Markup View

Author: AgProv

Aug 13th 2013 at 10:29:19 AM

Ref. Tokyo Rose: this was a common Axis tactic used to demoralise Allied soldiers and to divide British and American soldiers. British soldiers on the Italian front, by 1943, had in many cases been fighting continuously since the beginning of the North African war in 1940 and had not seen home for up to four years. There had already been at least one mutiny from long-serving soldiers who felt strongly that being sent to Italy after three years fighting in Egypt and Libya was not fair. They felt they had done their bit and that new units being raised in Britain should be sent out to relieve them. Anxiety as to what their wives and girlfriends were doing in a Britain perceived as full of bone-idle war-avoiding Americans with money to spend [[note]]yes, not the whole truth and a slur on American soldiers who did fight hard, often without even seeing Britain. But it was very widely held[[/note]]- while they were out there fighting the war - was fertile ground for German propaganda. British morale was not helped by German propaganda leaflets pointing this out.

American soldiers received similar leaflets asking if they knew what their wives and sweethearts were up to with men at home who'd avoided the draft. The Germans also played on commonly held fears about black men, Mexicans, and especially draft-dodging Jews who were taking good care to stay at home, make money out of the war, and exploit a surplus of gentile American women who were suddenly available.

[[quoteleft:348:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bs_italy_9442.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:348:primal fear of being cuckolded]]