Abstract

The occupation propaganda is a type of propaganda that is organized to provide obedience to the newly established order, taking the support of the people in the regions seized by the occupation forces. The occupying side have effectively used the mass media of the captured country to carry out occupation propaganda. One of the countries where the occupation propaganda was the most successful in history was Vichy France (1940-1944), occupied by Nazi Germany. In Vichy France, founded by the Nazis, the Nazis controlled the mass media in the country and ensured that propaganda was made in the desired direction.

This study examined how the occupation propaganda was carried out in Vichy France. In the study, propaganda posters under the leadership of Pétain, who was in power in Vichy France, were examined in the context of the method of semiotics analysis of French Language Scientist Roland Barthes. For this purpose, 8 propaganda posters (Pétain, German Worker, SS, Allied, Plotter, Communism, Jewish) determined by using the purposeful sampling method were studied in Barthes' detonation and connotation. In the light of the findings it was found that: Nazi Germany was presented in positive metaphors in order to be able to dominate the French Vichy; Allies, French partisans, Communism, and Jews were all reflected in negative metaphors.