Skip to content
quotesby

Contempt for the enemy, if illustrated, can prove to be an unwise form of falsehood. There was a time when German soldiers were popularly represented cringing, with their arms in the air and crying 'Kamerad,' until it occurred to Press and propaganda authorities that people were asking why, if this was the sort of material we were fighting against, had we not wiped them off the field in a few weeks.

Arthur Ponsonby#20

WarPropagandaMediaPublic perceptionStereotype

About this quote

What does it mean?
Overly simplistic enemy stereotypes can backfire, making people question why such depictions aren't quickly eliminated in war.
In plain terms
Stereotypical enemy portrayals may cause public doubt.
What can you take from it?
Avoid caricatures that undermine credibility.

Where it applies

  • film analysis
  • political cartoons
  • media critique

Putting it to work

  • use nuanced depictions
  • challenge simplistic narratives
  • promote balanced reporting

Questions to consider

  • When do stereotypes become counterproductive?
  • How can propaganda stay effective without losing trust?

Another view

Simple images can be effective for rallying support despite their inaccuracy.

More from Arthur Ponsonby

  1. Atrocity lies were the most popular of all, especially in this country and America; no war can be without them. Slander of the enemy is esteemed a patriotic du…

    Permalink to quote #19
  2. A good deal depends on the quality of the lie. You must have intellectual lies for intellectual people and crude lies for popular consumption, but if your popu…

    Permalink to quote #21
  3. In Vienna an enterprising firm supplied atrocity photographs with blanks for the headings so that they might be used for propaganda purposes by either side.

    Permalink to quote #18

Related quotes

  1. All Asiatics are cruel dogs. All they captured of my soldiers, they beat to death. The Russian soldiers are very brave, stable, tough.

    Sepp DietrichSepp Dietrich quote #3
  2. What I would like to emanate from the darkness of this tragedy is one spark of life. I mean, the realization that crime does not begin when you murder people. …

    Hans FritzscheHans Fritzsche quote #3
  3. This man, a veteran journalist, held a position of importance in one of the lie-factories operated by the Roosevelt regime to keep the boobs pepped up with ent…

    Revilo P. OliverRevilo P. Oliver quote #4