“The Empire Needs Men”: This poster was designed by Arthur Wardle and was published in 1915. It was pro-Allies and was used to show that recruitment for the British army was not only limited to British citizens, rather, that any citizen of the commonwealth could apply to fight in the war. When Britain declared war on Germany on 4th August, the British army was deemed or automatically made to fight. However countries in the commonwealth that were Self-governing dominions (such as Canada, India and Australia) could choose whether or not to offer military assistance. In fact, less than half of the British army was made up of British citizens. Soldiers came from divisions from New Zealand, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, The Netherlands and South Africa (there were more)! The mature lion in this picture symbolises Great Britain, and the younger lions are the countries that are hoped to fight under the British army that are arranged below and behind it.
Horatio Herbert Kitchener, better known as Lord Kitchener, is most famously remembered for being the face in the recruiting poster of the British people, in the First World War. This poster was seen to be highly effective, as when mounted, it seemed as Lord Kitchener was addressing the reader, and his eyes would seem to follow the reader as well. Everywhere Lord Kitchener sternly points a monstrously big finger, exclaiming 'I Want You'. The image first appeared in the front cover of the hugely influential London Opinion magazine on 5 September 1914, a month that had the highest number of volunteers.
While England and France were depicted as “civilization,” Germany was shown as a “mad brute” — here, a giant, drooling gorilla wielding the club of German Kultur (culture) and carrying the limp, half-naked body of a woman. As a result of propaganda like this, German Americans — many of whose ancestors had lived in America for centuries — faced persecution during the war. By showing a “maiden in distress” on propaganda posters, it was thought that men had to fight in the war to save the women who were depicted as gentle and generally weak.Women literally became sex symbols in the first world war.
Propaganda posters that were Pro-Allies tended to advertise great opportunities to see the world, and have a good life. However, these posters also tend to depict other countries problems (usually countries that fight for Britain) and imply that Britain should help them. The illustrators of these posters also intended to show that if a man did not apply for the army, he would have wasted his youth and therefore could not say that he did anything worthwhile. Furthermore, these posters showed that a man joining the army tended to have whatever he desired; wealth, respect and women.On the other hand, German propaganda posters depicted terrible scenes of the allies harming innocent Germans. They aimed to make German men fight with the intention of protecting their homes and families. Another way that the German government advertised Germans to fight in WW1 was to show them images/content/posters of the effects capitalist such as the UK and USA had on Germany. At the time, Germany as a country tried to keep itself isolated from other European nations and thought that its way of life was best. So the thought of an invasion from other countries that could potentially change Germany’s lifestyle seemed horrific. The German government didn’t want Great Britain to take over and control the globe and Germany wanted power. Therefore these posters were created advertising soldiers to fight against Imperialism, Nationalism and with a purpose to protect their families before the enemy attacks them. Nationalism, however is the belief that your country is better than others. This made nations assertive and aggressive and many thought th e war was caused because of this on Germany’s behalf. The picture below shows a man holding a sword with his other arm around his wife and baby; protecting them. Text: War loans help the guardians of your happiness.