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‘File 28/7 II War: Propaganda – Local Opinion’ [61r] (121/686)
The record is made up of 1 file (341 folios). It was created in 12 Mar 1942-12 Aug 1944. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
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Public Relations Office,
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
,
Bahrain.
Dated the 31st May, 1942.
A NOTE ON THE HURST QUESTIONNAIRE.
The objects of the ciuestionnaire -
(i ) "Guidance in producing publicity material"
aimed at
(ii) "Capitalising the sympathies of pro-British
Arabs everywhere"
do not I fear, open up a very promising field in this part
of the Arab world at this time* Before answering the
questions it would perhaps be helpful to you if i made one
or two broad generalisations about the Gulf Arab and his
psychological outlook.
or academic circles of the
Dig cities of the Middle East, Arabs may be met with who
a o r | al . ^^erstandlng of the Issues at stake as we'see
them, and with whom moral outweigh other considerations.
But taere is a less advanced social culture in the Gulf v/herp
A^«-h ern ideDlo f ies t>ut dimly comprehended: and pro-British
^sualises 1 ^ 1 ^^ gQur® which the o uesti onnai re ^
nni nfl-nrori re ^ r .^ e ^cst part are unlettered and
^nl^a uei Their outlook is materialistic and opportunist.
In the Gulf ports there is, of course, a mercantile class,
as well as ^schoolmasters, mistresses, students and the like*
a ? (1 rr 1 0 ^ P r i n ted publicity material reaches all adult reading
elements; but it is not the literate town class that
generally produces pro-British sympathisers.
T^e ruling chiefs of the Gulf whose families have
long been in treaty relations with us are, like their counter-
parts in India, quite openly pro-British. So too the sailors
and working class in the towns are generally well wishers of
ours. But, in large, the Gulf Arab*s attitude is one of
neutrality, sometimes of the benevolent kind, unloss he
belongs to a new lettered class or is of foreign origin, in
ca00 > as with youth, it is in the fashion to be critical
or an old order of things and be attracted by a new world
in reverse as it were. But even where our Arab is genuinelv
in sympathy, his attitude, active or passive, is determined
more by considerations of how our victory or defeat will
affect him personally than by belief in a righteous cause for
its own sake.
Psychologically the Arab has a GU¥A complex (GUWA Ar.*
strength) — I mean that dominating his mentality is an
instinctive respect for might, militancy, power, action.
Hence, during the past few years, his admiration for Germany: ■
his scorn of Italy. That their avowed ideological aims are
identical illustrates the point.
This is not to suggest that Gulf Arabs are not
affected by^propaganda. They are. But propaganda approaches
of an idealistic kind, congenial to our shape of mind, are
not so effective here as more realistic approaches.
Individualism is another strongly marked characteristic
Hence the assumption of »a common idealism*, or of *an
ascertainable basis of self-interest common to our Arab
supporters everywhere*, finds small support, I fear, in
bac^ard areas such as ours, and scarcely forwards the hope i 1 ’
sympathies 21611 ^ & oommon formula for capitalising their
About this item
- Content
The file, a direct chronological continuation of ‘File 28/7 I War: Propaganda: local opinion’ (IOR/R/15/2/687), comprises reports and correspondence concerning: the dissemination of pro-British and Allied propaganda in Bahrain and the wider Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. region, as prepared and coordinated by the Publicity Office in Bahrain; the reception and impact of propaganda (Allied and Axis) on local public opinion in Bahrain. The propaganda covers events from Germany’s advances in Russia and Japan’s advances in the Indian Ocean in early 1942, to the Allied Landings in Normandy in June 1944. The principal correspondents in the file are: the Public Relations Officer in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. (Bertram Sidney Thomas); the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Bahrain (Major Reginald George Evelin William Alban; Edward Birkbeck Wakefield; Major Tom Hickinbotham); and the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. (Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Geoffrey Prior).
The file includes:
- weekly reports, prepared by Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. staff, summarising local opinion in Bahrain towards news of events in the war. These reports were sent by the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. in digested form and on a weekly basis to the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. ;
- throughout the file, minutes of the approximately monthly meetings held by the Bahrain Radio Listeners Committee between July 1942 and August 1943. The minutes chiefly comprise comments on the content, quality of reception, quality of delivery, and timing, of BBC Arabic radio broadcasts, and to a lesser extent that of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. radio station;
- throughout the file, summaries of ‘talking points’ for dissemination as propaganda, focusing on topics including: Russia’s military strength against Germany (ff 42-43); facts and figures of the air war in the Mediterranean (ff 135-136); facts and figures on the Allied bombing campaign over Germany, with a focus on damage in Berlin and Essen (f 173);
- a report by Thomas of his tour of Middle East publicity centres (in Cairo, Jerusalem, Baghdad), dated 28 February 1943, commenting on: printing resources at Cairo; mechanical monitoring of radio broadcasts in Baghdad; use of cinema vans in remote districts of Iraq; Thomas’s own recommendations for publicity in the Gulf, including use of additional film projectors, hospitality sessions; majlis sessions (ff 11-16);
- a copy of an undated letter from L H Hurst of the Ministry of Information in London, to Thomas, requesting advice on ‘the best ways of capitalising the sympathies of pro-British Arabs.’ Thomas’s lengthy reply is appended to the letter (ff 47-51, with an additional copy at ff 59-64);
- correspondence relating to Thomas’s planned trip across the Arabian Peninsula, in March 1943 (ff 141-156);
- correspondence relating to Thomas’s departure to take up a role as head of an Arab Centre for training new officers (f 227);
- arrangements to send coloured film and records for broadcast in Sharjah (f 202);
- Government of Bahrain public notices: a prohibition on listening to German and Italian radio broadcasts, dated 16 June 1940 (f 5); a prohibition on listening to Japanese radio broadcasts, dated 8 December 1941 (f 6); dimming of car headlamps and other air raid precautions, dated 16 April 1942 (f 22).
- Extent and format
- 1 file (341 folios)
- Arrangement
The file’s contents are arranged in approximate chronological order, from the earliest item at the front to the latest at the end. The file notes at the end of the file (ff 315-342) mirror the chronological arrangement.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 343; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-314; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence. An additional mixed foliation/pagination sequence is also present in parallel between ff 315-342.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/R/15/2/688
- Title
- ‘File 28/7 II War: Propaganda – Local Opinion’
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:4v, 7r:21v, 23r:342v, back-i, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence