As explored in our two previous online offerings of selected World War motivational posters, we continue to emphasize the importance of obviously contrived “propaganda” to encourage both civilians and military forces to commit themselves and their efforts to victory.

From 1940 to 1945 major nations of the world were locked in a desperate fight to the death. Would America and its Allied nations – principally the United Kingdom and Soviet Union – preserve freedom? Or would the “Axis” forces of Germany, Italy and Japan impose slavery under their iron fisted rule?  

“Propaganda,” the art of persuasion, was skillfully employed by all powers in the conflict. We see this in selectively edited movie newsreels, tightly scripted radio broadcasts, censored newspaper features, and a proliferation of remarkably effective posters, the subject of this feature series.

While some today will probably find the graphics and messages in the posters seen here to be unsophisticated and even intolerably offensive, the intended audiences of the time – friend and foe – lived in dire circumstances. Arrogantly applying “modern standards of correctness” to what was necessary and undeniably effective eight decades ago in the 1940s needs to be suspended in order to understand the people and peril of the time.

YOUR ENEMY THE JAP. “The Jap is a fanatical fighter. His motto is ‘WIN OR DIE.’ There are 4,000,000 of them under arms with 2,000,000 more ready if needed. We have not yet met the main body of this huge, tough army.” Although undated, this official U.S. Navy poster was probably published sometime after 1943 when the tide of war had turned in Allied favor. “Island hopping” pressed on in the Pacific with vicious fighting to take a series of strategic, enemy held islands that would almost inevitably require invasion of the fanatically defended Japanese mainland.  Credit: U.S. National Archives via Wikimedia

No location, probably circa 1939-40. Posing for a formalized portrait with his long, bolt action 6.5mm Type 38 Arisaka rifle and Type 30 bayonet, this youthful Japanese infantryman doesn’t seem to fit the propaganda image of a bloodthirsty murderer of civilians and POWs. But appearances can be deceiving, and one official analysis of Japan’s widespread instances of horrific war crimes noted uncompromising indoctrination in the warrior code Bushido that all the Emperor’s forces received. “…when the Japanese murdered POWs by shooting, beheading, and drowning, these acts were excused since they involved the killing of men who had forfeited all rights to be treated with dignity or respect.” Credit: Australian War Memorial

So wie kampfen Arbeite Du fur den sieg! “As hard as we fight, you work for the victory!” Pausing momentarily in the midst of battle, this ruggedly handsome German soldier implores those in support units, on the home front, on farms, and in factories to support the fighting forces. With two distinctive “potato masher” stick grenades in his belt and one ready to throw, the message is clear that untold numbers of these and all other types of war materiel must be made and rushed to the front. Credit: Deutsche Kriegspropaganda via Wikimedia

Instruction – Stick Hand Grenade 24 with Combustion Igniter 24. This training aid display featuring a cutaway view of the classic German Stielhandgranate 24 was used to familiarize Allied soldiers with its inner workings and perhaps even prepare them to use captured examples when needed. Primarily an offensive weapon relying on concussion effects, it was also an effective antipersonnel grenade with addition of a serrated metal sleeve slipped over the can shaped head. Credit: Canadian War Museum, Ottawa via Wikimedia

E TU..COSA FAI? “And what did you do?” Standing boldly with a German infantry comrade on the battlefield, this determined Italian soldier challenges his countrymen. Readily identified as a member of an elite Bersaglieri formation by the distinctive black capercaillie feathers on his helmet, it is known that the 1^st Bersagliari Division “Italia” was attached to the German 14^th Army in Eastern Europe. Credit: Poland’s Museum of the Second World War via Wikimedia

Moschetto Modello 91/38 Cavalleria. The Italian M91/38 Cavalry Carbine is a compact, bolt action weapon firing 6.5 x 52mm Carcano cartridges from a six round internal magazine. Shorter and lighter than its rifle counterpart with a spike bayonet handily folded underneath its 17.5-inch barrel, it was issued to horse and bicycle cavalry units as well as the elite Bersaglieri units. Credit: SARCO, Inc. (which is currently offering some of these well used but serviceable carbines for a mere $155.)

ENGAGEZ-VOUS RENGAGEZ-VOUS L’INFANTERIE DE L’ARMEE NOUVELLE. “Enlist yourself, re-enlist in the infantry of the new army.” Advancing at a run with his Fusil Mitrailleur 1924/ M29, this stylized French infantryman appears ready to take on Allied armies – enemies of the Vichy government – a collaborationist regime of Nazi-occupied France. Credit: Argonnaute Parisnanterre via Wikimedia

France, ca. 1938. These French infantrymen standing watch outside their log bunker are prepared to repel the enemy with a little Mosqueton Mle 1916 on the left and a formidable Mle 1924/M29 automatic rifle. Feeding 25 rounds of powerful 7.5mm cartridges from a top mounted magazine, this 20-pound, air cooled machine rifle has dual triggers, firing semi auto from one and 550 rounds-per-minute full auto from the other. Credit: Musee de L’Armee via Wikimedia

