Transcript Propaganda & Censorship of WWI PPT

Propaganda
and
Censorship in
WW1
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!
The Government’s response
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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.
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?
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.
American Poster
Financing the War
German Posters
Buy War Bonds: To Thank
the Emperor and the People
for the Army and the Fleet
Think of Your Children!
Austrian Poster
We stand strong and loyal together.
Evidence of success
• Oxford University’s Red Book (in which professors justified
Britain’s decision to fight) became a best seller
• Children’s 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
Evidence of failure
• Restriction on free expression rather drastic and
betrayed the government’s 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 children’s comics
which instilled the idea that the Germans were
aggressive ‘Hun’
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?