DON'T BE A SUCKER - 1947 MILITARY FILM WARNING ABOUT FASCISM

Explainer video on the 1943 film, "Don't Be a Sucker!" which was re-released in 1947 by the U.S. War Department. This educational film aimed to alert Americans to the dangers of prejudice and fascism by drawing parallels with the rise of Nazism in Germany, which the historical context describes as a totalitarian, racist regime under Adolf Hitler. The film's narrative, as detailed in the plot summary and transcript, depicts a young American Free Mason who is swayed by an anti-minority orator until a Hungarian professor, who witnessed the Nazi takeover, explains how propaganda and division were used to dismantle a unified society in Germany. Both sources emphasize that the film served to advocate for the desegregation of the U.S. armed forces by highlighting how protecting the liberty of all minority groups is essential to maintaining freedom and preventing a similar fate in America. The film ultimately warns against allowing oneself to be a "sucker" to those who seek to divide and conquer a nation.