WW1 Propaganda

Propaganda was a method that was used by almost all participants of the First World War. The aim was to make all the population to join the war. It was used in different ways by different participants. The use of propaganda in the WWI began in the early decades of the 20th century which became widespread and important as it can be noted today (World War I | Primary Sources, 2009).

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There was an exposition held in 2013 at British Library that marked a new phase for the state use of misinformation during the battle and also at the time when there was peace. World War I was a battle that included almost all the world and from that, propaganda was spread easily in many cases (Albright & Shackelford, 2010). Participants could use posters to show that the armies have withdrawn from the war in the real sense it was a falsehood.

Through World War I, misinformation was engaged on a worldwide level. Unlike prior wars, this was the primary total war in which entire nations and not just proficient armed forces were protected in human combat. This and other consequent modern wars required misinformation to gather hatred against the rival, to induce the population of the fairness of the reason, to recruit the active sustain and collaboration of impartial countries and to reinforce the support of followers (World War I | Primary Sources, 2009).

When the war began, Britain had no misinformation organizations, but soon some agencies in Germany were started by Charles Masterman. Duties for misinformation were distributed among different agencies during the war, which brought about the unavailability of harmonization. The war activities were put together in 1918 where the ministry of information was in charge.

All the propaganda devices were destroyed after the war. Britain exploited a misinformation regarding the violence propaganda that there were suspected violence as either false or adornment. This led to a doubt of neighboring violence tale which destined unwillingness to judge the truth of Nazis maltreatment in the world war two.

The First World War was started in 1914 and ended in 1918. All the populations were required to perform different functions during the war. For example, children could be used to provide food for the people who were involved in the war. At the same time, women were required to provide clothes and essential instruments so that the armies could keep on fighting. Of all the propaganda methods used during the war use of the image was considered to be the most successful method since it was recognized in giving a logic picture to the ones who were not in the war so that they could be inspired to join the war. It was seen at the end of 1916 whereby population increased to a large number.

Mass fabrication and distribution of a diversity of pamphlet was one means of influencing views to those who were not involved in the battle. The Great War was the first war to use tankers, airplanes and heavy machines to attack their enemy forces and innocent population. During that period materials, produced were of high quantity for example Britain was considered to produce 40 million battle items (Albright & Shackelford, 2010).

The people involved in spreading the propaganda could not rely on materials only generated by the state. They had to use other means to pass their message to the enemies. Britain entered the war with an action of cutting undersea telegraph cable which was connecting Europe and America (Albright & Shackelford, 2010). At that time, Britain was the largest source of information to America. Hence, Britain had the advantage to pass the propaganda to the U.S that it was to be attacked, and that is the reason America joined the war although it feared to join as most of the British and Germans were living in America. Still the two were the best countries which America carried trade with.

Propaganda as a weapon Influencing international opinion

For both sides that are the British and their enemies to shape the international opinion about the war, they used misinformation. They produced newspapers, books and cartoons to enable them to influence both the countries that were not involved in the war and also those who were much into it. The British government was dedicated to producing significant amounts of efforts to design materials that would shape opinion and the action that would favor the people internationally. It led to the countries justifying their actions and resulted in the most powerful propaganda that was ever used in the war.

The action of British cutting off Germanys undersea communication cables ensured that Britain had a monopoly on the fastest means of broadcasting news from Europe to press organizations in the United Stated (Gury, 2009). This was an imperative thing to do since they gained support and sympathy around the world. Journalists and news anchors wrote and disseminated articles sympathetically to Britain and contradicted the statements made by their enemies. They also placed favorable reports in the existing press of neutral countries. Pamphlets were even circulated in the Chinese language. This was described as an efficient manner that led to its declaration war against Germany.

Producing newspapers and booklets in different languages meant that many cultures could have an informed opinion on the conflict of the war. It could not even bias the source of the information. Countries that were not involved in the war were the aim for British propaganda to highlight the misjudgment of German accomplishment in war (Gury, 2009). Most of all the sinking of Lusitania that leads to the death of 1198 people was a good means of British to pass their message that highlighted the barbarity of the rivals. This was a success in influencing public opinions towards the war.

