Why was it used in World War One?
Propaganda ensured that the people only got to know what their governments wanted them to know. In World War One, the lengths to which governments would go to in an effort to blacken the enemy’s name reached a new level. To ensure that everybody thought in the way the government wanted, all forms of information were controlled. Newspapers were expected to print headlines that were designed to stir up emotions regardless of whether they were accurate or not. They included: “Belgium child’s hands cut off by Germans” or “Germans crucify Canadian officer” The same thing was done in Germany – untrue headlines were tolerated and even encouraged by the German authorities. Some headlines were: “French doctors infect German wells with plague germs” or “German prisoners blinded by Allied captors.”
Propaganda ensured that the people only got to know what their governments wanted them to know. In World War One, the lengths to which governments would go to in an effort to blacken the enemy’s name reached a new level. To ensure that everybody thought in the way the government wanted, all forms of information were controlled. Newspapers were expected to print headlines that were designed to stir up emotions regardless of whether they were accurate or not. They included: “Belgium child’s hands cut off by Germans” or “Germans crucify Canadian officer” The same thing was done in Germany – untrue headlines were tolerated and even encouraged by the German authorities. Some headlines were: “French doctors infect German wells with plague germs” or “German prisoners blinded by Allied captors.”
Propaganda was mainly used in both sides:
•To keep morale up at the Home Front and encourage people to give their time and money to the war effort
•To portray the enemy as an evil that needs to be fought
•To recruit more soldiers
•To stop information from being published which might help the enemy
•To psychologically dishearten the enemy troops
•To give civilians a government-approved version of the War
•To keep morale up at the Home Front and encourage people to give their time and money to the war effort
•To portray the enemy as an evil that needs to be fought
•To recruit more soldiers
•To stop information from being published which might help the enemy
•To psychologically dishearten the enemy troops
•To give civilians a government-approved version of the War
The two main types of propaganda were recruitment propaganda and conscription propaganda. WW1 propaganda peaked during 1915 to 1916; capable of recruiting hundreds of thousands of men each year. Recruitment propaganda was generally successful. By 1917, recruitment propaganda's strength had declined, as those who had experienced the devastating condition of war didn't wish to go back. With volunteer numbers decreasing rapidly, the Australian government introduced conscription propaganda. Similar to recruitment propaganda, conscription propaganda influenced men on their sense of fear, guilt, patriotism and also hatred towards the Germans. It caused great controversy within Europe, as countries had mixed opinions about whether or not conscription was beneficial.