Dohanos, Steven
Bits of Careless Talk
1943
44 3/4 x 28 1/2

Careless Talk Costs Lives Enemy agents seldom find some vital plan that tells them all they want to know. Usually, many agents scattered throughout a country pick up some scraps of information, none of which is important in itself, but brought together, like the parts of a puzzle, can provide a too clear picture of sensitive, confidential data. Hence the slogan used in Britain during World War II, "Careless talk costs lives." A number of cartoons were drawn to make the point, and were displayed all over. One showed two women from a munitions factory gossiping about their work. Sitting behind them, listening closely, were Hitler and Goering! Later in the war this bits and pieces method of getting information was turned against the Nazis. The Allies deliberately spread false rumors about the D Day landing. These were picked up and put together by the Germans and led their High Command to draw the wrong conclusion about where the British and American troops would land. In that case the deliberate careless talk saved lives!

Dane R. Gordon
Professor
Department of Philosophy
College of Liberal Arts