Guns, tanks, and bombs were the principal weapons of World War II, but there were other, subtler, forms of warfare as well. Words, posters, and films waged a constant battle for the hearts and minds of the American citizenry just as surely as military weapons engaged the enemy. 

Persuading the American public became a wartime industry, almost as important as the manufacturing of bullets and planes. The Government launched an aggressive propaganda campaign to galvanize public support, and some of the nation’s foremost intellectuals, artists, and filmmakers became warriors on that front.