Propaganda and the Pacific

1. Propaganda and the Pacific Danice Toyias, MCHCE Biographies of A Nation June 17-20, 2013

2. For this presentation, I will be beginning at the end….. • My conclusions are what will drive this presentation. • This is based on the historical analysis I conducted. • We have moved beyond how to look at and gather information from primary sources to using our historical analysis skills to gain a deeper understanding.

3. Conclusion • America did not have a deeply ingrained mythological or deified history for which to draw upon in creating WWII propaganda. • Instead, America’s history included an acceptance of racism and struggle with immigrant exclusion. • The cultural myths and symbols continued the legacy of racism and exclusion because it was a language commonly understood by all Americans.

4. Racism and Propaganda • Racial superiority and inferiority a common language used in America. • The language and visual depictions were easily understood by Americans in the age of Jim Crow.

5. Anti-American Nazi Propaganda even recognized America’s racist schizophrenia.

6. Racism in Japan • The Japanese people held their own racism towards the other races of Asia. Part of this racism came out of the belief in the superiority of the Yamato race. The Japanese people believed that they were from a deified lineage. They also believed in the purity of Japan, and “disparaged” the other races of Asia as they had been influenced by outsiders. • Tamura Yoshio, “Unit 731,” Japan at War; An Oral History, eds. HarukoTaya Cook and Theodore F. Cook (New York: The New Press, 1992) 164.

7. American Propaganda • Fueled by American Industry • Corporate Capitalism • Effects of war involvement=prosperity • Philco Corporation one of the first to utilize racism in their campaigns. • American propaganda was not state controlled.

8. Propaganda Before and After Pearl Harbor Japanese as bully……..to……. backstabbing “Jap” monster

9. After Pearl Harbor • Friends became enemies overnight. • Education of Americans on how to tell the difference between Japanese and Chinese. • Over the course of the war, Anti-Japanese propaganda morphed and became more bestial. • In the last two years of the war, more photos were published of dehumanizing depictions.

10. TIME Magazine, 1941. LIFE Magazine, December 22, 1941

11. After Pearl Harbor • Executive Order 9066—removal of Japanese as enemies of the state. • Over 100,000 forcibly removed from their homes. • “Living reminders” were removed, so there was no counter narrative.

12. Historical Analysis Steps • Source: Title, Author, Date, Published or Created, Sponsorship, Location of Publication. • Contextualize: Timeline • Interrogate: Question, Examine colors, symbols, stereotypes, feeling, tone, mood, language, and subject matter. • Corroborate: Seek outside sources to help fill in the “holes.” • Conclude: Your interpretation and understanding

13. Corroboration and the Internet • Propaganda is most interesting to study when placed in the context it was originally presented. • If you can, go directly to the primary source from where it came. • The Internet will give you bad information 9 times out of 10. Don’t assume something is what it seems at first glance…… • All of the pictures you will analyze are ones I took directly from their source (okay, some of my copies were bad so I had to go to the internet for higher resolutions).

14. Corroboration and Contextualizing Examples You may find an interesting piece of propaganda, and it will be tagged “World War II photograph.” Unfortunately, it won’t have any other information for you to Source or Contextualize it. You’ll want to use it as a visual aid on Japanese treatment after Pearl Harbor. However, once you do a little digging, you may discover it isn’t quite what it seems.

15. Instead, you discover that the above picture is from the 1920s. It is from Hollywood, CA, where deed restrictions kept Japanese from buying homes in certain neighborhoods. However, it is also part of an exhibit at Manzanar’s Interpretive Center, which led a lot of people who posted it on the internet to tag it as being from WWII.

16. A Sourcing and Contextualization Example • At first glance, you may think this is a picture of a storefront in which the Japanese-American owner was protesting his removal and forced sale of his property.

