The Foundations of British Arabic Propaganda Speech in North Africa during World War II (1939-1943)

Abstract

The Second World War’s ramifications and the landing of the Anglo-Americans in North Africa (Torch) brought out the antagonism between the powers of the Axis and the Allies. Apart from the military war, a second war including more horrible and complex elements than weapons had been declared by the different rival camps: the propaganda in the Arabic language initiated at the beginning by Germany and Italy and soon developed by Great Britain too (from 1939). It was an efficient and fearsome weapon to control the spirit of the Arab people’s opinion in general, especially that of the Maghrebians, who were often hostile to the British and French colonial policies in their regions. Certainly, radio programmes were preponderant as they were easily accessible but newspapers and leaflets were also used a lot in this psychological war. The subtleties and the impact of this British propaganda will be the subject of research. This article explains the mechanism, the structures, the aims and finally the impact of British propaganda in the Arabic language in North Africa between September 1939 and May 1943.