American sentiment toward the Axis
disguised as instructional films

Through numerous forms of visual imagery and propaganda, Frank Capra's government sponsored films presented various reasons for American soldiers to fight during World War II. Capra's films conveyed certain messages: gave the history and news of the war, presented stereotypes of the enemy, pleaded for interventionism, and stated there was no alternative but to win the war and the peace. The films used devices such as Manicheanism – presenting dualities, emotionally charged footage, and enemy propaganda footage to present those messages. David Culbert defines propaganda as, "the exaggeration of ideas already present in a given culture."¹ With regard to this definition, the effect of Capra's films was varied and conflicting with their original intent to make soldiers fight better.

In 1941, Army Chief of Staff, General George Marshall, read an article published in The Atlantic Monthly, titled, "Wanted: A Faith to Fight For." The article expressed the worry that while German soldiers had a cause to die for, the American soldiers did not.² Marshall said, "We've got to tell our young men why they're in uniform. They're going to fight seasoned soldiers who've got a thing going for them, a superman thing, and the soldiers believe it. And we haven't got that."³ Marshall wanted each soldier to know why he was fighting the war.⁴ Marshall believed American soldiers would fight better, if they were knew the reasons they were fighting for, were worth dying for.⁵

At this time, soldiers were given lectures to explain to them the reasons why they were fighting. But, the lectures had proved mostly ineffective. Usually given after tiring basic training, the lectures were "baffling, bewildering, or just plain boring." The lectures simply did nothing to stir up the emotions of a soldier. General Marshall called a conference on November 8, 1941, to begin an army-wide program to produce films that explained the reasons for fighting.⁶ Capra was a director noted for his commitment to American ideals in such films as, Mr. Deed Goes to Town and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.⁷ Capra's political point of view about the war was simply for America to win it.⁸

The production of the orientation films fell under various government organizations throughout the war, but started in the Army Information Branch under the Information and Education Division.⁹ Roosevelt told an aide privately in 1941 that, "I am perfectly willing to mislead and tell untruths if it will help us win the war."¹⁰ In 1942, to further manipulate and sway the American people, he created the Office of War Information (OWI). The OWI was formed to "formulate and carry out, through the use of press, radio, motion picture, and other facilities, information programs designed to facilitate the development of an informed and intelligent understanding, at home and abroad, of the status and progress of the war effort and of the war policies, activities, and aims of the Government."¹¹

Capra's unit later fell under the Special Services division of the OWI.¹² Capra's films were called the Why We Fight series, which included, Prelude to War (1942), The Nazis Strike (1943), Divide and Conquer (1943), Battle of Britain (1943), Battle of Russia (1943), Battle of China (1944), and War Comes to America (1945). Prelude to War and The Battle of Russia were later released to public American theatres. Additional films were also produced: Know Your Enemy – Japan (1945), Know Your Ally – Britain (1943), The Negro Soldier (1944), Your Job in Germany (1945), and Here is Germany (1945). As laid out in a memo to Secretary of War, C.C. Marshall, the objectives of the films were: to win the war and win the peace. The government attempted to create the "will to win" by

"(a) making clear the enemy's ruthless objectives (b) promoting confidence in the ability of our armed forces to win (c) showing clearly that we are fighting for the survival of our country and all our freedoms (d) showing clearly how we would lose our freedom if we lost the war (e) exposing the myth of enemy invincibility (f) making it clear that we carry the torch of freedom."¹³

The films consisted of mostly compilation footage, including newsreels, captured enemy propaganda, combat films, documentaries, feature films, and small amounts of production footage shot for the individual films. Capra had severe budgetary limitations for these films. All seven Why We Fight films were made for about one-fifth the cost of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.¹⁴ Capra stated, "We took whatever we could find; ... That's all you can do in war."¹⁵ Most of the films also include maps and animation produced by Disney.¹⁶

In 1941, Frank Capra saw Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of Will (1934), a German propaganda film. "It scared the hell out of me," he said. Nevertheless, Capra was impressed with Riefenstahl's use of mythic imagery, the hypnotic rhythm of her editing, and her use of music. Capra considered it "the greatest propaganda film anyone has ever made."¹⁷ He used many of her techniques to create his own films.

