Wartime propaganda in the Union of South Africa, 1939 - 1945

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: After the First World War (1914-1918) – the first 'total war in modern history, where wholepopulations, not just military forces, became participants in the war effort, the potentialpower of propaganda was realised, through the exploitation of mass communication media tomanipulate public opinion. Alongside politico-diplomatic, economic and militarymanoeuvres, governments needed to mobilise the minds of their population to secure support,to mobilise them behind the war policy and to avoid discontent and dissension. This wasparticularly crucial to South Africa during the Second World War (1939-1945), especially asthe country was threatened by deeply ingrained political tensions and internal divisions. Thewartime Union, under General Jan Smuts, experienced an escalation of political extremismand militancy from radical sections of white Afrikaner nationalists who opposed thegovernment's war policy. Furthermore, some elements within even the Union Defence Force(UDF) displayed disloyal tendencies which threatened the morale of the armed forces. Thus,in response, the government waged a massive propaganda campaign during the war aimed atstimulating recruitment, at preserving national morale, at combating anti-war resistance andat minimising disruptions to the implementation of its war policy.To this end, the authorities exploited information avenues such as radio broadcasts, the press,films, mobile recruiting tours and military demonstrations for publicity and propagandapurposes. As propaganda delivery channels, radio, the press and films were potentiallypowerful. However, the strategy pursued by the authorities failed to maximise their fullimpact. The government also did not enjoy a media monopoly for the conduct of its warpropaganda. The SABC continued operating independently and its airtime was not handedover to the authorities. Similarly, while the government relied on the support of sympatheticnewspaper editors for its propaganda campaign, newspapers themselves sometimes ignoredcensorship regulations and published material which was unhelpful to the national war effort.Meanwhile, the opposition press also contested the propaganda terrain by waging anti-warcampaigns. Films were the weakest link due to limited government control, productionobstacles and an English language dominance which alienated the majority of whiteAfrikaans speakers. Another problem was persistent rivalry among various official and semiofficialpropaganda agencies and a lack of clarity over a common propaganda policy.When it came to recruitment, government propaganda achieved particularly limited success.Despite patriotic appeals for volunteer enlistment, the shortage of manpower remained apersistent problem throughout the war. Alongside this, social and economic problems such asfood and housing shortages also had a negative impact on public morale. The positive reachof propaganda efforts within the military, especially education, information and socialwelfare services, was also limited in that they were unable to dispel dissatisfaction resultingfrom poor service conditions, military policies, and the growing influence of war weariness.Towards the end of hostilities, there was a perceptible decline in troop discipline and morale.In general, therefore, the Union government's overall war publicity and propaganda effortfailed to produce a solid sense of national war cohesion or war unity. Although the countryremained stable and was able to sustain war participation, it could not be said that SouthAfrica's leadership was able to persuade inhabitants – whether white or black - to participatein the Second World War as a war to be embraced as a people's war.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University