8311 CCF forced labor in North Korea, July 17, 1952

File — Box: 2, Folder: 39

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

From the Collection: The Albert G. Brauer Korean War Psychological Warfare Propaganda Leaflets Collection provides a unique look into an aspect of the war often overlooked. Based upon what President Truman called “the campaign of truth” these leaflets became one of the primary means of winning the hearts and minds of enemy troops and Korean civilians. This collection of over 638 leaflets was amassed by NDSU alumnus Albert G. Brauer who served in the Eighth U.S. Army Korea as Chief of the Projects Branch, Psychological Warfare Division, G3 Section (February 1951 to January 1952). Under his direction he transformed a small nucleus of relatively untrained personnel into an integrated team of writers, artists and oriental language specialists of professional caliber who produced many hundreds of propaganda leaflets and voice messages for dissemination by aircraft, artillery and by air and ground loudspeaker units. In addition to the leaflets produced by the U.S. Army, there are twenty-four leaflets produced by the communist forces, various Psychological Warfare School course materials, and a number of publications related to psychological warfare. Fifteen related photographs accessioned with the collection have been processed as Photo Mss 159 collection, and are available online as part of Digital Horizons. The collection has been organized into four series: Propaganda leaflets, Communist propaganda, Extension course material, and Publications.

The Propaganda Leaflets Series is divided into two subseries: those produced by the Eighth United States Army Korea (EUSAK), Psychological Warfare Section, and those produced by the General Headquarters (GHQ), Far East Command, Military Intelligence Section's Psychological Warfare Branch which was located in Japan. Each series is in turn divided by language: Korean or Chinese and then by the leaflet serial number assigned by the section or branch. Each leaflet has been placed in a separate folder along with the documentation sheet prepared at the time by the section or branch staff. These documentation sheets give the following information: date, leaflet title, language, serial number, target, audience, remarks, art work, and an English translation of the text. From these sheets the leaflet title, serial number and date have been recorded in this finding aid. Only a very small number of the leaflets and documentation sheets are not original but rather photocopies. A number of the GHQ leaflets were also issued by the EUSAK under a different serial number. When found this was noted by the term Companion Leaflet and the other serial number. Also, a small number of the GHQ leaflets were issued by the 1st Radio Broadcasting & Leaflet Group of the 8239th U.S. Army. Mr. Brauer wrote some commentary for a small number of the leaflets. Those leaflets with his notes are indicated by the symbols *, +, or #. The * symbol indicates general notes made by Mr. Brauer, the + symbol for those leaflets intended for South Korean civilians in areas controlled by the communist forces, and the # symbol for leaflets intended for the South Korean civilian population. The Communist Propaganda Series contains six original and eighteen photocopies of leaflets issued by the communist forces. There is also a short commentary by Mr. Brauer on them. The Extension Course Material Series includes a number of course workbooks issued by the Army Extension and the Psychological Warfare School at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. They deal with such topics as the Geneva Conventions of 1949, propaganda, leaflet writing and artwork, radio programming, propaganda analysis, psychological warfare staffs and operations, and other related topics. The Sub-course 14 folder contains a copy of The Kazakhs: a Background Study for Psychological Warfare, by Lawrence Krader and Ivor Wayne (1955). The Publications Series includes a variety of miscellaneous pamphlets including several issued by the Committee for a Free Asia, Inc. There is a book report by Tsun-chun Chang on Paul M.A. Linebarger's Psychological Warfare (2nd ed.), a 1952 article from Officer's Call titled "Psychological Warfare," and Study of Tactical Leaflets issued by The Psychological Warfare School. Finally, there is a copy of Mr. Brauer's paper for a 1953 Georgetown University course on international relations entitled "Psychological Warfare Korea 1951." It gives a good summary of the psychological warfare operation in Korea, techniques used, a critique of United Nations leaflets, and his conclusions on the effort in Korea.