Manicheanism, emotionally charged footage, and enemy film propaganda were used in Capra's films to present his messages. The most powerful device Capra used was Manicheanism, which presents dualities. Thirty-seven percent of American fighting men had less than a high school education and Capra believed that "this ‘free-world, slave-world' [approach was] the only way you could reach that guy at that moment. You give him a lot of ‘but-on-the-other-hands' and you confuse him completely."¹⁸ Prelude to War has many examples of Manicheanism. Its basic theme, "the heart of American propaganda, was that two worlds were locked in mortal combat, the free world and the slave." Two worlds are illustrated with two separate globes, one light, and one dark. The narrative gives comparisons of, "freedom versus slavery," "civilization against barbarism," "good against evil," the Allied "way of life" and the Axis "way of death."¹⁹ In The Battle of Britain, an animated map of Europe turns from white to black as the Germans occupy more and more territory.²⁰ The Battle of China includes a clip of Madame Chiang Kai-Shek addressing Congress. She states,

"The oldest and the youngest of the world's great nations, together with the British Commonwealth, fight side by side in the struggle that is as old as China herself: the struggle of freedom against slavery, civilization against barbarism, good against evil. Upon their victory depends the future of mankind."²¹

Along with Manicheanism, Capra also used emotionally charged footage to illustrate why soldiers should fight. Images, such as a rock flying through a stained-glass church window with Hitler's face appearing in the background, the bombing of London, and the Russian defense of Leningrad, dominated his films.²² Capra said, "A dry recitation of facts might have been a ‘safer' way to present them. But my experiences with audiences has long ago taught me that if you want facts to stick, you must present them in an interesting manner."²³

Capra also used the enemy's own propaganda films in his films as another device to prove the need for the war. "Let their own films kill them," he said.²⁴ "Let the enemy prove to our soldiers the enormity of his cause – and the justness of ours. Let our boys hear the Nazis and the Japs shout their own claims of master-race crud and our fighting men will know why they are in uniform." He used their films to "juxtapose the menacing faces and words of the enemy against the bright hope and accomplishments of the American people and their Allies."²⁵

One message, that Capra's films convey, is stereotypes of the enemy. The Axis powers are evil: savages who seek world conquest, a "servant mass" who hate so-called "others," and their history trains them as children to be this way. Conversely, the Allies are good: similar to each other and strong. The histories of the Allies, which contain vast examples of conquest and greed, are completely ignored.

Whatever America's actual deeds may have been or whatever atrocities it may have committed, such as slavery, these were omitted.²⁶ Also in regard to Russia and China, communism goes unmentioned.²⁷ The similarity of the Allies is shown as well. In Know Your Ally – Britain, the differences between American and Britain are described as merely customs and their similarities, such as free representative government and freedom of speech, press, and religion, are emphasized.²⁸ In The Battle of Russia, Russia is represented as a diverse nation of many races, colors, and languages. Capra did this to rid the stereotype of Russians having no individuality.²⁹ People pray in churches and share the same commitment to democratic values, as Americans do.³⁰

The Allies are also shown as strong and determined people already dedicated to the war. In Know Your Ally – Britain, women salvaging their furniture from a bombed-out home are laughing and surviving. In The Battle of Britain, scenes of the outnumbered British Air Force, Londoners hiding underground for 28 days, and the bombing of historic landmarks, are shown to reveal what the country had to endure. The Battle of Russia points out that, from 1242 to the present every attempted foreign invasion of Russia has failed. It also tells the story of one Russian city, Sevastopol, which held up against the Germans for eight and a half months.³¹

The total opposite of the Allies are the Axis powers, who are "incorrigibly evil."³² The enemies are: savages who seek world conquest, a "servant mass" who hate so called "others," and their history trains them to be this way. In Capra's films, he portrays the enemy as savages. The soldier is told he is "fighting for America against inhuman foes devoid not only of morality, but of common decency."³³ In The Negro Soldier, a preacher explains the need to win the war for humanity's sake. In The Battle of Russia, when the Russians retake their town, they return to find the unburied bodies of the raped and murdered.³⁴ A German hand is extended on the screen to the viewer, in Your Job in Germany, but soldiers are warned to stay away. "The hand that heiled Hitler, the hand that dropped bombs, the hand that held the whip over slaves, the hand that withheld food, massacred, killed, crippled – don't clasp that hand!"³⁵ In Know Your Enemy – Japan, images of samurai are shown, emphasizing Japan's military savageness.³⁶ The Japanese are referred to as "blood-crazed Japs."³⁷

