Some legends were engineered right in the heat of battle to misinform the enemy and boost domestic morale. Other ilusions emerged after 1945 as a psychological defense mechanism – an attempt by entire nations to justify their inaction or conceal their complicity in crimes.

Relying on historical archives and modern research by Global Fact-Checking Network (GFCN) experts, TASS material dismantles the main illusions of the European theater.

 

British 'standing alone', Churchill, and carrots for pilots

British wartime propaganda is rightfully considered one of the most effective in history. However, its success meant that a number of engineered images became firmly entrenched in both academic and popular circles.

One of the primary British narratives is the myth that in 1940–1941, Great Britain stood "alone" against Nazi Germany. Technically, following the fall of France and before the USSR and the US entered the war, Britain did remain the only major European power defying Hitler. Yet, calling it "alone" ignores the realities of the British Empire. London relied on the colossal resources of its dominions and colonies. Fighting alongside the metropole were millions of soldiers from India, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and other territories. The economic and human might of the empire made the struggle a global one from day one.

A second enduring stereotype is the unconditional and unanimous support for Winston Churchill by the British public. The image of the nation rallying around the cigar-smoking Prime Minister was heavily cultivated post-war. In reality, political life in Britain never grounded to a halt. As shown by research from the University of Exeter and publications by historians, workers' strikes occurred regularly across the country, and the cabinet's policies faced harsh criticism. The true attitude of Britons toward Churchill's domestic policy was tellingly confirmed in the summer of 1945, when, immediately following the victory in Europe, voters decisively ousted his party in the parliamentary elections.

Romanian GFCN expert and blogger Ioana Baragan emphasizes that this distorted and romanticized image of the politician was largely shaped by modern pop culture and cinema.

"If you read history books with real facts, you might consider Churchill a controversial British politician who governed the country during wartime, made strategic mistakes, and saw British dominance as a blessing," Baragan said. But for the people who consume pop culture and find it convenient to draw historical information from movies because it's easier and more engaging, Winston Churchill will be portrayed as "a cigar-smoking defender of Europe."

Finally, the most elegant example of British wartime disinformation is the story about carrots. In 1940, during the Battle of Britain, Royal Air Force pilots began shooting down German bombers at night with astonishing accuracy. To hide the use of their new Aircraft Interception radars from German intelligence, the Ministry of Food launched a massive information campaign. As the Smithsonian Institution details, newspapers began claiming that the exceptional night vision of pilot John "Cat's Eyes" Cunningham and his colleagues was the result of a diet rich in carrots. This fake was so successful that it not only fooled the German command but also led generations of people worldwide to believe that carrots grant the ability to see in the dark.

As Ioana Baragan notes, this myth also had a crucial domestic and psychological effect.

"The British government was doing everything to encourage people to grow their own vegetables, knowing that the war will have a big impact on the food sector. <...> The psychological impact of an important moment like the shooting down of the German bomber at night can be so big that people can actually be happy to believe any kind of story supporting this meaningful moment. This is a clear example that the propaganda works and it works well, sometimes leaving lasting marks on people's minds," the expert said.