17. Once you find the Source Information, you will be in for a surprise: • Grocery store front: “SOLD” and “I AM AN AMERICAN” taken in 1942 by Dorothea Lange. • Oakland, CA. Following evacuation orders, this store was closed. The owner, a UC graduate of Japanese descent, placed the I AM AN AMERICAN sign in the window on Dec. 8, 1941.

18. As the war progresses…. Nearly half of American soldiers agreed with the statement: “I’d really like to kill a Jap soldier.” Only 1 in 10 agreed with the statement: “I’d really like to kill a German soldier.” From HarukoTaya Cook and Theodore F. Cook, Japan at War; An Oral History (New York: The New Press, 1992) 87. “By His Deeds…Measure Yours,” New Yorker (27, March 1943) 9. Interrogation: Examine propaganda for symbols and language. Remember, it is purposely crafted to stir emotion and influence its viewer.

19. War Atrocities Fueled Hatred Popular magazines published pictures and news reports that horrified Americans. Using Chinese for bayonet practice, 1930s The Rape of Nanking, 1937 The Rape at St. Stephens College in Hong Kong, December 25, 1941 Bataan Death March, 1942 Contextualization: Know your timeline! Many propaganda pictures drew on events that happened to accomplish their goals.

20. Dehumanization of enemy • Tokyo newspapers ran pictures showing American children playing with toys made from the bones of Japanese. • Japanese propaganda—Americans morally wrong. “Death is far more preferable to falling into the hands of monsters.”* *Edwin P. Hoyt, Japan’s War; The Great Pacific Conflict (McGraw Hill: New York, 1989) 277 and 391.

21. Dehumanization • Towards the end of the war, less caricature-type propaganda was published, • Instead, more photographs were published depicting the atrocities of war. • These photographs sought to dehumanize the enemy and desensitize the viewer.

22. May 22, 1944 LIFE LIFE magazine published a picture of a Japanese skull that a Navy Lieutenant sent as a present to his girlfriend in Arizona. Representative Francis Walter (PA) gave FDR a letter opener from the forearm of a Japanese soldier. An American tank unit used a Japanese skull as a hood ornament.

23. The End of the War: Desperation • Tokyo Firebombings of March 9th and 10th, 1945 • Under General LeMay • Over 100,000 people killed in this one bombing (more than the number killed directly by the bomb dropped on Hiroshima) • Over 1 million people made homeless • 16 square miles of the city leveled • Primarily civilian targets

24. Tokyo, 3-10-1945

25. How does Propaganda operate? • Propaganda operates by taking “cultural myths and symbols and reworking them in the service of nationally conceived aims.”* • Holly Cowan Shulman, The Voice of America; Propaganda and Democracy, 1941-1945 (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1990) 6.

26. WWII Propaganda Timeline Quick-look Before we delve into the analysis, let us take a look at some other propaganda pieces from the period:

27. “He Never Knew What Hit Him,” by Dr. Seuss Newsweek (15, November 1941) 22.

28. These caricatures were featured in the 22, December 1941 edition of LIFE Magazine.

29. “Japs Bomb U.S.A!” LIFE (12, January 1942) 88.

30. By Dr. Seuss, 1942.

31. By Dr. Seuss, (5, March 1942).

32. “Waiting for the Signal From Home” by Dr. Seuss (1942).

33. Collier’s Magazine Cover, December 12, 1942.

34. “This is the Enemy,” LIFE (21, December 1942) 55.

35. STAY ON THE JOB UNTIL EVERY MURDERING JAP IS WIPED OUT!, 1941 - 1945 ARC Identifier 515483 / Local Identifier 44-PA-1804 (March, 1943).

36. How Tough Are the Japanese? New York Times, 1943

37. TIME Magazine Cover featuring Admiral William Halsey, Jr.: “Kill Japs, kill Japs, and then kill more Japs” (23, July 1945)

38. “J. Samual Walker, “Land of the Rising Sons,” Prompt and Utter Destruction; Trumanand the use of Atomic Bombs Against Japan (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1997) 99. (Cartoon from 8-8-1945)