Who is this woman and what did she do?

Question

Here is a propaganda poster from the WWII:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Carelesstalk.jpg

"Her careless talk costs live." What does this refer to? And who is this woman? What did she do? How is this propaganda? thanks in advance.

Answer 1

That is the equivalent to "politically correct speech".

Answer 2

The woman is a model. This is a poster from the British Ministry of Information which was posted up all over the place to encourage people to keep their mouths shut.

The inference is that she is maybe a sailors wife. Her husband is setting off to Russia on a convoy, tells her, and she blabs about it to her friend in the hairdressers. A listening spy can then inform his masters that a convoy is setting off to Russia and they can then get a reception committee in place.

She could be an RAF intelligence officer`s wife who knows her husband is sending his squadron off to Berlin that night. Same scenario. Listening spy tells his bosses. More Flak ready in Berlin.

An army officer`s wife whose husband tells her that his specialist raiding party is off to the Mediterranean to have a go at Sicily. Same scene in the hairdressers and her husband and his raiding team are met on the beach by the Waffen SS.

Many people said things to loved ones or acquaintances without thinking through the consequences."Careless talk costs lives" was a constant theme throughout the war, urging people to keep quiet about anything they knew. Also see "You never know who`s listening" and "Walls have ears"

Propaganda covered many things from exhorting people to think positively to making them think badly of the enemy. This was just another branch of it.

Ray.