Propaganda and Censorship in WW1

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Propaganda and Censorship in WW1
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Why did the initial enthusiasm for the war die
away?

• Recruitment figures fell the longer the war
  continued.
• Christmas came and went, and the war was still
  going on.
• Overall in 1914 the Allies lost nearly 400,000
  men. Two thirds of the original army had been
  destroyed!

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The Governments response

• Conscription
• The fall in the number of recruits meant that in
  May 1916 conscription was introduced.
• All men aged between 18 and 41 now had to join
  the army unless they were working in essential
  industries.
• DORA
• Under The Defense of the Realm Act (DORA) (1914)
  the government was given great powers of
  propaganda and censorship.
• Censorship is deleting unwelcome facts. From 1915
  newspapers and letters from the front were
  heavily censored in order to preserve morale, and
  there was a strict rule that no photograph could
  be published which showed a photo of a dead
  British soldier.
• Propaganda is information, especially of a biased
  or misleading nature, used to promote a political
  cause or point of view. The poster propaganda
  campaign was led by Lord Kitchener (right), the
  Secretary for War.

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Propaganda written

• "As the German soldiers came along the street I
  saw a small child, whether boy or girl I could
  not see, come out of a house. The child was about
  two years of age. The child came into the middle
  of the street so as to be in the way of the
  soldiers. The soldiers were walking in twos. The
  first line passed the child one of the second
  line stepped aside and drove his bayonet with
  both hands into the child's stomach, lifting the
  child in the air on his bayonet, and carrying it
  away on his bayonet, he and his comrades still
  singing".

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Propaganda written

• Source A
• When the fall of Antwerp became known, the church
  bells were rung in Cologne.From the German
  newspaper Kölnische Zeitung, August 1914.
• Source B
• According to the Kölnische Zeitung, , the clergy
  of Antwerp were compelled to ring the church
  bells when the fortress was taken.From the
  French newspaper Le Matin, August 1914.
• Source C
• According to what The Times has heard from
  Cologne, via Paris, the unfortunate Belgian
  priests who refused to ring the church bells when
  Antwerp was taken have been sentenced to hard
  labour.From the Italian newspaper Corriere della
  Sera, August 1914.
• Source D
• According to information which has reached the
  Corriere della Sera from Cologne, via London, it
  is confirmed that the barbaric conquerors of
  Antwerp punished the unfortunate Belgian priests
  for their heroic refusal to ring the church bells
  by hanging them as living clappers to the bells
  with their heads down.From Le Matin, August
  1914.
• What can you infer from the changes in this story?

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Propaganda pictorial
Discussion point What are the similarities and
differences between these propaganda
posters? TIP Consider who they are aimed at and
the emotions they appeal to.
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American Poster
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Financing the War
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German Posters
Buy War Bonds To Thank the Emperor and the
People for the Army and the Fleet
Think of Your Children!
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Austrian Poster
We stand strong and loyal together.
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Evidence of success

• Oxford Universitys Red Book (in which professors
  justified Britains decision to fight) became a
  best seller
• Childrens books and comics were also patriotic
  and sold well
• Battle of the Somme film was great triumph
  showed wounded soldiers but still kept morale
  high

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Evidence of failure

• Restriction on free expression rather drastic and
  betrayed the governments fear that it was losing
  the battle for hearts and minds
• As The Nation (which was later shut down) stated,
  It is a domestic tragedy that the country which
  went out to defend liberty is losing its own
  liberties one by one
• Untold damage was done by childrens comics which
  instilled the idea that the Germans were
  aggressive Hun

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Sourcework practice question

• What are the strengths and weaknesses of these
  posters as an explanation of why men joined the
  army between 1914-1916?
• Discussion Question
• Why did no recruitment posters appear in Britain
  after January 1916?