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Government Censorship In Australia During World War II

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It was a time when fear was induced amongst many Australians – World War II. Germany had declared war against Australia’s greatest ally; Great Britain and Japan’s threat of invading was nearing. As a result, strict regulations called wartime controls were set in place. These regulations included censoring articles/news portrayed in dark light, forcing men to join the army via conscription and promoting war effort through the use of government propaganda. This all majorly influenced the lifestyles and livelihoods of many Australians back at the home front.
Censorship is the act of concealing news or any other forms of communication from the general public. In World War II, the Menzies government established the Department of Information to manipulate …show more content…

This source – a newspaper article on the ‘Japanese bombing of Darwin’ reveals a perfect example of censorship during World War II. The government explains what happened in the bombing but not in much detail, censoring out some important/major information such as casualties and damage done. Whilst this article isn’t very reliable, it did maintain public morale so that nobody would be scared to continue participating or being in the vicinity of the war.

Government Propaganda was an often exaggerated but extremely convenient method to persuade people’s feelings. Government propaganda occurred in many different forms - posters, videos, images, any vessel of information that could raise the morale of the Australian populace. The most prominent type of government propaganda was posters, with an undoubtable …show more content…

Employment suddenly rose for women to replace the jobs of men who enlisted for the war and were no longer confined to nursing, medical and voluntary roles. Women were encouraged to partake in factory and shipyard work traditionally completed by men to produce weapons such as bomb casings, tanks, and parachutes.
The AWLA (Australians Women Land Party) was created not as a group to fight for Australia in the war, but to fill in the missing jobs of farmers and rural residents where there were no men left to take on the hard labour. They worked without the benefits of a military force (pensions, deferred pay and bonuses) but still took on the roles to help society. By 1944, the AWLA had about 3000 members. This source on the ‘Australians Women Land Party’ represents the fact that some women were extremely keen to take on the jobs of men to help out the country.

The impacts of these actions to cement the changing roles of women has demonstrated high efficacy, with modern results proving that women contribute to an important and large sector of the workforce. Despite the fact women were paid lower than men and were expected to leave their job and return to normal duties after the war, World War II - which created a sudden absence of men, has shown Australia just how important the recruitment and employment of women

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Censorship, “was closely aligned to propaganda campaigns”. (Emelbourne, n.d.) A censor was to delete any sensitive or confidential part of a soldier’s letter, they were not excluded from censorship. The soldiers were instructed to write of a happy manner and were not allowed to share information of any bad news or losses. The had only been allowed to reveal information on their gains and successes.

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Women were taken out of nurturing roles such as teaching, nursing etc. to fill the jobs that traditionally only men would fill. The rise in working Australian women meant that after the war, the womens’ rights that were in place at the time were questioned, therefore showing the Australian population that women could do what men could do just as

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Australia’s experiences of World War II were significant for Australia and impacted on the shaping of our national identity. Australia 's response to entry into World War II in 1939 differed from Australia 's entry into World War I in 1914. Reasons for this includes attitudes towards war changing after gaining the knowledge and experiencing consequences of World War I, the conditions and lead up to World War II as well as Australia’s strong support for Britain. Firstly, the attitude of Australians changed due to World War 3I proving that war was not glamourous or exciting like it was assumed. During the lead up to World War II Australians had already struggled to survive through the depression and were now required to survive at war.

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Weary Dunlop Sir Ernest Edward Dunlop • Was a soldier in the Australian Army • He had to face the brutal imprisonment of the Japanese • Stood up against the Japanese soldiers to protected the prisoners • Gave medical attention to the prisoners who had suffer heavy injuries due to harsh conditions • Late 1930s – Mid 1940s • During World War II • The invasion of the Imperial Japanese in South East Asia • Women entered the workforce to replace the men who enlisted in the military forces. • Had brought fear and terror to the public • His compassion and outright selflessness towards his fellow prisoners is an inspiration to all • His dedication towards his duty as a soldier and as a doctor • His bravery and optimism was what gave hope to both the prisoners and Australians and was even recognised by the Japanese. Vincent Lingiari •

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From the 1st of September 1939 to the 2nd of September 1945, life in Australia experienced drastic change. These six years and one day were the catalyst for a radical shift in Australian women’s place in society, ultimately leading to their emancipation from previous roles. The Second World War was instrumental in the liberation of Australian women as their shift away from traditional roles, improved financial equality and increased military participation led to empowerment and new freedoms. The most prominent of these factors in the liberation of Australian women was their emancipation from previous roles. World War Two catalysed the empowerment of women through their emancipation from previous roles in society.

