Overview:

 

Radio was used for propaganda purposes by the Allied and the Axis powers during WWII. Radio was the cheapest form of entertainment, and it was the most popular medium during World War II. The accessibility and availability meant it fueled propaganda and could reach a large number of citizens. About 80% of the American public owned radios. Radio helped entertain and inform the population, encouraging them to join in the war effort. Broadcasts were subject to censorship.  For the Nazis as well as the Japanese regime, radio was primarily used as a means of spreading propaganda at home and abroad. The Nazis and Japanese used native born speakers to sow discontent and spread dissent.  For example, after the Nazi defeat at the Battle of Stalingrad, it was reported on the radio that they were winning the war to provide hope to the German people.  Japanese radio broadcasters, including Tokyo Rose (of which there were more than a dozen) would play American music and spread disinformation about what was occuring on the battlefield. Radio propaganda served as a form of psychological warfare to misinform and spread “fake news.” Radio propaganda did not begin with WWII, in fact, it actually started in world war 1 by Great Britain.

 

Connection to Train:

 

In the novel Train, Wolf listens to broadcasts from the BBC (the British Broadcasting Company) to learn about the progress of the war.  In Germany, the people were provided with a radio, called the Volks radio, which could only tune into the Nazi propaganda stations. Some individuals owned radios which could capture foreign broadcasts.  Listening to foreign broadcasts, such as the BBC, could lead to imprisonment in a concentration camp and/or a death sentence. The Nazis could not even trust their own people during the war.

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Tokyo Rose: