Why We Fight
Why We Fight is a series of seven propaganda films produced by the US Department of War from 1942 to 1945, during World War II. It was originally written for American soldiers to help them understand why the United States was involved in the war, but US President Franklin Roosevelt ordered distribution for public viewing. Academy Award-winning filmmaker Frank Capra, daunted but impressed and challenged by Leni Riefenstahl's 1935 propaganda film "Triumph of the Will", worked in direct response. The series faced various challenges, such as convincing a noninterventionist nation to get involved in the  war and to become an ally of the Soviet Union. Many entries feature Axis powers' propaganda footage from up to 20 years earlier, recontextualized to promote the Allies. Although primarily edited by William Hornbeck, some parts were re-enacted "under War Department supervision" if no relevant footage was available. Animated segments were produced by Walt Disney Productions, and the animated maps followed a convention of depicting Axis-occupied territory in black. Purpose. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 and America's subsequent joining World War II, American film director Frank Capra enlisted with the armed forces . He was already an established Hollywood director responsible for directing films winning Academy Award such as "It Happened One Night" (1934) and "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" (1939). He was assigned to work directly under George Marshall, the Chief of Staff of the United States Army. Marshall felt that the Signal Corps, an army branch responsible for communications, was incapable of producing "sensitive and objective troop information films." One colonel explained the importance of these future films to Capra: During his first meeting with Marshall, Capra received his mission: Countering enemy propaganda films. Shortly after his meeting with General Marshall , Capra viewed Leni Riefenstahl's "terrifying motion picture", "Triumph of the Will". Capra describes the film as "the ominous prelude of Hitler's holocaust of hate. Satan couldn't have devised a more blood-chilling super-spectacle... Though panoplied with all the pomp and mystical trappings of a Wagnerian opera, its message was as blunt and brutal as a lead pipe: We, the Herrenvolk, are the new invincible gods!" According to Capra, "Triumph of the Will" "fired no gun, dropped no bombs. But as a psychological weapon aimed at destroying the will to resist, it was just as lethal." Capra  still had no assistants or facilities, and he began to see his assignment as overwhelming: Creating a powerful film idea. Capra made his primary focus the creation of "one basic, powerful idea" that would spread and evolve into other related ideas. He considered one important idea that had always been in his thoughts: As a result, his goal became to "let the "enemy" prove to our soldiers the enormity of his cause—and the justness of ours." He would compile enemy speeches, films, newsreels, newspaper articles, with a list of the enemy's hostile actions. He presented his ideas to  other officers who were now assigned to help him: Weeks later, after major efforts and disappointments, Capra located hard-to-reach archives within government facilities, and by avoiding normal channels, he was able to gain access: Production. Made from 1942 to 1945, the seven films range from 40 to 76 minutes in length, and all are available for free on DVD or online since they have always been public domain films produced by the US government. They were directed by Frank Capra and narrated by Walter Huston along with the radio actors Elliott Lewis, Harry von Zell, the film actor  Lloyd Nolan and others. The music for the series was performed by the Army Air Force Orchestra. The films employed a great deal of stock footage, including enemy propaganda (such as the Nazis' "Triumph of the Will") that is recontextualized to discredit its creators. Other scenes were performed. Animation for the series was produced by Disney Studios. The quotation ending each film ("The victory of the democracies can only be complete with the utter defeat of the war machines of Germany and Japan") is from the Army Chief of Staff George Marshall. Effectiveness. After World War I, the methods used  to gain support from troops and civilians needed to change. Giving speeches to soldier recruits and to the US public was no longer effective. Film became the medium of choice to persuade US soldiers and recruits on why fighting was necessary. As Kathleen German stated, "this was the first massive attempt to influence opinion in the U.S. military" through film. Film was also chosen because it combined the senses of sight and hearing, which gives it an advantage over radio or print. Capra, who had no experience in documentary films, was chosen because "of his commitment to American ideals" and  because of the popularity of some of his earlier feature films. He was thought "to understand the heart and soul of American audiences." Once the documentary series was completed, it was said to contain the "Capra touch." The series's appeal was furthered by how the film was edited. "Throughout his career, Capra depended upon his skill as an editor to achieve the contrast of the individual and the group, critical in the success of his Hollywood movies." Capra thought that it would be most effective to use the enemy's original film and propaganda in the series to expose  the enemies with their own images. By taking pieces of the enemy material to edit together and placing his own narration over the results, Capra gave meaning and purpose to the war with added narrative. That "parallel editing" created an "us vs. them" image by re-framing and showing clips out of their original order and context. By such careful editing, the films compare and contrast the forces of evil with the U.S. and its traditional values. Capra highlighted the differences between the US and the enemy and showed how the enemy would attack these values if "we" did not  fight. That worked to create a battle not only between Allies and the Axis powers but also between good and evil. Capra treated it as a matter of showing the enormity of the Axis and the justness of the Allies. To justify the Western Allies' help to the Soviet Union, the series omitted many facts, which could have cast doubts on the "good guy" status of the Soviets, such as the Soviet occupation of the Baltic States and the Winter War. However, it shows the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact being signed and the Soviet invasion of Poland. The "Why We Fight  series became a heavily-used means of presenting information about Axis powers for the American government during World War II. General Surles, the director of the Department of War's Bureau of Public Relations, had hoped that the series would be effective enough to allow similar kinds of army films to be shown to the general public. Surles saw that goal to be realized when US President Franklin Roosevelt watched Prelude to War", the most successful of the seven films. Roosevelt considered this film so important that he ordered it to be distributed in civilian arenas for public viewing. However , some objections were raised against the series because it was so persuasive. Lowell Mellett, the coordinator of government films and aide to Roosevelt, saw the films as dangerous. He was most concerned with the effect that the series would have after the war was over and the "hysteria" that it would create in its wake. At least 54 million Americans had seen the series by the end of the war, and studies were done to gauge the impact of the films. However, the results were inconclusive and so the effectiveness of the series is still in question. Postwar. "Prelude to  War" and "The Battle of China" refer to the "Tanaka Memorial" several times by portraying it as "Japan's "Mein Kampf"" in order to raise US morale for a protracted war against Japan. The authenticity of that document is not accepted by scholars today and is regarded as an anti-Japanese hoax, but the Tanaka Memorial was widely accepted as authentic in the 1930s and the 1940s because Japanese actions corresponded so closely to its plans. In 2000 the US Library of Congress deemed the films "culturally significant" and selected them for preservation in the National Film Registry. Created by  the US Army Pictorial Services, the films are in the public domain, and all of them are available for download on the Internet Archive. Other Capra World War II films. Capra was involved in a number of other World War II propaganda films that were not part of the "Why We Fight" series. He directed or co-directed the following films: Capra also produced the 43-minute film "The Negro Soldier" (1944), directed by Stuart Heisler. Capra also directed, uncredited, the 13-minute 1945 military training film "Your Job in Germany", written by Dr. Seuss. Why We Fight Why We