Witness History
Witness History
Britain's secret propaganda war
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November 6, 2019
14 minutes
Available for over a year
How sex, jazz and 'fake news' were used to undermine the Nazis in World War Two. In 1941, the UK created a top secret propaganda department, the Political Warfare Executive to wage psychological warfare on the German war machine. It was responsible for spreading rumours, generating fake news, leaflet drops and creating fake clandestine German radio stations to spread misinformation and erode enemy morale. We hear archive recordings of those involved and speak to professor Jo Fox of the Institute of Historical Research about the secret history of British "black propaganda".
(Photo: The actress and singer Agnes Bernelle, who was recruited to be a presenter on a fake German radio station during the war)