Reactions to atrocity photographs at aerodrome sites
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An enquiry was recently undertaken by this Division at the request of the Air Ministry to discover the effects of atrocity photographs upon workers at aerodrome construction sites.
The photographs of German atrocities in Russia are described by the following captions shown with them:-
1. Picture shows how German Gestapo-men mock religion. A church procession has been staged and some of them are dressed in priests' robes and ornates. All appear to be enjoying what they consider to be a good joke!
2. Bodies of Russian prisoners starved to death being removed by lorry. This picture shows the degree of starvation suffered by inmates of German prison camps. (Notice clothes removed by Germans for their own use.)
3. Russian prisoner after ‘treatment’ by his German captors. (A mutilated naked corpse.)
4. After a machine gun massacre by a Nazi firing squad.... German soldiers with rifles “finishing off” those that had not been killed outright.
5. A German soldier in complacent mood has his photograph taken standing by a cartload of Russian corpses stripped of their clothing for use by the Nazis.
6. Body of Russian woman, assaulted, stripped, beaten across the face and with machine gun bullet holes in the back.
In a detailed report on the enquiry the reactions of British and Irish workers to these photographs are summarised as follows:-
1. 104 of the 159 persons interviewed thought it was a good thing to show atrocity photographs; 34 thought it a bad thing and 21 gave no opinion.
There is, however, on this point a striking difference between the British and Irish worker:-
A Good Thing
A Bad Thing
British
92
19
Irish
12
15
2. The two chief reasons given for thinking it a good thing are that the photographs show what would happen in this country if it were invaded, and what is happening in occupied countries. 52 out of 90 persons who expressed an opinion gave one of these two reasons.
3. The minority who thought it was a bad thing to show the photographs gave two principal reasons - that the photographs were ineffective as propaganda, and that some of them were indecent. 25 out of 41 persons who gave reasons gave one of these two. (Photographs of the kind which were thought to be indecent by some of those interviewed have since been withdrawn from the aerodrome sites and replaced by others which show mutilated but clothed bodies.)
4. About one-third of the persons interviewed said in some part of the interview that they thought some of the photographs were indecent. The proportion is higher among unskilled workers, and is highest among the Irish in
this category. The number who actually thought some of them indecent is probably greater, as some of the men were reluctant to give their views freely on this question to women interviewers.
5. 65% of the persons interviewed thought the photographs were genuine. There was virtually no difference in the views of British and Irish workers on this question.
6. The chief views about the photographs were that they were horrible or terrible. 53 out of 140 persons who gave their views said one of these two. 32 persons said they were disgusting or indecent.
7. The chief effects of the photographs were to arouse a feeling of horror or of anger against the Germans. 44 out of 108 persons who described the effects did so in one of these terms.
8. Two of the six photographs made by far the greatest impression - the photograph showing the loading of starved corpses and the one of a mutilated corpse. 85 out of 127 persons who described one of the photographs they had seen, and 50 out of 72 persons who described a photograph they remembered particularly, described one of these two.
9. There appeared to be very little realisation that what was shown in the photographs had any connection with the work at aerodrome sites. Only 14 persons out of 90 who gave reasons why they thought the photographs should be shown said that this would help production. Only 4 persons out of 108 who described the effects of the photographs mentioned any effect on their work.
