Mickey Mouse and the Nazis: The use of animated cartoons as propaganda during World War II

During World War II, the governments of both the United States and Germany heavily regulated the production and distribution of popular films. One of the outcomes of this regulation was the production of animated cartoons as propaganda by both nations, due to the popularity of the medium during the war years. The thesis attempts to explain how this unique historical moment, during which cartoons were used as war propaganda by Nazi Germany and the United States, came about. The historical development of the relationship between state and film industry before and during the war is investigated, with particular attention paid to the place of animated cartoons within this relationship. Textual analysis of the American and German cartoons is used to show how both sides used propaganda cartoons partially as escapism for audiences and partially to enact wartime policy regarding attitudes towards the enemy. The thesis concludes that looking at the similarities between the U.S. and Germany regarding the production of wartime propaganda cartoons complicates the straightforward morality surrounding the history of the Second World War. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)