British anti-communist propaganda and cooperation with the United States, 1945-1951

Defty, A

Abstract

British anti-communist propaganda and cooperation with the
United States, 1945-1951.
This thesis will argue that from early in the Cold War
Britain developed a propaganda apparatus designed to fight the
Cold War on an ideological front, and that in the period from
1945 to 1951 the role of propaganda grew from being an adjunct
to foreign policy to become an integral part of British Cold War
strategy. Britain was the first country to formulate a
coordinated response to communist propaganda. In January 1948,
the Government launched a new propaganda policy designed to
"oppose the inroads of Communism, by taking the offensive against
it.' The development of this anti-communist propaganda policy
will be the main focus of this thesis. It will also be shown
that from the earliest stages in the development of Britain's
response to communist propaganda, the degree to which such
activities could be coordinated with United States Government was
a primary consideration. It will be shown that cooperation and
eventually coordination of propaganda activities with the United
States Government became a defining feature of Britain's anti-
communist propaganda policy. This was particularly the case
following the launch of the American "Campaign of Truth 1 in 1950.
Faced with a formidable and highly organised communist propaganda
machine officials in both Britain and America came to realise the
value of a unified response. As both nations developed their own
policies for offensive anti-communist propaganda, cooperation
became an increasingly important element, as Britain and America
sought to "shoot at the same target from different angles. 1
The thesis is comprised of an introduction and conclusion and
four chapters covering: the origins of British and American anti-
communist propaganda policies, 1945-1947; launching Britain 1 s new
propaganda policy, 1948; building a concerted counter-offensive,
cooperation with other powers, 1948-1950; "Close and continuous
liaison. 1 British and American cooperation, 1950-1951.

Citation

Defty, A. British anti-communist propaganda and cooperation with the United States, 1945-1951. (Thesis). Salford : University of Salford

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Oct 3, 2012
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 3, 2012
• Award Date: Jan 1, 2002