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An independent government agency known as The Committee on Public Information was formed as a way to influence the public’s opinion which they did by using propaganda. There are many different forms of propaganda and many of them were used in WWI which author Joseph Joe Kaminski further discusses in “World War I and Propaganda Poster Art: Comparing The United States and German Class”. The answer to getting the public’s attention was by using different tactics to intrigue citizens; “The use of propaganda art was essential in galvanizing opinions and reshaping ideas during WWI” (Kaminksi, 2).

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Coupled with the fact that Australia depended on the trade with the other nations to survive. This war had a dramatic impact on Australia

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Popular culture in post-war Australia was immensely influenced by American and British culture. Upon the end of World War 2, Australians experienced increased leisure time with nothing to fill it with. The Union had successfully enforced the 8 x 8 x 8 principle, thus supplying Australians with 8 hours of work, 8 hours of leisure and 8 hours of sleep. Increasing globalisation meant that the average Australian became more aware of the world around them, rather than the impenetrable bubble of their farm or township that they belonged to. This knowledge of foreign ideas and behaviours were quickly adopted because of their tantalizing appeal and soon became extremely common in Australian society.

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During World War 2 (1939 – 1945), Australia had a variety of impacts on both its government and its people. The war had a great effect on the place of indigenous people in Australia as indigenous men and women joined services throughout the country. The Aboriginal Australians, both the men and the women had contributed in the second Great War. Meanwhile, when the Aboriginals of Australia had jobs during World War 2, Australia’s economy boomed with the help of the war as many Australian troops had gone out to fight for the British. The economy had boomed during the period of the Second World War as Australian products could be produced as well.

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“Propaganda is a monologue that is not looking for an answer, but an echo,” (W. H. Auden). World War II, like many other wars, was influenced by myriad of different variables. One variable that echoed throughout America was propaganda. Propaganda was a major influence in the rally for overall support in America during World War II. The propaganda’s intentions in World War II can be broken down into three major categories: war efforts, Anti-German and Anti-Japanese backing, and homefront endeavors.

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Showing real images that featured the outcomes of war would have caused Americans to become disheartened thus decreasing American morale. To insure victory, the government enforced the use of censorship throughout the nation. In one propaganda poster, the caption reads “Let’s Censor Our Conversation About the War” (“Censored”). The propaganda poster revealed the extent of which the government kept a eye and ear to all American citizens as an attempt to preserve American loyalty. The government was able to use its political power to its full extent by withholding valuable pieces of information, which revealed the extent of its influence.

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Sana Zaidi MA English, Semester – III Censorship in Dystopian Novels According to Wikipedia “Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication or other information which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, politically incorrect or inconvenient as determined by governments, media outlets, authorities or other such entities.” The very first line of the given definition contradicts the basic human right, The Right to Speech. However, it justifies the violation as it is read further.

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In the book written by (Gavin, 1997) it was cited that “As women took over from their absent men in hundreds of new and challenging occupations, many of which had previously been considered inappropriate”. From the beginning of the World War 1, the German women were participating a great deal. They contributed to half a million-people working on the munitions manufacturing alone (Gavin, 1997). It also mentioned in the book that over in the U.S, the men in charge refused to let the women participate up until April 1917 (Gavin, 1997). The U.S government never formally authorize the enrolment of women, despite Army officials repeatedly asking for such personnel’s.

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Censorship is good for men and women because it protects the people from an harmful environment. Censorship can be used in many ways that result in helping communities, By censoring television, radio, newspapers, and internet it is helping keep children and adults from doing what they shouldn 't be doing such as being in the streets, murdering, selling drugs, using drugs and etc. Censorship is used to suppress what the government views as harmful to society. Censorship is usually thought of as the blurring out of nudity on television or the beeping out of curse words in a song on the radio. Censorship is actually “the control of the information and ideas circulated within a society” (http://gilc.org/speech/osistudy/censorship/) .

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