Transcript WWI and Propaganda

WWI and Propaganda
An Introduction
Propaganda: Formal Definitions
 Information, ideas, or rumors deliberately
spread widely to help or harm a person,
group, movement, institution, nation, etc.
 Material disseminated by the advocates or
opponents of a doctrine or cause: wartime
propaganda.
Dictionary.com
Put Another Way…
 A way of manipulating people using images
and words to achieve a desired affect or
outcome
 Propaganda clouds reality and gets in the
way of clear and honest thinking
Purpose of Wartime Propaganda
 To recruit soldiers, either through a draft or
voluntary enlistment
 To finance the war effort through sale of
war bonds or new taxes
 To eliminate dissent and unifying the
country behind the war effort
 To conserve resources- food, oil, steelnecessary to wage war
 To increase participation in organizations to
support the war.
Tools of Wartime Propaganda
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Demonization (aligns the enemy with evil)
Emotional appeals
Name-calling
Patriotic appeals
Half-truths and lies
Catchy slogans
Evocative visual symbols
Humor or caricatures
WWI Examples
 Each of the nations which participated in
World War One from 1914-18 used
propaganda posters not only as a means of
justifying involvement to their own
populace, but also as a means of procuring
men, money and resources to sustain the
military campaign. (The following posters
are from firstworldwar.com)
 First, simply
write what you
see in your notes,
then investigate
how this is trying
to “work” on its
audience.
 This poster
appealed to
immigrants who
had come from
Europe; it also
encouraged
everyone to
“waste nothing”
(so food could go
toward the war
effort).
 Again, simply
write down what
you see, then try
to investigate
how this poster is
making its appeal.
 This poster shows
someone who
builds war
materiel, one
navy recruit, and
one army recruit;
it proposes that
you also should
join in the effort,
and the Allies
can’t lose.
 Same routine describe what you
see, then try to
identify how it
aims to appeal to
its audience.
 Propaganda
appeals on
different levels.
You don’t want to
be seen as UNpatriotic, so you
better sign that
pledge!
Shocking?
 This is from
Germany during
WWI. What is going
on here?
Appeal to Religion
 This poster, from
Germany, shows an
image of Jesus
blessing German
soldiers as they go
off to war. Who are
the “bad guys?”
Political Ideology
 Russia’s Communist
Revolution pitted the
working class against
the wealthy minority.
“Workers of the
World, Unite!”
encourages this
poster. Read Marx if
you are curious.