Working for the War Effort German-Speaking Refugees in British Propaganda during the Second World War

by Dove, Richard; Brinson, Charmian

• ISBN13: 9781912676699
• ISBN10: 1912676699
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2021-06-21
• Publisher: Vallentine Mitchell
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Summary

This book explores a facet of British propaganda during the Second World War that has previously hardly been addressed or considered: the apparent anomaly that much of Britain’s wartime propaganda was prepared and delivered by foreigners, not least those officially designated as ‘enemy aliens’. German-speaking refugees were involved in every aspect of British propaganda: for the Ministry of Information; the BBC and for the intelligence organisations such as Electra House, the Special Operations Executive and the Political Warfare Executive. They played a significant role in propaganda designed for the Home Front, for neutral and Allied countries, and in propaganda directed at the enemy, and were engaged in both ‘white’ and ‘black’ (i.e. covert) materials.

The book considers the preparedness of the British authorities to avail themselves of the talents of the ‘enemy aliens’ and the eagerness of many of the refugees to contribute to the British war effort. They brought with them knowledge of every aspect of their home countries as well as their obvious linguistic skills, all of which could be usefully exploited for propaganda purposes. Refugee artists, writers, journalists, broadcasters, actors and academics were all drawn into different aspects of the British propaganda mill.

The relationship between the British authorities and the refugees proved a mutually beneficial one. Inevitably, however, problems arose, ranging from internment, through deportation to espionage. All in all, it examines and evaluates an intriguing aspect of British wartime propaganda, the hitherto largely unacknowledged contribution made by German-speaking refugees to the British war effort.

Author Biography

Richard Dove is Emeritus Professor of German at Greenwich University. Charmian Brinson is Emeritus Professor of German at Imperial College.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
List of Illustrations
Introduction
Part I - Propaganda on the Home Front
1. The Refugees and their Reception in Britain
2. The Ministry of Information and the German-speaking Refugees
3. Die Zeitung: A German-language Newspaper in Wartime Britain
4. The Art of Propaganda: The Work of the Refugee Artists
5. Spreading the Word: Publications, Lectures, the Refugees and the Ministry of Information
6. The Ministry of Information and Film Propaganda
7. ‘A Perfect Job?’ : Peter Smolka and the Anglo-Soviet Alliance Part II - Propaganda to the Enemy
8. From the Ministry of Information to ‘Black Propaganda': Fritz Demuth, the Emergency Committee for German Scholars in Exile and the Demuth Committee
9. ‘The Organisation and Conduct of Political Warfare’: From Department EH to SOE and PWE
10. London Calling: The German Service of the BBC
11. Dark Designs: Covert British Propaganda
12. Education for Democracy: Refugees and Prisoners of War
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index