The Role of Radio During
the Second World War
The radio is one of the most important inventions in human history, changing people’s lives. An Italian, Guglielmo Marconi, invented this device in the late nineteenth century but its relevance grew during the Second World War when it was used as a powerful propaganda instrument to control people. The totalitarian systems of Europe in particular used the radio to convey messages in favour of their ideology; ideas supporting the regime and messages encouraging civilians to be loyal to the government.
|
When Mussolini came to power in Italy, there was no national radio network so he took advantage of the progression of technology to create one, using it for his political purposes. In 1927 there were barely 40,000 radiophonic devices in Italy, but the situation completely changed in the 1930s after the development of EIAR (Ente italiano audizioni radiofoniche). The fascist regime started to broadcast to obtain people’s favour and encouraged the diffusion of this new device, installing devices in public places. As well as an instrument to obtain political favour, radios were an essential propaganda tool used to relay the Duce’s speeches and conversations regarding topics such as racism, nationalism and power. In Italy, radios were also used as entertainment tools that broadcasted opera, music and sport events. The idea of using radios to deliver entertaining programmes stemmed from the attempt of obtaining people’s consent.
|
Radios were not only used by the Duce and the regime but by the partisans during the Resistance, using illegal radios to communicate with other partisans regarding weapons, enemy movement, military actions, civilian conditions and much more. Radios played a crucial role in the Resistance because they helped the communication among partisans, allowing them to be one step ahead of the Nazi soldiers.
The radio is an incredible invention, used for various purposes during the war. Despite modern instruments such as television and Internet, the radio is still one of the most common devices used in the mass media sector today.