This man is your FRIEND – Russian – He fights for FREEDOM. Well, since the poster was released in 1942, Stalin’s Red Army – previously joining Hitler’s Wehrmacht in the invasion of Poland – had by then switched to the Allied side. This image of a grinning Russian sniper is intended to offset understandable confusion among U.S. and Allied forces as to whether “Ivan” was a good guy or what. Credit: U.S. Office of War Information, National Archives via Wikimedia 

A Soviet sniper searches for a fascist target. Scanning his assigned sector through the four-power PE optical sight, this well-hidden Red Army sharpshooter will reach out hundreds of yards with precisely aimed 7.62 mm bullets from his specially selected, bolt action M1891/30 Mosin-Nagant rifle. Note, the rifle’s bolt handle is turned down so it clears the scope and mount. Credit: Tass via waralbum.ru 

This man is your FRIEND – Englishman – He fights for FREEDOM.  Not as tricky a task as that of portraying Russkis as buddies, America’s traditional British allies are readily recognized by their characteristically cheerful demeanor and “tin hat” helmets. This smiling “Tommy” shoulders a massive Boys antitank rifle. Credit: U.S. Office of War Information, National Archives via Wikimedia                      

The bolt action Mark 1 Boys Anti-tank rifle with a magazine holding five massive, hard-hitting .55 caliber (14mm) cartridges could penetrate almost an inch of steel armor head-on. Although weighing in at 35 pounds and fitted with a muzzle brake on its 36-inch-long barrel, recoil and muzzle blast were said to be punishing.  Credit: SA-Kuva Archive (Finland) via Wikimedia

Let’s Go …CANADA ! In this classically inspiring motivational and recruiting poster, a fair-haired Canadian lad with bayonet fixed on his British pattern SMLE rifle looks eager to join the fight against the Axis powers. Proudly billowing behind him is the British “Union Jack,” known in Canada as the Royal Union Flag, versions of which are incorporated in all of the United Kingdom’s Commonwealth Nations. Credit: Canadian Director of Public Information via Illinois State University and Wikimedia  

Hampshire, England, 1941. A gas masked British infantryman with bayonet tipped SMLE rifle advances through a smoke simulated “poison gas” fog in a training exercise. His bolt action, .303 caliber Number 1 Mark III Short Magazine Lee Enfield measures 49.5 inches overall and weighs in at 9.25 pounds not counting the menacing 17-inch-bladed Pattern 1907 bayonet. Credit: Imperial War Museum via Wikimedia

NEW ZEALAND. ALLY DOWN UNDER. Presenting idealized portraits of “Kiwi” soldiers armed with an Owen submachine gun and SMLE rifle, the simple message to American and other Allied soldiers is to know that these men are on your side. ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) were prominent both initially and throughout the war in the fight against Japanese forces in the Pacific. Credit: U.S. Office of War Information, National Archives via Wikimedia

New Guinea, April 1945. Cradling a 9mm Owen Machine Carbine, this ANZAC soldier, Private R.F. Gaudry of the 2/3 Infantry Battalion, is on guard against Japanese infiltrators. This handy and highly regarded submachine gun, instantly recognizable by its top mounted 33-round magazine and quick removable barrel with diagonal compensator cuts, was a home-grown development of Australian Evelyn Owen, a vast improvement over the British STEN. Credit: Australian War Memorial via Wikimedia

Since the campaign in the East, despite great initial successes, did not lead to a rapid defeat of the Red Army, the German forces used more ammunition than originally planned. Stockpiles shrank alarmingly and the arms industry had to resort more and more often to inferior raw materials or substitutes – such as “Nipolit”.

In August 1942 alone, the total ammunition consumption of the ground forces on the Eastern Front was 143,624 tons, or over 4,600 tons per day. While consumption was steadily increasing, the shortfalls in ammunition production due to bombing damage and lack of raw materials were becoming painfully apparent. As an example, the light field howitzers fired over 3.6 million rounds in August 1943, while only 2.8 million rounds could be supplied. The General Quartermaster of the Army noted: “If the heavy fighting in the East continues, the ammunition supply can no longer be guaranteed.”

During these difficult times, Dr. Erich von Holt at the Westfälisch-Anhaltische Sprengstoff-Actien-Gesellschaft (WASAG) developed a solvent-free explosive using powder from emptied shell cases (mostly captured ammunition), delivery remnants, and cut-off waste. The end-product obtained from this residue recycling, consisting of 25% nitropenta, 25% diglycol, and about 50% nitrocellulose, was given the designation “Nipolit”. It was thermoplastic deformable, had high strength, and could be machined mechanically without danger. In particular, explosive devices, such as hand grenades, could be formed without a metal coating.

