A WAR OF PERSUASION
During World War I, the first total war in which whole nations and not just professional armies were mortally involved, propaganda was employed on a global scale. Specifically, it was used to convince the population of the justness and importance of war, to recruit soldiers and the cooperation of neutral countries, to strengthen the support of allies, to collect money and resources for the military campaign. The governments of each nation tried hard to persuade people to think in a certain way using propaganda, and to ensure that everybody thought in the way the government wanted, all forms of information (such as pictures, posters, literature and films) were controlled.
New techniques of persuasion were created to influence populations on the justness of the war. The study of propaganda during the World War I becomes at once a study of the relationship between the government, the press and the public. The government’s control over the mass media and the entire propaganda machine were considered essential in demanding the national support needed for ultimate victory. This recruitment propaganda, appealing to the patriotic hearts and minds of many, was crucial at the very outbreak of war. We can find a vast and varied range of materials that showcase the methods exploited in wartime propaganda and the reason of their dissemination: brochures, international posters, postcards, cartoons and political pamphlets found their greatest diffusion throughout these years. Also a great range of sophisticated and new psychological techniques began to be used to speak effectively to the whole population: enemies were associated with the evil such as death, destruction and harm; the war was portrayed as a shared effort in which every member of the society had a stake, so that the group mentality was strengthened; children were used to evoke powerful feelings, and posters played a lot on people's natural concern for their children, and their fears about what might happen to them if the enemy had won the war; at last, well-known figures – including King George V himself - lent their support to the campaign, appealing directly to the public to provide authority.
During World War I, the first total war in which whole nations and not just professional armies were mortally involved, propaganda was employed on a global scale. Specifically, it was used to convince the population of the justness and importance of war, to recruit soldiers and the cooperation of neutral countries, to strengthen the support of allies, to collect money and resources for the military campaign. The governments of each nation tried hard to persuade people to think in a certain way using propaganda, and to ensure that everybody thought in the way the government wanted, all forms of information (such as pictures, posters, literature and films) were controlled.
New techniques of persuasion were created to influence populations on the justness of the war. The study of propaganda during the World War I becomes at once a study of the relationship between the government, the press and the public. The government’s control over the mass media and the entire propaganda machine were considered essential in demanding the national support needed for ultimate victory. This recruitment propaganda, appealing to the patriotic hearts and minds of many, was crucial at the very outbreak of war. We can find a vast and varied range of materials that showcase the methods exploited in wartime propaganda and the reason of their dissemination: brochures, international posters, postcards, cartoons and political pamphlets found their greatest diffusion throughout these years. Also a great range of sophisticated and new psychological techniques began to be used to speak effectively to the whole population: enemies were associated with the evil such as death, destruction and harm; the war was portrayed as a shared effort in which every member of the society had a stake, so that the group mentality was strengthened; children were used to evoke powerful feelings, and posters played a lot on people's natural concern for their children, and their fears about what might happen to them if the enemy had won the war; at last, well-known figures – including King George V himself - lent their support to the campaign, appealing directly to the public to provide authority.
NEWSPAPERS
Propaganda ensured that people only got to know what their governments wanted them to know: in order to reach this goal all forms of information were strictly controlled. Newspaper were expected to print what the government wanted the reader to read. Britain’s newspaper , controlled by the media barons of the time, were happy to play ball: they printed headlines that were designed to stir up emotions and to develop the current of hatred against the enemy regardless of the fact they were accurate or not in order to give a sort of justification to the fight. The truth suffered in War and became an optional aspect of the information. In all countries successes in battle were emphasised as opposed to the minimal gains actually made and newspaper published casualty figures that were acceptable to the government but less than accurate.
It is interesting to notice what reporters were not allowed to write about in their articles: the list made by the Defence of the Realm Act in Britain included plans for any future action, movements of ships, information about munitions and number of British soldiers and their positions along the war front.
POSTERS
Propaganda posters were one of the most popular mean used during World War I by all the nation involved in the conflict to persuade the population. They would usually show an effective and immediate statement supported by some drawings in the background, so that even illiterate people could understand the message sent by the government. Posters were created to justify the country's involvement in the war to its own citizens and please the war cause within nations that had their war plan already set out before the actual outbreak of the battles, as for France and Germany, or were created to encourage public investments, to recruit more men, to find resources and money to support the military campaign, as for Russia, GB or USA. Later during the war, posters began to urge wartime economy or support government policy.
World War I found its greatest popularity in Britain, where it represented the apex of a romanticization of duty, sacrifice and military glory.
People already believed in moral absolutes and patriotism, and thanks to the strenuous propaganda they came to glorify death in war as the most noble way to show loyalty to their country. In fact the army was mostly formed by volunteers and no conscription was necessary until January 1916
The government decided to set up a War Propaganda Bureau (WPB) in 1914 that acted secretly during war time: its work was only discovered few years before the outbreak of World War II. Their aim was writing pamphlets and books that would promote the government's view of the situation and spread pictures and photography that would show the population the glory of the war.
The No-Conscription-Fellowship (NCF) was formed after the declaration of war in the summer of 1914 by two pacifists, Clifford Allen & Fenner Brockway and was supported by many public figures; their aim was to encouraged men to refuse war service, since they believed human life to be sacred. They also protested against the government that was hiding war truth from the population.
Propaganda ensured that people only got to know what their governments wanted them to know: in order to reach this goal all forms of information were strictly controlled. Newspaper were expected to print what the government wanted the reader to read. Britain’s newspaper , controlled by the media barons of the time, were happy to play ball: they printed headlines that were designed to stir up emotions and to develop the current of hatred against the enemy regardless of the fact they were accurate or not in order to give a sort of justification to the fight. The truth suffered in War and became an optional aspect of the information. In all countries successes in battle were emphasised as opposed to the minimal gains actually made and newspaper published casualty figures that were acceptable to the government but less than accurate.
It is interesting to notice what reporters were not allowed to write about in their articles: the list made by the Defence of the Realm Act in Britain included plans for any future action, movements of ships, information about munitions and number of British soldiers and their positions along the war front.
POSTERS
Propaganda posters were one of the most popular mean used during World War I by all the nation involved in the conflict to persuade the population. They would usually show an effective and immediate statement supported by some drawings in the background, so that even illiterate people could understand the message sent by the government. Posters were created to justify the country's involvement in the war to its own citizens and please the war cause within nations that had their war plan already set out before the actual outbreak of the battles, as for France and Germany, or were created to encourage public investments, to recruit more men, to find resources and money to support the military campaign, as for Russia, GB or USA. Later during the war, posters began to urge wartime economy or support government policy.
World War I found its greatest popularity in Britain, where it represented the apex of a romanticization of duty, sacrifice and military glory.
People already believed in moral absolutes and patriotism, and thanks to the strenuous propaganda they came to glorify death in war as the most noble way to show loyalty to their country. In fact the army was mostly formed by volunteers and no conscription was necessary until January 1916
The government decided to set up a War Propaganda Bureau (WPB) in 1914 that acted secretly during war time: its work was only discovered few years before the outbreak of World War II. Their aim was writing pamphlets and books that would promote the government's view of the situation and spread pictures and photography that would show the population the glory of the war.
The No-Conscription-Fellowship (NCF) was formed after the declaration of war in the summer of 1914 by two pacifists, Clifford Allen & Fenner Brockway and was supported by many public figures; their aim was to encouraged men to refuse war service, since they believed human life to be sacred. They also protested against the government that was hiding war truth from the population.