Bookmarks as Propaganda

by

Lauren Roberts

Ephemera from the World War II years shows how sophisticated governments had become about eliciting public support for their war efforts. Propaganda machines went into action in every country involved, though Germany was certainly at the leading edge in the beginning.

America caught up quickly, though. The isolationism that marked this country prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor needed to be addressed if the government was to become involved. Enter the newly created Office of War Information which was charged with the task of selling the war at home while the Office of Strategic Services (the forerunner of the CIA) focused on spreading information abroad. But they were not alone. Most government agencies involved themselves in this war of words since numerous resources needed to be re-directed from civilian to military  use. One of those resources was forests.  

Movie newsreels, bookmarks and especially posters whipped up patriotic fervor from early days up to VE and VJ days. (That’s not to say propaganda has ended; indeed, it continues to be a critical part—and undoubtedly the most important part by far—of the American military complex.)

Those who would argue that I misuse the word propaganda because it is for “them” and not us should consider the definition found in Webster's: “The systematic propagation of a doctrine or cause or of information reflecting the views and interests of those advocating such a doctrine or cause.” Another important aspect of propaganda is what is termed “a classic battle between good and evil.”

The most blatant expressions of that battle during World War II were in the depictions of America’s enemies during those days. Forests and their conservation became the focus of sudden attention when on a spring day in 1942, a Japanese submarine surfaced near the coast of my hometown, Santa Barbara, California, and lobbed a round of shells that exploded on an oil field very close to Los Padres National Forest. This intimate attack shocked the country. Fears spread that shells from more attacks could set off numerous forest fires, destroying much-needed timber stocks and diverting American men from combat duty.

The Wartime Advertising Council, in conjunction with the Forest Service, quickly organized the Cooperative Forest Fire Prevention Campaign. Colorfully printed posters and bookmarks with catchy slogans began to appear. Some heralded the American spirit of “can do.” Others used heavy-handed propaganda techniques such as caricature and ridicule to reinforce not only the country’s outward message (“Prevent Forest Fires”) but its underlying one (they are your enemy).

The latter message is especially apparent in this 1943 bookmark. The war was raging with no certain outcome. Germans and Japanese were the enemy, and here they are depicted with a viciousness that leaves no question about the intent of the bookmark’s message.

The portraits show Adolph Hitler, Chancellor of Germany, and Tojo Hideki, the Japanese premier who ordered the bombing of Pearl Harbor, above a blazing tree-lined horizon with the headline “Our Carelessness, Their Secret Weapon.” Their facial features are not only exaggerated but nefarious in order to heighten the sense of threat they pose to America and her forests.

But if there is any doubt about that interpretation, the text on the backside blows it away. “Help on the Home Front,” it shouts, “WIN THE WAR.” It asks farmers and ranchers, smokers, forest industries and campers to take extra precautions to prevent starting fires by noting, “Forest, grass and brush fires signal the enemy; divert manpower from industries and farms, damage and destroy timer and forage, cripple valuable watersheds. Smoke interferes with training of pilots; invites attacks by Nazi and Jap subs, helps hide them from patrols. Until we smash the Axis, forest fires help the enemy.”

The American government no longer uses posters and bookmarks and newsreels to plant its message in people. Those belong to a past era. But the  leading edge propaganda tools used today have their roots in such things. Created wartime information, regardless of who is using it, is all about producing a nationalistic feeling that turns sacrifices into blind patriotism and grief into sad pride.

Bookmark specifications: Our Carelessness Their Secret Weapon
Dimensions: 7” x 2 1/2”
Material: Cardboard
Manufacturer: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service
Date: 1942-45
Acquired: eBay

WIN A FREE BOOKMARK!
You can win a gorgeous brushed stainless steel bookmark by sending in either a written essay/story or a photo “essay” on the subject of bookmarks. The written essay should be between 300-500 words; a photo essay must contain a minimum of four photographs (and a maximum of eight) that sequentially “tell” a story in an interesting way. The specific subject and how you approach it is entirely up to you—how bookmarks are used, favorite or hated bookmarks, making bookmarks, building a collection of bookmarks, funny stories, finding bookmarks on your travels or in old books. It can be anything as long as it revolves in some way around bookmarks. http://www.miragebookmark.ch/images/LZ_RS_135.jpg

Photographs should be e-mailed as JPG file attachments. Written submissions must be pasted into the body of the e-mail. Both types of entries should carry the subject line “Bookmark Contest.” Send them to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

We encourage entries from all over the world. Winners will be announced in the “On Marking Books” column the week on Sunday, January 6.  

Rules:
(1) Only original material is accepted; entries must not have been published previously.
(2) One entry per person is permitted. Entrants must include their mailing address (which will not be shared with anyone), and be at least 12 years of age.
(3) BiblioBuffet and Mirage Bookmark reserve the right to publish any or all of the entries on a non-exclusive basis with no additional compensation.


Almost since her childhood days of Mother Goose, Lauren has been giving her opinion on books to anyone who will listen. That “talent” eventually took her out of magazine writing and into book reviewing in 2000 for an online review site where she cut her teeth (as well as a few authors). Stints as book editor for her local newspaper and contributing editor to Booklist and Bookmarks magazines has reinforced her belief that she has interesting things to say about books. Lauren shares her home with several significant others including three cats, 800 bookmarks and approximately 1,000 books that, whether previously read or not, constitute her to-be-read stack. She is a member of the National Books Critics Circle (NBCC) and Book Publicists of Southern California as well as a longtime book design judge for Publishers Marketing Association’s Benjamin Franklin Awards. You can reach her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it