Monday, August 12, 2019

Aspidistra: The wartime breakthrough you’ve never heard of

Crowborough, the site of Aspidistra, as it is today 
Katherine Newton, Posted on: 8 August 2019

How Britain built the most powerful radio transmitter in the world, and gave Goebbels ‘something to worry about'.

The powerful weapon
On 16 May 1941, the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, heard about a new, powerful weapon. Immediately seeing its potential, he encouraged its development. He knew this weapon could cause huge damage and yet it did not use bullets or explosions; it used words.

The weapon was “Black Propaganda” – creating enemy propaganda that Germans would think was German. This type of propaganda is very believable and therefore is more likely to convince the enemy. The easiest way of delivering these messages was radio, but there was a problem.

Additional story at: https://history.blog.gov.uk/2019/08/08/aspidistra-the-wartime-breakthrough-youve-never-heard-of/
(photo source: Nick Catford, Subterranea Britannica)

Allied ' Radio Aspidistra' Of WW 2. A Drama Documentary Radio Broadcast
https://archive.org/details/AlliedRadioAspidistraOfWW2.ADramaDocumentaryRadioBroadcast

Aspidistra - Black Propaganda
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQf4-0yx8yw