Propaganda witnessed a transformation during WWII, when film was fast becoming the most popular form of entertainment. This work compares how each country exploited their national cinema for political purposes. It looks at how both political propaganda films and escapist cinema were critical in maintaining the morale of civilians and the military.



Propaganda - so crucial to winning the battle of hearts and minds in warfare - witnessed a transformation during World War II, when film was fast becoming the most popular form of entertainment. In Film Propaganda in Britain and Nazi Germany, Jo Fox compares how each country exploited their national cinema for political purposes. Through an investigation of shorts and feature films, the author looks at how both political propaganda films and escapist cinema were critical in maintaining the morale of civilians and the military, and how this changed throughout the war. While both countries shared certain similarities in their wartime propaganda films - a harking back to a glorious historic past, for example - the thematic differences reveal important distinctions between cultures. This book offers new insight into the shifting pattern of morale during World War II and highlights a key moment in propaganda film history.