The Waffen-SS also became aware of this new explosive. At a meeting in November 1942 between the Ammunition Commission and the SS-Waffenamt (weapons office), represented by SS-Oberführer Heinrich Gärtner (head of the office) and SS-Oberführer Otto Schwab (head of the technical office VIII for research, development, and patents), about current developments, Nipolit hand grenades were also a topic of discussion. The SS was working on a hand grenade impact fuse which was ‘foolproof’ and which also couldn’t go off unintentionally even if a wounded soldier let it drop out of his hand. In Germany, only friction fuses had been used thus far. The grenade had to be thrown as soon as the fuse was activated, whereas foreign models with safety lever, like the ones used by the Americans, were activated during flight by the released spring-loaded lever after the grenade was thrown. The soldier could, therefore, hold the grenade in his hand for as long as he wanted after the safety pin was removed and wait for the perfect moment to throw it.

The SS-Waffenamt, therefore, developed an impact fuse, which was housed between two half-shells made of Nipolit. During transport, the hand grenade was secured by a safety pin. The soldier had to pull it out laterally to arm the fuse before throwing the grenade. The tests with it dragged on, but finally came to a satisfactory result.

While the Heereswaffenamt (army weapons office) showed little interest in Nipolit, the situation at the SS-Waffenamt was completely different. There, they assessed the potential of the explosives differently and tried to develop various types of hand grenades and hollow charge ammunition. Even other branches of the armed forces ordered from the SS. In September 1944, for example, the air force weapons inspector of the Kampfgeschwader 200, which is well known for various special operations, received a total of 25 Nipolit hand grenades from the Forensic Institute of the Security Police (KTI), a department of the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA), for a foreign mission.

The destruction of immobilized tanks was a major problem for the troops at the front. All too often, the enemy was able to recapture and tow away those tanks that were only slightly damaged or stuck in mud. SS-Oberführer Gärtner, as the head of the SS-Waffenamt, therefore demanded a hand grenade with Nipolite casing and incendiary filling. This would have enabled the infantry to set a tank on fire and damage it in such a way that repair was no longer an option. At Gärtner’s insistence, the Heereswaffenamt took over the development in February 1943 under the designation “Brandhandgranate 4857” (incendiary hand grenade). The filling consisted of 225 cc of viscous flame oil with various ingredients. Tests in November 1944 resulted in an immediate ignition and a good incendiary effect with strong smoke development. The incendiary mass also adhered to vertical walls. So, the grenade worked technically perfectly, but it was not as easy as expected to set a tank on fire. To do so, the incendiary mass had to get into the engine compartment, which proved to be very difficult in practice and finally prevented the introduction of this type of hand grenade.

In the meantime, the composition of Nipolit had also changed. The course of the war caused the supply of diglycol to dry up and production could only continue by processing various captured powders. The output fell to about 100 tons per month. But the SS-Waffenamt remained active in this field. Fragmentation sleeves (Splitterring) made of sheet metal with predetermined breaking points were supposed to give the caseless Nipolit hand grenades a better splintering effect. In 1943, comparative tests were conducted between the SS sleeves and the different shaped ones developed by the Richard Rinker company on behalf of the Heereswaffenamt. The “Rinker Splitterringe” proved to be better because of their higher penetration rate. However, since Rinker was already working at full capacity due to other orders, the troops were to be equipped with the SS fragmentation sleeves for the time being. However, a larger series production of the sleeves was not possible at all.

On 30 November 1944, at a meeting of the Reich Minister of Armaments and War Production, it was determined that the Volkssturm should be equipped with the “Volkshandgranate 45” (people’s hand grenade). This consisted of a mixture of concrete and metal splinters (named “shrapnel concrete”) and had a good effect. SS-Obergruppenführer and general of the Waffen-SS, Gotllob Berger, in his function as chief of staff of the German Volkssturm, then ordered 100,000 of these grenades from the Preußische Bergwerks- und Hütten-AG (Preussag) in December, which were to be delivered as quickly as possible.

In order to speed up the process, SS-Standartenführer Purucker, in his capacity as commissioner for armament and equipment of the German Volkssturm, immediately appointed Dr. von Felsen, the operator of Preussag, as his colleague in the field of the application of shrapnel concrete for Volkssturm ammunition and assigned him personal responsibility for the control and development of these types of ammunition.

But rapid production was not successful for the time being. There was simply a lack of necessary cement. Even the simplest raw materials had become a scarce commodity. The production requirement would have been 900 tons per month, but by the end of January 1945 the total stock amounted to a pitiful 200 tons. And supplies were not in sight. At the Preussag cement plant in Rüdersdorf near Berlin, cement production had actually already ceased, but a cement kiln was now to be kept in operation at all costs. Coal was available for about two months of operation.

Only after lengthy negotiations was General Buhle able to obtain the provision of Nipolit as a substitute for the missing cement. He informed SS-Standartenführer Purucker on 28 January: “The delivery of Nipolit explosives for 100,000 Volkshandgranaten 45 was ordered on 25 January 1945, to the company Sprengstoff A.G., Rheinsdorf.” Unfortunately, there are no more details known about the production quantities. At least, some relics dug up along the Eastern front lines prove that these grenades were used in both variations with cement and Nipolite casing.