybody knew who he was and what he stood for; Mickey

Mouse had become a commonplace in American homes for all things fun, happy and good. To
see Mickey Mouse backing America also says that America must stand for good things and that

the viewer should support it. Without Mickey there it’s just a poster hanging on the wall to the

viewer, he gives it life. Mickey’s expression and pose also make one want to support what he

supports. Holding a little American flag, having a huge smile sprawled across his face while

doing so and giving a thumbs up with the hand he’s holding the flag in seems to say, “If he

enjoys supporting America that much, why wouldn’t you?” A rather stark contrast to this view of

Mickey would be most any propaganda out of Germany at this time, but specifically the German

soldier depicted in the accompanying chosen artifact. Unlike Mickey, no famous face is used to

draw people in, instead a very generic depiction of a German soldier done in grayscale is used as

a character. He’s depicted mid stride while marching the flag of the nazi party forward. His face

isn’t quite expressionless, he seems to be determined and looking far ahead. He’s also armed, he

has his rifle slung across the front of his body and a knife is visible at his waist. This man is no

Mickey Mouse, but rather the dream of the nazi party; a strong, armed, determined force that is

marching forward and looking far ahead. This soldier is the embodiment of a resurgent Germany,

one that is ambitious and hungry for victory, and that is going to effectively “pump up” any

member of the nazi party.

The style used creates an intrinsic proof of pathos that helps the audience connect with

and support their message.In the Disney piece the only three colors in the entire piece are red,

white, and blue and this is no accident. Those colors too have become a commonplace in

American society as a symbol of the nation. Just saying those colors in that order is iconically

American even though many other nations have those colors for their flag as well. The “ol’ red,

white and blue” inspires pride in the nation and love for it, and the use of only these colors
evokes the same response from the audience. Not only are the colors iconic, but their use is also

easy on the eyes, making it easier to receive for the viewer. The majority of the piece is done in

an off white and dark blue with red generally used to outline or emphasize. White and blue

together are very cool and relaxing, the color blue alone is supposed to calm a person and slow

their metabolism. Red is a very powerful and strong color and while it can represent passion, it

also evokes hate and anger, and it’s light use keeps the piece happy and calm. Rather similarly,

the color scheme of the german propaganda piece also mirrors the colors of their national flag (at

the time), in being red, white, and black. While the German flag today is black, red, and gold,

this was not always the case. The german empire before and during the first world war also used

a national flag of red, white, and black. These colors were used as a way of inspiring national

pride upon looking at the piece. But, also unlike the Mickey piece, these colors do not calm;

these colors excite, there’s some energy to red especially with the contrasts of white and black.

This piece inspires action, it’s like a german version of the Uncle Sam “I Want You” except it’s

more saying “Don’t just let this man carry the flag of victory, get out there and help push for

victory”

The words explicitly stated are important to the style as well. Along the top and bottom

of the Disney piece the phrases “Appreciate America” and “Buy United States Defense Bonds

and Savings Stamps” are written in strong rigid font. They’re also written as commands, and

while they’re messages are received Mickey once again calms them down and they aren’t

received as aggressively as they would be on their own. While those aforementioned phrases are

important in that they contain the message of the piece, the eye of the viewer is drawn to the

phrase in the center of the piece. Mickey is quoted as saying “Come on gang- all out for Uncle
Sam” The font used here is similar to something that is handwritten, very different from all of the

other text in the piece. It gives it a sort of authenticity, it gives life to the words as does the text

being red on a white background, they pop. That text is read in Mickey’s voice in the viewer’s

mind, almost implying he wrote it on the poster himself, and no viewer is going to just say no to

Mickey Mouse. The German propaganda piece has less action going on; the only words on the

entire piece are at the bottom and they read “Die Fahne des Sieges”, which in English means “the

flag/banner of victory”. Here the Nazis are not trying to raise support with bonds and money,

they’re raising support for their goals by stoking national pride, a very popular move among the

Nazi party.

Nazi party being short for National-Socialist party, leadership relied heavily on the

citizens’ national pride and homeland love to rally support and attain control of the country in

earlier years. Nationalism is generally regarded with a negative connotation, but the ideology of

Hitler and the Nazi party loved and preached nationalism through a fascist totalitarian

government; this was fundamentally different than the ideologies of democratic nations such as

Britain or the U.S. Nationalism is generally the belief that one’s nation is superior to others,

however the U.S. was founded with patriotism being a fundamental ideal. While similar,

nationalism tends to be more aggressive, while patriotism more or less means to support or love

one’s country. These ideological differences would lead to decades of fighting after WWII in the

Cold War, although no longer with the Nazis. These ideological differences were also apparent

in each nation’s propaganda at the time

While the ideologies can be seen in these pieces, a response to exigence is also visible.

Without the United States being involved in WWII, Mickey Mouse propaganda most likely
would not have been made. Being an American based company, Disney had interests in U.S.

victory. Because of this, they responded to the exigence of funding for their government; they're

encouraging you to support not only through patriotism but also by purchasing bonds from the

government. Also at this time The Walt Disney Company was struggling financially, so when the

U.S. Treasury Department approached them with a film making contract, they seized the

opportunity. They’re responding to an internal exigence within the company, not necessarily a

public exigence, but rather the funding of themselves. Likewise, Nazi party needed it’s citizens

to believe in their government and produced this propaganda in response to the exigence of war

on a global scale. However, the Nazis also responded to financial instability, before the war

using it as a platform to seize power in the failing Weimar Republic. Except, while Nazi

propaganda was still produced during this time, the counteracting of this instability was mostly

due to the wartime production that Hitler started to build an army large enough to take on the

world.

At the end of it all, the Nazi war machine burned brightly, however very quickly. Their

trademarked blitzkrieg strategy was effective early on, but as the war continued they became

spread too thin fighting a battles on multiple fronts and collapsed. But, not before making waves

in history and an expansive propaganda system used to manipulate a population. The Nazis along

with the U.S. effectively used character, style and responded to exigence to garner support in

WWII from their respective citizens.

 Works Cited

“‘Appreciate America. Come On Gang. All Out for Uncle Sam’ (Mickey Mouse)".” ​National

Archives and Records Administration,​ National Archives and Records Administration,

catalog.archives.gov/id/513869.

“‘Die Fahne Des Sieges’ ( The Flag of Victory’. Heroic Image of the German Infantryman

Moving Forward with the Flag.” ​Die Fahne Des Sieges,​

www.oakleafmilitaria.com/1204pc51.html.

Gavin, Michael, et al. “Influencing America through Animation – WWII Propaganda Cartoons:

Part Three: Walt Disney.” ​Inside the Magic​, 21 Jan. 2017,

insidethemagic.net/2017/01/influencing-america-through-animation-wwii-propaganda-cartoons-

part-three-walt-disney/.