Book Description

As well as the open propaganda of the British Government produced during the Second World War, like the foreign language radio broadcasts of the BBC and the aerial propaganda leaflets dropped by the RAF over Occupied Europe, a secret underground propaganda battle was also fought. ‘The Black Art’ documents this history of Britain’s clandestine psychological warfare conducted against the Nazi’s Third Reich. This black propaganda was the work of several secret intelligence organisations including the Political Warfare Executive and Special Operations Executive. Using previously undiscovered primary source material ‘The Black Art’ charts the progress of and catalogues the range of propaganda leaflets covertly distributed across Occupied Europe and beyond to subvert the morale of German soldiers and civilians. The propaganda included such ruses as malingering instructions to fake the symptoms of illness, tips for desertion to neutral countries, parody postage stamps, advice on sabotaging a U-boat, counterfeit ration coupons, identity documents and newspapers plus numerous other falsely attributed leaflets and stickers. Over 350 illustrations are included.