Another stereotype given in Capra's films is that the Axis powers seek world conquest and domination. According to the films, there is a historic ambition for world conquest in Japan and Germany.³⁸ In The Nazis Strike, the viewer witnesses the fall of the Rhineland, Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. Then in Divide and Conquer, the Nazi conquest continues through Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Holland, and France.³⁹ Hitler's words convey the message: "In my schools, a youth will grow up before which the world will shrink back. Today Germany – tomorrow the world!" in Here is Germany.⁴⁰ In Battle of China, Japan's idea of "co-existence and co-prosperity" is stated as the devastation of China's cities is shown.⁴¹ Conversely, the Allies are shown to not wage wars of conquest. In Battle of China, it is stated that in China's 4000-year war history, they have never waged a war of conquest.⁴²

In Capra's films the enemy is most often shown visually as a "servant mass." James Agee commented that in Prelude to War, "there is a long, pouring, speechless sequence, intelligently sustained by rudimentary drumbeats, of marching children, youths, and men which is a virtuoso job of selection and cutting, and the grimmest image of fascism I have seen on a screen."⁴³ "Where his flag leads he follows in a blind emotional rush," is how a Japanese man is characterized in Know Your Enemy – Japan.⁴⁴ The Japanese are shown to be "photographic prints off the same negative," visually represented by a steel bar being repeatedly hammered into a forge.⁴⁵ The film states, "Japan's system of regimentation is so perfect it made Hitler's mouth water."⁴⁶ However, Japan's own propaganda did state: "100 million hearts beating as one," "100 million people as one bullet," and "to perfect and unify the entire nation with one conviction." While the Japanese people weren't devoid of individualism, the government wanted them to be that way, as the propaganda slogans suggest. In actuality, what the vast majority of Westerners believed about the Japanese, coincided with what the Japanese ruling elites hoped they would become.⁴⁷

The Axis master-race mentality is also emphasized in Capra's films. A steady increase toward human freedom in the West is shown, but this is said to be reversed as: Germany proclaims itself the master race, Italy tries to restore the former glory of Rome, and Japan follows its god-emperor to rule the Pacific.⁴⁸ The film, The Negro Soldier, reminds its viewers that Hitler called it "criminal madness" to educate a Negro. The film also shows the French monument erected to Negro troops in World War I, which the Nazis destroy in 1941.⁴⁹ The film tried to convince African-American soldiers that they had a stake in America that they wouldn't if Hitler and Japan took over. African-Americans really would be sent back to slavery if Hitler or Japan took over.⁵⁰

According to Capra, history dictates a main reason for the evilness of the Axis. Their countries' histories are full of racial superiority, conquest, and loss of individuality. They love regimentation and harsh discipline. In Prelude to War, American children are seen playing in a playground, while German children are playing on tanks, and Italian and Japanese children are training for war.⁵¹ In Here is Germany the narration states, "Just as our [America] will for freedom is born of a heroic tradition, so the Germans' thirst for power springs from their historic past."⁵²

One of the objectives of the films was to combat the isolationist sentiment in the country, which was deeply entrenched.⁵³ The Spanish Civil War, Japan's war on China, Germany's takeover of over Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Albania, France falling, and German pilots training in nearby Ecuador: all happened with little response from America. The films try to show the viewer the savage, conquest seeking, "servant mass," enemy to motivate them to leave isolationism behind and start thinking as interventionism.⁵⁴

The films tell soldiers that they are "fighting for the existence of their country," they have no other alternative in this war, but to win.⁵⁵ The Allies In Prelude to War, "it's us or them."⁵⁶ A scene shows a fake Japanese army marching down Pennsylvania Avenue. The narrator explains, "You will see what they did to the men and women of Nanking, Hong Kong, and Manila, imagine the field day they'd enjoy if they marched through the streets of Washington."⁵⁷

Another objective of the films was to win the peace. The soldiers were fighting for a world free of conquest, exploitation, and economic evil, where democracy and peace triumphed.⁵⁸ Each film in the Why We Fight series ends with a quote by General Marshall: "The victory of the democracies can only be complete with the utter defeat of the war machines of Germany and Japan."⁵⁹ Know Your Enemy – Japan suggests the reforms the Allies had in store to impose on a defeated and occupied Japan.⁶⁰

