Oddball
04-30-2005, 08:49 AM
Introduction
I have often thought that one of the obstacles to creating truly objective military history is our inclination to write with a subtext that, like in sports reporting, roots for one side or the other.
In this study of Radio Propaganda against Germany in WW II, we may not avoid that pitfall, but I would advise the reader and listener that you must be especially nimble: in this story, our good guys may do some very wicked things. And the bad guys, the Nazis in this case, may be on the receiving end of some especially nasty lies, disinformation, rumors and tricks. All concocted by OUR side, often in the interest of turning the inherent weaknesses of the Nazi state against itself.
A major challenge in researching these, mostly British, operations, was simply that almost all the related records and documents were destroyed at the very end of the war in Europe, undoubtedly to avoid the embarrassment that a history of purposeful government lying might be revealed.
The sources for this paper are many bits and pieces plus two biographies: The Black Game and Black Boomerang by two of the principals who ran the operations. Proving the effectiveness of their efforts will not be easy. Most of the evidence is anecdotal. But I found tantalizing indeed the speculation that British radio stations, pretending to be German, may have influenced the German mindset.
http://libraryautomation.com/nymas/radioproppaper.htm
I have often thought that one of the obstacles to creating truly objective military history is our inclination to write with a subtext that, like in sports reporting, roots for one side or the other.
In this study of Radio Propaganda against Germany in WW II, we may not avoid that pitfall, but I would advise the reader and listener that you must be especially nimble: in this story, our good guys may do some very wicked things. And the bad guys, the Nazis in this case, may be on the receiving end of some especially nasty lies, disinformation, rumors and tricks. All concocted by OUR side, often in the interest of turning the inherent weaknesses of the Nazi state against itself.
A major challenge in researching these, mostly British, operations, was simply that almost all the related records and documents were destroyed at the very end of the war in Europe, undoubtedly to avoid the embarrassment that a history of purposeful government lying might be revealed.
The sources for this paper are many bits and pieces plus two biographies: The Black Game and Black Boomerang by two of the principals who ran the operations. Proving the effectiveness of their efforts will not be easy. Most of the evidence is anecdotal. But I found tantalizing indeed the speculation that British radio stations, pretending to be German, may have influenced the German mindset.
http://libraryautomation.com/nymas/radioproppaper.htm