Spying and Security

Spying and Security — page 1 — SPYING AND SECURITY Introduction World War II was fought on fronts far from the battlefield Civilians prepared to face bombing and its aftermath Secret agents gathered information in the shadows Codebreakers puzzled over enemy ciphers National security during wartime can be defined as including anything that helps protect the state and its citizens That includes protection from both physical attack invasion sabotage or bombing and from attacks that threaten morale or political stability or espionage attempts to learn information that can benefit the enemy Threat from the Air World War II was the first major conflict in which civilian populations came under bombardment from enemy aircraft on a large scale Cities in Britain Germany and later in the war Japan were targeted by raids that involved hundreds of bombers Military planners believed that it was virtually impossible to prevent bombing raids so they planned instead to deal with their effects That involved providing shelters for civilians and firefighting medical and rescue teams These often relied on volunteers who also took responsibility for organizing public health services and even day-care for children Gaining Information Modern warfare depends on information Knowledge of the enemy’s military plans is only one part of the overall picture An understanding of 4 public opinion might reveal low morale that can be exploited Forewarning about the movements of leading personalities might offer a chance for assassination Gossip about a change in working hours or machines in a factory might give clues about an enemy’s change in weaponry or tactics and enable fighting forces to defend themselves against new threats Nations worked hard to limit the information that might reach the enemy They also used espionage themselves Spying took great courage it was usually punished with death but many secret agents went behind enemy lines to learn information or to perform acts of sabotage Code War Military communications were routinely sent in code form by all sides in order to prevent the enemy from reading them Throughout the military conflict a parallel struggle was fought between code setters and code breakers As on the battlefield the contest had both spectacular victories and tragic defeats failures Posters like this image of a drowning Y U S sailor reinforced the link between the home front and the front line the message was that everyone was equally responsible for national security

Spying and Security — page 2 — someone talked WORLD WAR II SOURCEBOOK 5

Spying and Security — page 3 — SPYING AND SECURITY THE OFFICE OF CIVILIAN DEFENSE The U S Office of Civilian Defense OCD was set up in May 1941 The committee set up air-raid precautions such as blackouts in fact only a handful of bombs ever fell on U S soil they were dropped by a Japanese seaplane in rural Oregon in 1942 The OCD ran the Civil Defense Corps which trained about 10 million volunteers in firefighting first aid and other duties Volunteer pilots of the Civil Air Patrol made look-out flights on the coasts 66 National Security During wartime life on the home front was shaped by the need to preserve national security from civil defense measures to the censorship of correspondence National security was a broad term On the one hand it included what is called civil defense a term that describes all nonmilitary actions taken during wartime to protect civilians and property from the effects of enemy action such as for example air raid precautions see page 16 On the other hand national security was a broader term that referred to anything that helped maintain the well-being of the nation from keeping an eye on foreign citizens to ensuring that the media did not report any information that might be useful to the enemy The president’s wife Eleanor Roosevelt who helped establish the U S Office of Civilian Defense and acted as its chairwoman argued that national defense depended on better housing better day-by-day medical care better education better nutrition for every age ELEANOR ROOSEVELT In February 1942 the First Lady resigned from the Office of Civilian Defense Although she believed the OCD was essential she thought her involvement subjected it to political attacks by enemies of her husband the president OCD chairwoman Eleanor Roosevelt Y encouraged community programs in order to help maintain public health and social welfare

Spying and Security — page 4 — NATIONAL SECURITY spot at sight chart no 1 enemy uniforms german parachutist german soldier This poster was intended to help British civilians identify the enemy in the event of a German invasion 7

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