Indoctrinating Youth: Selections from the Pamela K. Harer Gift of Propaganda Books for Children

August 1–October 31, 2007
The Wolfsonian–FIU @ 1001 Washington Avenue

During the early twentieth century, both democratic and totalitarian countries introduced children to political and war-related messages through books and magazines. Children’s books were a means to enlist even the youngest members of a nation in the broader cause of the war effort and build the allegiance of future adult citizens to the state. In some books, children are depicted as combatants in scenes that make war look like child's play; in others, young readers are encouraged to actively support the war through participation in scrap drives or by saving coins to buy victory stamps.

This small library installation presented selections from Pamela K. Harer’s generous donation to The Wolfsonian of over 100 children’s books focusing on war and modern political conflicts. Mostly reflecting an anti-war perspective, works included propaganda pieces from the Boer Wars at the turn of the twentieth century to the Cold War era, with an emphasis on the First and Second World Wars. Together, they invited viewers to make innovative comparisons of shared imagery among countries with very different political systems: Great Britain, Germany, France, the United States, the Netherlands, and the Soviet Union.