The effect of Capra's films is still hard to grasp, since the effect of any film tends to have a subtle, unconscious, impact.⁶¹ By 1945, Prelude to War had been shown to 9 million soldiers.⁶² An experiment designed by social scientists tested two groups of soldiers at two different army camps during February and April of 1943 and then again nine weeks later. The researchers found that the films had "marked effects" on soldiers knowledge of factual events that led up to the war. But when the soldier's motivation to fight was measured, the study showed that the films had no effect.⁶³ The films may have actually increased the soldier's estimate of enemy strength.⁶⁴

But since any single film rarely changes a person's fundamental beliefs, this study is unsurprising. Also by 1943, being totally immersed in war culture, Americans had made their minds up, and had their own reasons for fighting. The films probably did, though, reinforce an attitude toward American involvement and intervention. The films probably also reinforced and solidified the attitudes and stereotypes about the enemy that many Americans had, at least since Pearl Harbor.⁶⁵ When asked if the Why We Fight series are "hate" films, Capra replied, "I don't want people to hate. I wanted [soldiers] to knock off people that hated. I wanted to stop that hatred."⁶⁶

The original intent of Frank Capra's films was to explain visually to soldiers the reasons for fighting. Capra did this by using Manicheanism, emotion, and enemy propaganda. The reasons to fight included many stereotyped examples of why the Axis powers were evil and why they needed to be stopped by the intervening Allies. No other alternative was presented, but to win the war. In turn, the films were thought to boost morale and make the soldiers fight better. But studies have shown that the films had no effect on the soldier's motivation to fight. So, in line with Culbert's definition of propaganda as, "the exaggeration of ideas already present in a given culture," Capra's films are basically a study of American sentiment toward the Axis powers during World War II, disguised as instructional films.⁶⁷

¹David Culbert, Film and Propaganda: A Documentary History Part 2, Volume III (New York: Greenwood Press, 1990), p. xv.

²Joseph McBride, Frank Capra: the Catastrophe of Success (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1992), p. 455.

³Richard Schickel, The Men Who Made the Movies (New York: Atheneum, 1975), p. 83.

⁴Victor Scherle and William Turner Levy, The Films of Frank Capra (Decaucus, New Jersey: The Citadel Press, 1977), p.195.

⁵Charles J. Maland, Frank Capra (Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1980), p. 120.

⁷James E. Combs and Sara T. Combs, Film Propaganda and American Politics:  An Analysis and Filmography (New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1994), p. 69.

⁸McBride, 459.

⁹Culbert, 85.

¹⁰Ibid, 157.

¹¹John W. Jeffries, Wartime America: The World War II Home Front (Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, Inc., 1996), p. 176-7.

¹²Culbert, 85.

¹³Ibid, 121.

¹⁴McBride, 458.

¹⁵Ibid, 481.

¹⁶Maland, 123.

¹⁷McBride, 466.

¹⁸McBride, 469.

¹⁹Dower, 17.

²⁰Maland, 126.

²¹Scherle,209.

²²Maland, 126.

²³McBride, 482.

²⁴McBride, 467.

²⁵Dower, 16.

²⁶Ibid, 29-30.

²⁷Combs, 72.

²⁸Scherle, 203-5.

²⁹Ibid, 209.

³⁰Combs, 72.

³¹Ibid, 204-209.

³²Dower, 29.

³³Ibid, 195.

³⁴Ibid, 209-213.

³⁵Ibid, 220.

³⁶Dower, 20.

³⁷McBride, 468.

³⁸Ibid, 17.

³⁹Scherle, 201-202.

⁴⁰Ibid, 218.

⁴¹Dower, 18.

⁴²Scherle, 211.

⁴³Ibid, 198.

⁴⁴McBride, 468.

⁴⁵Dower, 19.

⁴⁶Scherle, 220.

⁴⁷Dower, 30-31.

⁴⁸Scherle, 199.

⁴⁹Ibid, 212.

⁵⁰Schickel, 84.

⁵¹Maland, 125-127.

⁵²Scherle, 218.

⁵³Dower, 16.

⁵⁴Scherle, 217.

⁵⁵Dower, 16.

⁵⁶Combs, 71.

⁵⁷Dower, 17.

⁵⁸Ibid, 16.

⁵⁹Maland, 125.

⁶⁰Dower, 23.

⁶¹Combs, 71.

⁶²Maland, 121.

⁶³Ibid, 127-128.

⁶⁴McBride, 482.

⁶⁵Maland, 127-128

⁶⁶McBride, 469.

⁶⁷Culbert, xv.