Author Baxter: Walt Disney Played Role in WWII Victory

Unlikely as it may seem, Walt Disney helped the United States win World War II.

So says John Baxter, author of the new book, "Disney During World War II: How the Walt Disney Studio Contributed to Victory in the War," published by Disney Editions.

"The most important contribution that they made was definitely in the area of military training films, which accounted for a huge chunk of the studio's output during the war," Baxter said Wednesday on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV.

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"It was something they did at cost. They didn't make a penny off of it . . . He certainly could've charged and he chose not to and made some amazing training films.

"They made it easier for trainees to learn the lessons, and it probably saved a lot of lives along the way."

Disney also produced many military-oriented shorts featuring such trademark characters as Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse.

"There were propaganda shorts and entertainment shorts that weaved war themes into them. The propaganda was handled brilliantly. It's really more entertainment than propaganda," Baxter said.

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