Walt Disney's World War II Propaganda Films

During World War II the United States government turned to Walt Disney, to help boost the morale of the people. Disney produced a number of propaganda films between 1942 and 1945, making animation shorts for all branches of the military and for public consumption. They produced both training films and instructional films as well as straight propaganda pieces. The company churned out these films at a huge rate, with over 90% of the Disney staff involved in production. Throughout the war period, Disney produced over 400,000 feet of film, equal to 68 hours of continuous watching. During the year 1943, they managed to produce a staggering 204,000 feet of film. That's 5 times the amount of film that the studio usually produced during peace times. Cartoon films during those years were consciously aimed at adults more than at children. Around two-thirds of Americans went to the movies every week then for their entertainment, and the characters of Disney were immediately recognisable and much beloved by audiences. So the use of Disney by the US government was a clever move in getting the propaganda messages across to the masses. Through both movies and comic books Disney and the government were able to give people courage, by being able to laugh at their enemies, as Disney made them look ridiculous for a few minutes in a darkened movie theater.
Out of the many hours of film that Disney produced there are two films that stand-out as examples of anti-Nazi propaganda the studio were making for the war effort. Both produced in 1943, at the height of their production for the government Education for Death: The Making of the Nazi featuring little Hans and Der Fuehrer's Face (originally called Donald Duck in Nutzi Land) are two we will look at in more detail. The latter of the two won an Academy Award in 1943 for Best Animated Short.
Punching Hitler: WWII Era Comic Book Covers - Comic books were in their infancy when WWII broke out, and it wasn't long before the industry joined the war effort in defeating the enemy.
Juden Raus! The Nasty Nazi-Era Board Game - Once called "History's most infamous board game", the story of the anti-Semitic board game that even the Nazis didn't like.
Education for Death: The Making of the Nazi - Based on the book by Gregor Ziemer, who lived in Germany, which told the story of how young people in schools were being indoctrinated by the Nazis. Not featuring any of the familiar Disney characters, it instead featured a little blond German boy called Hans, and his journey through indoctrination, to the Hitler Youth and his desire to die on the front for his country. The story follows Hans and his family, through the rigorous of Nazi brainwashing, as he is turned into a mindless machine. Spending much of his youth stomping around "Marching and heiling, heiling and marching!" , until he is a fully fledged soldier and is sent to war. The film ends as Hans marches off to war, fading to graves bearing the swastika. And with that his education is complete... "His education... For death!"
Der Fuehrer's Face (originally titled Donald Duck in Nutzi Land) - The film features Donald Duck living in the nightmare world of Nutzi Land, where everything is twisted. The trees and the clouds are shaped like swastikas, and Donald must continually shout "Heil Hitler!" as he works in a munitions factory a gun-point during his 48-hour shift. Poor Donald goes insane, being forced to work at an increasingly rapid rate and constantly bombarded with Nazi propaganda slogans. However he eventually wakes from this nightmare to find himself in a comfy bed wearing pyjamas made from an American flag. "Oh boy, am I glad to be a citizen of the United States of America!" He says in closing. The movie ends with a tomato landing on a caricature of Hitler's face.
Psychological Warfare In The Korean War - During the Korean War, the use of leaflet drops as a propaganda tool was huge. An insight into what has since become a sophisticated science.
Pocket Guide To China (1942): "How To Spot A Jap" Comic - A piece of WWII propaganda that's so bad, you wonder whether the top-brass were all on drugs when the authorised its release.