Remembering Propaganda

While I was in London working with the Canadian Women's Army Corps at the Canadian Military Headquarters, I experienced a whole new way of life. Everything was new and lots of things came at me from all sides. What struck me the most was the propaganda.

Back in Canada, propaganda was mainly in the form of posters. The government saturated the country with them - they were stuck on buses, shop windows, billboards, theaters...Some of them were inspiring, others motivating. However, this was not enough and conscription was introduced again in 1944.

In Britain, there were also posters everywhere, and some censorship. Newspapers were careful about what they printed, trying to keep a balance between informing the nation about the events of the war and keeping the country calm and upbeat. Newsreels were produced that exaggerated the relationship between Britain and America. BBC was told that they could not report on any government activity until two weeks after it had taken place, so that they could act without the general public pressuring them. The overall aim for British propaganda was to keep the citizens of England hopeful and optimistic, as well as encourage men and women to join the army. Believe me, it worked. Even when the country was being bombed night and day by the Germans, the English remained bright and cheerful.

Once in a while, I would hear a bit of the propaganda going on in Germany, either through the radio or stories soldiers brought back with them. The German propaganda was scary. Everything was under Nazi control - newspapers, magazines, the radio, music, literature...I once heard part of a speech given by Hitler on the radio. It was horrible. Although I could not understand a word of it, the forcefulness with which he spoke, the sickening triumph in his voice, the cheering voices of millions and millions of people...Soldiers came back from Germany telling stories of how the Allies were being portrayed as cowardly murderers, the Americans evil gangsters and Germany as the greatest, finest country of all. Hitler was brainwashing thousands and thousands of people.

What was the most unnatural of the Nazi propaganda was the targeting of the Jews. It was sickening. Propaganda was a weapon of war. In Britain and Canada, it inspired me. In Germany, it was terrifying. It was wrong.

Did you ever come into contact with German propaganda? Was propaganda in your country convincing? Do you agree with me that it was a weapon of war?

Remembering D-Day

D-Day was the most invigorating battle of the war. It was then that we had some hope of winning. Germany had made many mistakes, Hitler was struggling and we were beginning to close in. I was unable to be directly part of this even. Even though the Women's Army Corps had been in action for more than three years, even though women were given the same rankings as men, we still weren't allowed to fight. But I'm not complaining. I helped in my own way.

I was among a group of women who had been sent to London to the companies that had been set up in the Canadian Military Headquarters in 1943. There, I worked as a mechanic, repairing and building tanks, air crafts, trucks, etc. It was hard work, but rewarding. Although there was a lot of prejudice and sexism, men and women were united in their goal to overthrow the enemy as we worked together on machinery that would hopefully help to bring an en to the war. On the day that then men went over the English Channel to invade, I remember being very afraid. For the first time, I realized that the war was a very close thing. This for me was the pinnacle. My heart was in my throat as I watched men from America, Britain, Poland, Australia, Canada board air crafts and ships, division after division....Their attack was staged for very early in the morning - the ships and planes were starting over by 3-6am; parachuting troops had been dropped down at midnight. Everything was set, there was nothing more I could do. I had done my part. I remember sitting anxiously by the radio, along with women, older men, children, people of all races and nationalities: waiting.

I remember the first news of success - the boys had reached the shores of Normandy; parachuting troops were inland, but all were under heavy fire from the Germans. The stress and tension was almost too much to bear - we were all wondering who was going to come back home. Another radio broadcast: the casualties for Canadians' on Juno Beach were high, but they had made it and were advancing inland. It was a time of fear, happiness, relief and overwhelming sadness. We cheered, for, even though the battles were far from over, the end of the war was insight.

What was significant for you on D-Day? Where were you when it happened? How did people around you react? How do YOU remember D-Day?