Transcript The Nazis Party in the 1920s

How were civilians affected by
World War 1?
Aim: To revise key details
about the British Home
Front during the First
World War
A revision presentation from http://www.mrallsophistory.com/
Recruitment
• Women’s
organisations tried
to boost
recruitment
• White feathers were
given to men as a
sign of their
“cowardice”
• The Mother’s Union
urged its members
to get their sons to
join up
Recruitment
• Initial recruitment
used posters,
leaflets, etc. to
build an army
quickly
• What is the
message of this
poster?
• How would this
poster encourage
men to join the
army?
Recruitment
• Initial recruitment
used posters,
leaflets, etc. to
build an army
quickly
• What is the
message of this
poster?
• How would this
poster encourage
men to join the
army?
Recruitment
• Initial recruitment
used posters,
leaflets, etc. to
build an army
quickly
• What is the
message of this
poster?
• How would this
poster encourage
men to join the
army?
Recruitment
Recruitment of volunteers to the army, 1914-15
Recruits (thousands)
500
400
1914
1915
300
200
100
0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Month
Conscription
• Voluntary recruitment was
decreasing, but the demand
for troops was increasing
• Voluntary recruitment didn’t
share the burden between all
parts of society
• Conscription introduced in 1916
• All men aged 18-40 had to
register
• They could be called up to fight
at any time
Conscription
• Conscientious objectors
opposed the war for
political or religious reasons
• They refused to fight, and
were imprisoned – or
executed – for doing so
• Others helped the war
effort, but not through
military action
– Field hospitals
– Stretched bearers
DORA
• The Defence of the Realm
Act
• Introduced in 1914
• Gave the government
powers to control many
aspects of people’s daily
lives
• The priority was to keep
industrial production high,
but other things were
affected too
Licensing
Hours
Dilute Beer
Censorship
DORA
British
Summer
Time
Rationing
Control of
Mines and
Railways
DORA
• Licensing hours were
introduced
• Pubs could only
open for 2 hours at
lunchtime and 3
hours in the evening
• This made sure the
workforce was
awake and sober for
factory work
DORA
• Newspapers and
radio broadcasts
were censored
• The government
could control what
people heard about
the war
• This made sure the
public continued to
support the war
effort by only
hearing good things
DORA
• Food was rationed
• The government
took over land and
used it for farm
production
• This ensured there
was enough food to
feed the public and
the army, despite
German U-Boat
attacks
DORA
• Beer was diluted
• The government
allowed publicans
to make beer
weaker
• This ensured the
workforce didn’t
drink so much as to
make them drunk
or hung-over while
at work
DORA
• British Summer Time
was introduced
• The government
move the clocks
forward by an hour
in the summer
• This ensured
factories had
maximum daylight,
meaning they
could operate later
DORA
• Mines and railways
were taken over by
the government
• The government
had ultimate
control over them
• This meant
production of coal,
and the movement
of trains, would be
prioritised for the
war effort
Rationing
• In April 1917, German U-Boats
were sinking one in every four
British merchant ships
• Britain was running out of food
Rationing
• In 1917 voluntary rationing
began, led by the royal
family
• In 1918 compulsory
rationing began
–
–
–
–
Sugar
Butter
Meat
Beer
Propaganda and Censorship
• All news was tightly
controlled (censorship)
• Reports aimed to:
– Maintain morale
– Encourage civilians to
support the war effort
– Create hatred and suspicion
of the enemy
• Newspapers, radio
broadcasts, films and even
board games were used
Propaganda and Censorship
• The film, The Battle of the
Somme, was filmed in 1916
• The Battle was a disaster for the
British Army
– Failed objectives
– Enormous causalities
• What can the film tell an
historian about the use of
propaganda in WW1?
• Watch the clip (will take a
couple of minutes to download)
Propaganda and Censorship
• The film, The Battle of the
Somme, is seen by
historians as a propaganda
triumph
• People at home felt they
could see how their efforts
were helping the troops
• Although it showed some
casualties, it also showed
advancing troops, helping
morale
Propaganda and Censorship
• The film, Britain’s Effort, was
created in 1917
• What was its purpose?
• Watch the clip (will take a
couple of minutes to
download)
Propaganda and Censorship
• It is hard to measure how
effective propaganda was
• BUT
– Support for the war was
reasonably constant
• Only really changed with the
enormous causalities at the
Battle of the Somme in 1916
– People read lots of
newspapers, and watched
the films, so they were being
exposed to it
The Brown Family’s Four War
Christmas
• What is happening in each
frame?
• Explain why these things
are happening, based on
what you know about life
on the Home Front