This book offers the first in-depth intellectual and cultural history of
British subversive propaganda during the Second World War. Focussing on
the Political Warfare Executive (PWE), it tells the story of British
efforts to undermine German morale and promote resistance against Nazi
hegemony. Staffed by civil servants, journalists, academics and
anti-fascist European exiles, PWE oversaw the BBC European Service
alongside more than forty unique clandestine radio stations; they
maintained a prolific outpouring of subversive leaflets and other
printed propaganda; and they trained secret agents in psychological
warfare. British policy during the occupation of Germany stemmed in part
from the wartime insights and experiences of these propagandists.
Rather than analyse military strategy or tactics, British Subversive
Propaganda during the Second World War draws on a wealth of archival
material from collections in Germany and Britain to develop a critical
genealogy of British ideas about Germany and National Socialism. British
propagandists invoked discourses around history, morality, psychology,
sexuality and religion in order to conceive of an audience susceptible
to morale subversion. Revealing much about the contours of mid-century
European thought and the origins of our own heavily propagandised world,
this book provides unique insights for anyone researching British
history, the Second World War, or the fight against fascism.