German and British covert propaganda

Even Britain used pamphlets and booklets to pass the propaganda. For example, The War Plotters of Wall Street, published in 1915 was used to pass propaganda. It gave an alert to the government of the Americans warning them if they issued loans to Britain during the war, the loans would never be repaid. However, the Germans propaganda had no proof, and some organizations gave the game away. The Wellington House in charge of information spreading in Britain took a different approach. They said that works were formed separately. The purpose was that popular sustain for Britain would be improved through local supporters rather than appear to come from Britain openly.

Atrocity propaganda

First, World War atrocity propaganda is primarily focused on the atrocities committed by German troops as they invaded Belgium in 1914. They wanted to drum up hatred of their enemy by giving false information by distributing information about the atrocities. In 1915, that is when atrocities were often used, but stories developed showing that Germans were just unhelpful barbarians and that their atrocities were mere fictions (Trenches on the Web - Timeline: British Trench Warfare 1917-1918, 2016).

The invasion of Belgium in 1914 through the execution of Edith Carvel was seen in the convergence of a sequence of proceedings and also the falling of the Lusitania that consumed 1200 civilian lives (Trenches on the Web - Timeline: British Trench Warfare 1917-1918, 2016). This was just confirmed as some of the Germans barbarism that strengthened their ideas further and hence leads to the use of what were considered to be unconventional weapons like using poison gas, flamethrowers. Although both sides committed atrocities, the Germans propagandists did not buy the idea of the death of Edith Cavell perpetrated by the allied troops since they were fighting from a awkward position and had committed the atrocity by invading Belgium. These are the two examples of atrocity propaganda that were common and portrayed the elementary events that surrounded atrocity.

To some extent, the atrocities were seen as stories falsified by the government so that to convince the neutral countries to come into the war. Through historical researches some of the atrocities were true, there was a questioning in Britain about the compatibility of liberal democracy and propaganda. On the other hand, the German is the opposite since stab in the back propaganda came in as a scapegoat for military loss.

Women in World War I propaganda

Pressure applied by propagandists on potential volunteers urged that women and children be threatened and required to be protected. To confirm this, there were reports that are originating from the occupied territories of rape, mutilation, and torture. Women were called upon to organize, to help in the intellect of group at the frontage, to seal responsibility on the Home facade evacuate by the nations military, and to labor in industrial unit bring into being armaments for them to shoot (World War I | Primary Sources, 2009).

Misinformation made women substance of mens love and sufferers of the enemys barbarous works by portraying them as protectors of the residence, their placid personality, and susceptibility and prepared those dynamic partakers in the battle.

Women were used as reminders of the need of the battle and of the alliance that anticipated soldiers upon their return. The idealize relations represented solidity, security, and serenity, the portrayal of life controlled by German profession only serving to give emphasis to the need to defend it (Gury, 2009). Those who declined to do so, propagandists disputed, would face allegations and accusations could have to answer difficult questions from their children and spouses such as to tell them their duties during the World War 1 and would be reject by sweethearts. This propaganda made women join in the battles and mobilize to take up the positions that were left by their spouses. The posters used to enlist women and children convinced them while their loss was keenly felt and approved the departure of their men to the battlefields to defend their honor and way of life.

Childrens experiences of World War One

Some famous writers from the United States have outlined how propaganda affected the children from the warring countries. Children were affected by the war through the disruption to home life, school going, and parents absenteeism from home, and trauma from the death of family members and friends. While all this was common on the home front, children struggled to understand the reasons that led to these events and the impacts that were brought about by the war (First World War | The National Archives, 2014). They were psychologically affected and could not figure out why this was happening to them. The figure of the child was not observed much in the war since they did not contribute directly to the war hence, they were not able to understand the density of war.

An image of a child assisting her mother cook with gas masquerade on their faces portrayed nervousness surrounding them of weaponry and complex substance warfare. This demonstrated how the domestic freedom of the home was also a possible site of the attack and portrayed the childs situation as a fighter in the war. As women took the position of home caretakers, children also had some duties either through voluntary or they were paid for their participation in the war. Girl guides, scouts and members of the boys brigade were kept and replaced coastguards and taken by hospitals as workers. There were offspring who gave up school to take up paid jobs and the multitude of twelve-year-old half-timers involved themselves in illegal overtime to back up the family income. Confirmation in August 1917 showed that around 600,000 children dropped out of school prematurely to take up the war work (First World War | The National Archives, 2014). Also, some young boys and girls missed school so as to take care of their young ones wh...