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The Censored War: American Visual Experience During World War Two
Examines the ways in which visual imagery was used to control perceptions of the war
224 pages, Hardcover
First published May 26, 1993
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 20, 2016
The book is about how certain aspects of the war were censored from Americans. It also goes into why certain aspects of the censorship were changed, and why.
Maneuvering public opinion was necessary, considering that much of the public was not wanting war. “Officials were especially worried that a significant portion of the population would press for a compromise settlement with Germany. A mid-1942 survey indicated that 'three out of every ten Americans would view favorably a negotiated peace with German army leaders.'”
That's not a majority, of course, but 30% is still a sizable minority.
The author then talks about how photographers in the war zones took photos and submitted them for a multi-level gauntlet of censorship officials and offices. At first, no photos were to show American soldiers killed or suffering, but FDR thought that might lead to false ideas about the war, that it wasn't really that bad at all, so the more violent images began to slip through to the public.
One area that wasn't really uncensored was the area of mental and emotional suffering, which was an area kept censored until after the war.
Hollywood was also involved in the war effort, of course, and it, too, could lead to some false assumptions. From May through November of 1942, for example, only 5 of 61 war films showed Americans actually dying in combat.
Next follows a section of rather gruesome photos from the time.
The second chapter goes into the place of blacks in the war effort. The Office of War Information, “sought to find ways 'to improve Negro morale without incurring too much criticism from whites.'”
Numerous (too numerous) Americans “wished to maintain distinctions, often enforced by law as well as custom, that banned blacks from neighborhoods, jobs, schools and universities, churches, railroad cars, museums, beauty pageants, professional sports teams, scout troops, tornado shelters, restaurants and hotels.”
The segregation extended into the military. “In 1940 almost all black sailors did menial labor in ship galleys. Blacks in the army served in strictly segregated units.” The Air Corps was not accepting applications from blacks, and the Marines did not allow blacks to join.
“...notably absent from depictions of military personnel in wartime advertisements in mainstream magazines were 'any features which might be interpreted as Jewish, or Central European, or in any remote way Colored.'”
“...the Office of Censorship banned publication of all photographs of the race riots that occurred on military bases in Louisiana, New Jersey and elsewhere.” Something else that was not to be shown were photos of black men dancing with white women.
There was also some waste in the war effort. Piles of scrap metal sat rusting, but photos of any of that were banned since it might discourage the scrap drive efforts.
Another chapter deals with movies. The Army Signal Corps produced around three thousand movies. Some movies of the time were virulently anti-Japanese, comparing them to “rats, monkeys, snakes and vermin.” One paper ran a cartoon showing bodies of Japanese being thrown into the air in the bombing of Hiroshima, and it was labeled “Land of the Rising Sons.”
There's more sections of photos, and a small discussion of the Japanese Americans that were interned during the war.
“I am perfectly willing to mislead and tell untruths if it will help to win the war.” -FDR
There's another chapter talking about prejudice in the U.S.
Although the book is called The Censored War, it could just as easily have been called Prejudice and Censorship in America. A significant portion of the book deals with prejudice, and it doesn't make for happy reading. (How people could be so hateful of other people due to the color of their skins or their nationality, especially during war time, is extremely hard to figure out.)
It's an interesting and somewhat unusual, definitely worthwhile book.
Maneuvering public opinion was necessary, considering that much of the public was not wanting war. “Officials were especially worried that a significant portion of the population would press for a compromise settlement with Germany. A mid-1942 survey indicated that 'three out of every ten Americans would view favorably a negotiated peace with German army leaders.'”
That's not a majority, of course, but 30% is still a sizable minority.
The author then talks about how photographers in the war zones took photos and submitted them for a multi-level gauntlet of censorship officials and offices. At first, no photos were to show American soldiers killed or suffering, but FDR thought that might lead to false ideas about the war, that it wasn't really that bad at all, so the more violent images began to slip through to the public.
One area that wasn't really uncensored was the area of mental and emotional suffering, which was an area kept censored until after the war.
Hollywood was also involved in the war effort, of course, and it, too, could lead to some false assumptions. From May through November of 1942, for example, only 5 of 61 war films showed Americans actually dying in combat.
Next follows a section of rather gruesome photos from the time.
The second chapter goes into the place of blacks in the war effort. The Office of War Information, “sought to find ways 'to improve Negro morale without incurring too much criticism from whites.'”
Numerous (too numerous) Americans “wished to maintain distinctions, often enforced by law as well as custom, that banned blacks from neighborhoods, jobs, schools and universities, churches, railroad cars, museums, beauty pageants, professional sports teams, scout troops, tornado shelters, restaurants and hotels.”
The segregation extended into the military. “In 1940 almost all black sailors did menial labor in ship galleys. Blacks in the army served in strictly segregated units.” The Air Corps was not accepting applications from blacks, and the Marines did not allow blacks to join.
“...notably absent from depictions of military personnel in wartime advertisements in mainstream magazines were 'any features which might be interpreted as Jewish, or Central European, or in any remote way Colored.'”
“...the Office of Censorship banned publication of all photographs of the race riots that occurred on military bases in Louisiana, New Jersey and elsewhere.” Something else that was not to be shown were photos of black men dancing with white women.
