World War II was a unique conflict in terms of the use of press for propaganda purposes. Between 1939 and 1945, fake news stories served as a highly effective weapon, helping to conceal the truth from the public and sow confusion among enemy ranks. It is no surprise, then, that false information was extensively used by all nations involved in the war, including Poland.
The September Campaign
Immediately after the outbreak of World War II, the Polish government and Commander-in-Chief Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigły tried at all costs to hide their country’s tragic strategic situation from the public. False information was disseminated at the time to maintain morale among the civilian population. In early September 1939, newspapers published stories about Polish bomber raids on Berlin or the arrival of help from the Royal Navy. They also described a fictitious major Allied offensive and the breaking of the German Siegfried Line.
Similar fake news stories were created by Third Reich propaganda. It perpetuated the myth of Polish cavalry charging with sabers at enemy tanks. Poles were portrayed as criminals, which was meant to justify the Nazi murders committed against the Polish nation. On September 8, the Third Reich announced the capture of Warsaw by its forces. This lie caused the governments of Italy and the Soviet Union to even send telegrams of congratulations to Berlin.
The Third Reich deliberately exaggerated its successes to prevent the German population from becoming discouraged about continuing the war effort. German enthusiasm weakened considerably when rationing and restrictions on access to various goods were introduced at the beginning of the war. German press then sprang into action, spreading fabricated news wherever possible. This brought the desired effect.
War in the West
The year 1940 was very turbulent. The Third Reich rapidly defeated Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and France. England was also threatened with invasion. The then Prime Minister of Great Britain, Winston Churchill, was fully aware of the overwhelming power of the press, which he used on a massive scale in the fight against Adolf Hitler.
During the Battle of Britain, high morale was maintained in British society by inflating enemy losses and understating their own in official communiqués. This camouflaged the fact that at one point the RAF was within a hair’s breadth of total defeat.
At the end of 1940, the British press announced that fighter pilots were shooting down more German bombers at night because they ate a lot of carrots. This concealed from German intelligence a new radar being installed in fighters that allowed English pilots to accurately track enemy aircraft.
Moreover, during the war, the British encountered false reports ridiculing the Third Reich. During one of the air raids on London, they heard a rumor that Luftwaffe commander Hermann Göring was over the city. Everyone mocked this, knowing that the fat Göring could not freely enter an aircraft. Such rumors helped the inhabitants of the British Isles survive the difficult period of bombing from autumn 1940 to spring 1941.
The Home Army’s Fake News
The Home Army also used fabricated information to sow confusion among the Germans. It did this as part of Operation N, printing many forged newspapers that perfectly imitated enemy press.
After Rudolf Hess’s flight to Scotland, his alleged proclamations calling for Hitler’s overthrow were circulated. Efforts were made to convince Germans that the Führer had ordered the elimination of part of the command, including Gen. Hans Jeschonnek, Gen. Mölders, Gen. Udet, and Minister of Armaments and Ammunition Fritz Todt.
These and other pieces of information were meant to shake Germans’ faith in victory and convince them of the existence of organized opposition to Adolf Hitler in the Third Reich. Operation N was a great success because many Germans were simply fooled. Secret services tried unsuccessfully to find and destroy the German anti-Nazi organization invented by specialists from the Home Army.
British Intelligence Fake News
However, Poles were not the only ones achieving success in this field. British intelligence also tried to introduce confusion in the Third Reich by forging some German newspapers.
As part of Operation Mincemeat, the Germans were given false plans for a major Allied amphibious operation in Greece. To prevent the deception from being exposed, The Times printed a forged obituary of Major Martin, responsible for implementing the project, on June 4, 1943. German intelligence was deceived, which allowed the Allies to land safely in Sicily on July 10, while Hitler’s army was waiting for the enemy landing on the Balkan Peninsula.
A year later (1944), the British similarly used the press to divert German intelligence attention from the Allied landing site in Normandy. English newspapers published reports about non-existent American and British divisions supposed to land in the Pas-de-Calais area or in Norway. Thanks to the great imagination and ingenuity of the people writing these articles, Operation Overlord ended successfully, and the Germans were once again led astray.
The Last Days of the War in Europe
In the final days of the war, the Soviet Union placed false information in the press to fuel hatred of Germans and the Third Reich in the Red Army. Third Reich propaganda, in turn, also tried to maintain faith in victory among the German people through fabricated news. Germans were deceived with promises of a miracle weapon that would save their country from destruction.
A special newspaper, „The Armored Bear,” began to be printed in Berlin, reassuring its residents that the war had not yet been lost.
Just before the fall of Berlin, Hitler desperately used radio. On his orders, a command was broadcast to the 12th Army of Gen. Walther Wenck to march to Berlin’s relief. It was hoped that Germans would believe that the Americans had sided with the Third Reich against the Red Army. This false information helped little, and ultimately the Third Reich ceased to exist shortly thereafter.
