The cat, the mouse, and the elephant.

October 8, 2010 8:59 AM

"This is your state! A big country like India is a slave to a small country like Britain. The Indian soldiers should be fighting for their freedom which can only be achieved if England is destroyed. You are only fighting to remain enslaved." A comprehensive account of WWII propaganda campaigns on all sides of the complicated relationship between Axis, Allies, and India.

Inspired by the book Psychological Warfare and India by Arunkumar Bhatt.

Related: Japanese WWII propaganda.

posted by albrecht (13 comments total)

the war of words was almost as powerfull as the war with weapons.Very good link ALBRECHT, thanks.
posted by tustinrick at 9:57 AM on October 8, 2010

I say. That's rather strongly worded, what.
posted by punkfloyd at 10:06 AM on October 8, 2010

My knowledge of WWII history is somewhat limited, but were there any notable steps towards autonomy for Ireland, Scotland, and various colonies during WWII? I'd have thought it'd be a very opportune time for political negotiation. Then again, it seems like wartime often brings uncompromising hardliners into power.
posted by BrotherCaine at 10:15 AM on October 8, 2010

Northern Ireland rather.
posted by BrotherCaine at 10:19 AM on October 8, 2010

were there any notable steps towards autonomy for Ireland, Scotland, and various colonies during WWII?

My history knowledge is also pretty scarce on this front, but my general understanding is that all parts of the British Isles were too busy dealing with the economic and social devastation of being bombed to hell by the Nazis to really organize for independence.

The situation in India reminds me more of what happened in Finland during the war, where Finland found for a while that its interests lined up with Germany's in defeating the Soviet Union, only to then have to turn around and fight the Germans a year later.
posted by albrecht at 11:11 AM on October 8, 2010

Besides a lot of potatoes and ice, the British produce nothing else.

Slight exaggeration.
posted by goethean at 11:21 AM on October 8, 2010

Iceland gained full autonomy from Denmark during the war, being cut off from the latter when it was occupied by Germany (I am unfamiliar with the details, but home rule had been in effect for a long time already). After a referendum in 1944 the union with Denmark was abolished and the Republic of Iceland came into being. The Danes apparently didn't protest.
posted by Aiwen at 11:23 AM on October 8, 2010

Great stuff - and the site is HUGE, for those who haven't explored it before.
posted by jtron at 11:32 AM on October 8, 2010

Harry Harrison wrote a very interesting short story, one of his early alternative-history efforts, where Germany had successfully occupied India. It was about Gandhi and his attempt to use nonviolence against the Nazis.

It, um, didn't work out so well.
posted by Malor at 12:57 PM on October 8, 2010

Oops, sorry, I meant to say Harry Turtledove -- dunno where Harrison came from, I wasn't thinking of the Stainless Steel Rat. :) The story was called "The Last Article". I don't see it online in a quick search. Worth finding if you can, it's pretty good.
posted by Malor at 1:02 PM on October 8, 2010

The Last Article. isdfb is your friend.
posted by Zed at 2:34 PM on October 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

Very interesting to see Urdu written in the roman script. I wonder who it was meant for -- any literate Urdu-speaking Indian would read it in the arabic script. Maybe for English officers to read to natives?
posted by phliar at 3:34 PM on October 8, 2010

Right, Zed, I got that far -- I was hoping for an online copy somewhere, but no dice.
posted by Malor at 3:37 PM on October 8, 2010