German Psychological Warfare; Survey and Bibliography
New York: Committee for National Morale, 1941. Second Edition. Second Printing. Spiral bound Wraps. [6], 155, [3] pages. Wraps. Bibliography. Some pencil notes in margins. Front cover separated but present and covers worn. Errata sheet present! Bookplate inside front cover. The Committee for National Morale was a United States presidential advisory committee for the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt, organized to analyze the nation's overall morale during World War II, study propaganda efforts by the Axis powers, and recommend appropriate strategies in response. Members included notable journalists, anthropologists, psychologists, including George Gallup, Margaret Mead, Gordon Allport, Ruth Benedict, Hadley Cantril, Leonard Doob, Erik Erikson, Erich Fromm, and Geoffrey Gorer. Preface by Arthur Upham Pope. Survey Part I: Examination and Critique of Past Wars. Survey Part II: Psychology in Total War. This Part includes sections on Mobilization of German Psychology, Psychological Problems of Leadership, Selecting and Testing of Personnel, Psychology of Military Life and Psychology of Combat. Survey Part III is on German Psychological Warfare. There is a section on American Influences on German Military Psychology, followed by charts. Prof. Young follows with What is to be Learned From This Survey. Last is a substantial Bibliography (pages 90-155). This work was produced with the cooperation of Prof. Gordon W. Allport (Harvard), Dr. John G. Beebe-Center (Harvard), Prof. Edwin G. Boring (Harvard), Dr. Floyd I. Ruch (University of Southern California), and Dr. Stanley S. Stevens (Harvard). Prof. Kimball Young (Queens College) authored the Interpretive Summary. The Committee for National Morale was founded in 1940 and led by Arthur Upham Pope. The committee did advise on various media installations and events to improve national morale. The committee worked to outline various initiatives that would later become major art installations and cultural diplomacy events, including the American National Exhibition. In addition, the committee recommended a "psychological offensive against Hitler" based on an analysis of Hitler's personality type. Ladislas Faragó or Faragó László (21 September 1906 – 15 October 1980) was a Hungarian military historian and journalist who published a number of best-selling books on history and espionage, especially concerning the World War II era. Faragó was the author of Patton: Ordeal and Triumph, the acclaimed 1963 biography of George Patton, that formed the basis for the 1970 film Patton and wrote The Broken Seal (1967), one of the books that formed the basis for the 1970 movie Tora! Tora! Tora!. Faragó's book Aftermath: The Search for Martin Bormann which details the Nazi presence in South America was based on both Faragó's own personal investigation and interviews in South America, and Argentinian intelligence documents (some of which are provided in the book) whose veracity was attested to by attorney Joel Weinberg. Faragó appeared as a contestant on the January 22, 1957 episode of To Tell the Truth. Psychological warfare (PSYWAR), or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations (PsyOp), have been known by many other names or terms, including Military Information Support Operations (MISO), Psy Ops, political warfare, "Hearts and Minds", and propaganda. The term is used "to denote any action which is practiced mainly by psychological methods with the aim of evoking a planned psychological reaction in other people". Various techniques are used, and are aimed at influencing a target audience's value system, belief system, emotions, motives, reasoning, or behavior. It is used to induce confessions or reinforce attitudes and behaviors favorable to the originator's objectives, and are sometimes combined with black operations or false flag tactics. It is also used to destroy the morale of enemies through tactics that aim to depress troops' psychological states. Target audiences can be governments, organizations, groups, and individuals, and is not just limited to soldiers. Civilians of foreign territories can also be targeted by technology and media so as to cause an effect in the government of their country. There is evidence of psychological warfare throughout written history. In modern times, psychological warfare efforts have been used extensively. Mass communication allows for direct communication with an enemy populace, and therefore has been used in many efforts. Social media channels and the internet allow for campaigns of disinformation and misinformation performed by agents anywhere in the world. Condition: Fair, some page discoloration and some page edges chipped.
Keywords: Psychology, WWII, Germany, Bibliographies, Military Morale, Nazis, Psychological War, Leadership, Conflict, Gordon Allport, John Beebe-Center, Edwin Boring, Floyd Ruch, Stanley Stevens, Kimball Young
[Book #2234]
Price: $275.00