There was also some waste in the war effort. Piles of scrap metal sat rusting, but photos of any of that were banned since it might discourage the scrap drive efforts.
Another chapter deals with movies. The Army Signal Corps produced around three thousand movies. Some movies of the time were virulently anti-Japanese, comparing them to “rats, monkeys, snakes and vermin.” One paper ran a cartoon showing bodies of Japanese being thrown into the air in the bombing of Hiroshima, and it was labeled “Land of the Rising Sons.”
There's more sections of photos, and a small discussion of the Japanese Americans that were interned during the war.
“I am perfectly willing to mislead and tell untruths if it will help to win the war.” -FDR
There's another chapter talking about prejudice in the U.S.
Although the book is called The Censored War, it could just as easily have been called Prejudice and Censorship in America. A significant portion of the book deals with prejudice, and it doesn't make for happy reading. (How people could be so hateful of other people due to the color of their skins or their nationality, especially during war time, is extremely hard to figure out.)
It's an interesting and somewhat unusual, definitely worthwhile book.
November 13, 2016
This is a rare example of a book where the subtitle is more appropriate than the actual title. While censorship takes up a significant portion of the book, particularly the first chapter, the book really is about how Americans at home "saw" World War II, through photographs in magazines and newspapers, political cartoons, propaganda posters, and Hollywood movies.
Although it's a fairly quick read -- not too many pages and a lot of illustrations -- it's very well thought out and very interesting. George H. Roeder discusses how the gruesome images from the war were held back early on, so as not to discourage the people at home, the Office of War Information changed course after a few years because the home front needed to be motivated to continue their sacrifices. Suffering overseas would end sooner if people didn't show up late for work at the munitions factory, or if they continued collecting scrap metal.
Roeder also discusses race in a number of ways. Photos of blacks and whites cooperating, either at home or overseas, were suppressed. The Japanese enemies were characterized as a race of near-sighted monkeys while most of the negative imagery of the Germans was focused on one individual. (Adolph Hitler, of course.)
There's also an examination of how "shellshock" (now known as PTSD) was depicted in movies and in photos of actual servicemen. There's a lot of interesting stuff in this slender book.
Roeder's closing argument is that the story of the war that filtered to the American public was very polar, that the war was between good and evil with little in between. And he feels that if the public was presented with more nuance, there would have been a greater understanding of the war. While that's true, of course, it's entirely understandable that there weren't many stories of the innocent German and Japanese citizens who were suffering because of the actions of their totalitarian rulers. Such stories could only have undermined the war effort and probably would have evoked little sympathy at a time when family members were risking and losing their lives overseas. And it seems that most people have very little appreciation for nuance anyway, especially in stressful times.
Although it's a fairly quick read -- not too many pages and a lot of illustrations -- it's very well thought out and very interesting. George H. Roeder discusses how the gruesome images from the war were held back early on, so as not to discourage the people at home, the Office of War Information changed course after a few years because the home front needed to be motivated to continue their sacrifices. Suffering overseas would end sooner if people didn't show up late for work at the munitions factory, or if they continued collecting scrap metal.
Roeder also discusses race in a number of ways. Photos of blacks and whites cooperating, either at home or overseas, were suppressed. The Japanese enemies were characterized as a race of near-sighted monkeys while most of the negative imagery of the Germans was focused on one individual. (Adolph Hitler, of course.)
There's also an examination of how "shellshock" (now known as PTSD) was depicted in movies and in photos of actual servicemen. There's a lot of interesting stuff in this slender book.
Roeder's closing argument is that the story of the war that filtered to the American public was very polar, that the war was between good and evil with little in between. And he feels that if the public was presented with more nuance, there would have been a greater understanding of the war. While that's true, of course, it's entirely understandable that there weren't many stories of the innocent German and Japanese citizens who were suffering because of the actions of their totalitarian rulers. Such stories could only have undermined the war effort and probably would have evoked little sympathy at a time when family members were risking and losing their lives overseas. And it seems that most people have very little appreciation for nuance anyway, especially in stressful times.
February 24, 2009
The photo-essays are the best part of this book. Roeder organized his photos, thoughts, and citations very well and provided an excellent sample of images that were and were not censored during World War II.
The photos are a big gruesome, but he makes an important point about the role of images of the dead during wartime. The insights in Roeder's book are still useful today-- especially given the policy toward the dead/dying in the current war(s).
The photos are a big gruesome, but he makes an important point about the role of images of the dead during wartime. The insights in Roeder's book are still useful today-- especially given the policy toward the dead/dying in the current war(s).
March 10, 2014
The book is a good introduction to the use of propaganda in shaping the public's perception to serve political ends. The author provides a lot of examples and the history is generally coherent and the analysis is fantastic. But as you read the book, you'll notice that it can become repetitive sometimes which necessitates the need to skip a number of pages to keep to keep the flow. The book contains a lot of movie references, pictures, etc.
September 27, 2011
Interesting history, with a lot of material on the OWI, the Office of War Information. While the focus is on WW II, Roeder also takes a look back to WW I and forward to the Korean and Vietnamese Wars. Recommended to students of history or of the media & communications.
April 2, 2017
Intressant genomgång av vad som kunde och inte kunde vissa under andra världskriget i USA.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews