Propaganda moved to the air during the Second World War. Leaflets bearing Japanese characters, like the one in this collection, were airdropped by US pilots in enemy-controlled territories of the Southwest Pacific with the intention to reduce the morale of their soldiers.
Military aircrafts released leaflets, flyers, and other smaller paper items to promote agendas and persuade audiences. This distribution, usually scattered in the air over conflict zones, reached combatants and civilians. Often these materials were also dropped in conjunction with air strikes. In the Second World War, both the Allies and Axis utilized airborne leaflet propaganda as a method of psychological warfare to demoralize their enemy, undermine their authority, and induce surrender. In the Southwest Pacific theatre, the US pilots airdropped hundreds of propaganda leaflets over Japan as well as other territories controlled by the Japanese.
Identifier
NASM.2016.0017
Creator
United States. Office of War Information
Date
1944
Provenance
Jon Frank, Gift, 2016, NASM.2016.0017
Extent
0.05 Cubic feet (1 folder)
Archival Repository
National Air and Space Museum Archives
Related Materials
US Army Air Force Japanese Propaganda Leaflets [Sylvan], NASM.2016.0018.
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of a 4 by 6.5 inch airborne propaganda leaflet issued by the United States in 1944 and dropped over the Japanese-held territories in New Guinea and the Philippines. This leaflet is written in a traditional Japanese writing system - used by the privileged class at this time - and attempted to discourage enemy soldiers. Also included in this collection is the biography of Second Lieutenant Hubert J. Frank, a Consolidated B-24 Liberator pilot with the 65th Bombing Squadron assigned to the 43rd Bombardment Group of the Fifth Air Force, who helped scattered hundreds of these leaflets.
Arrangement note
Collection is in original order.
Rights
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Restrictions
No restrictions on access.
Citation
US Army Air Force Japanese Propaganda Leaflet, NASM.2016.0017, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
