With support from the University of Richmond

History News Network

History News Network puts current events into historical perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter for new perspectives on the ways history continues to resonate in the present. Explore our archive of thousands of original op-eds and curated stories from around the web. Join us to learn more about the past, now.

British kids in WW 2 had propaganda games too

Nazi-era board games are being auctioned this week, one with points given for bombing UK cities. But what were British children playing during WWII? It wasn't all hopscotch and conkers, the Brits had their own propaganda games.

Model Spitfires and Hurricanes were commonplace in the toy boxes of the 1940s. The war touched every aspect of life and had a profound effect on childhood.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill demanded that all the country's energies were dedicated to the war effort. Board games, it seems, were no exception....

Several dartboards used pictures of infamous political figures as targets. The Plonk dartboard depicted German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop with a snake's body and showed Goering brandishing a cave-man club. Not surprisingly, Hitler is the bullseye with a gaping black mouth which is marked for 100 points.

Similarly, the Allies Dart Game was a large picture of Hitler's face and points were scored depending on where the dart landed. A direct hit on Hitler's moustache scored you 50 points.

Read entire article at BBC