These posters were a series of three issued as a motivational poster by the British Government in 1939. The April 1939 Motivational posters trio One series of posters for London Transport featured Billy Brown of London Town. Their content ranged from simple instructions to purely motivational content. Posters were widely used in the propaganda campaigns. Paul's over the ruins being a particularly significant image. Newsreels had particular effect on American audiences, the dome of St. Churchill ordered the entire sequence of Frank Capra's Why We Fight to be shown to the public. Tomorrow We Live show the French Resistance and the heroism of ordinary French civilians, while One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1942) shows Dutch civilians risking their lives to help a group of British airmen back to England.įilms were also imported. The Day Will Dawn (1942) was a film about the Norwegian resistance, while Uncensored told the story of the Belgian resistance. By 1942, the fear of invasion (as depicted in films such as Went the Day Well?) had receded, and film makers began to turn to the brutal reality of life in occupied countries. to fortify the will to continue the struggle". Kenneth Clark, as head of the Films Division of the MOI, argued in 1940 that the public must be convinced of German brutality, stating "we should emphasise wherever possible the wickedness and evil perpetrated in the occupied countries." Subsequently, the Home Planning Committee felt it essential to portray fully "the evil things which confront us. Īs a result, the typical British war film attempts to construct a gripping suspense story which at the same time conveys propaganda ideas in support of the Allied cause. Whenever the ministry had approved a subject we gave every help to the producer in obtaining facilities to make the film. The Ministry both advised the producers on the suitability of subjects which they had suggested and proposed subjects which we thought would do good overseas. The MOI was keenly aware of the value of commercially produced entertainment films in furthering the national cause generally and maintained close contact with film makers: It was the ministry's function to "present the national case to the public at home and abroad". Formed on 4 September 1939, the day after Britain's declaration of war, the Ministry of Information (MOI) was the central government department responsible for publicity and propaganda in the Second World War. The story of British cinema in the Second World War is inextricably linked with that of the Ministry of Information.
1.2.1 The April 1939 Motivational posters trio.