Propaganda During World War 1

Propaganda is defined, in Graphic Design History: A Critical Guide as, “language or images used to persuade a group to adopt a particular set of ideas; systematic indoctrination by means of verbal or visual messages.” The term propaganda began in 1622, from its use in Europe with missionary activities in the Catholic Church. Pope Gregory XV put together a group of people in Rome, called the Creation for the Propagation of the Faith. This was a group of people that were in charge of going out and spreading the faith and news about the church in heathen lands. Propaganda comes from the Latin stem propagand, the word propagand conveys a sense of “that which ought to be spread.” The techniques of propaganda were first brought together and applied

This caught the eye of people and artists everywhere in the years leading up to and succeeding World War I. The combination of radical, political, and aesthetically pleasing art was sustained by the belief that all forms of design played a huge role in the changing of society. The graphic designers, who were working in this form of design, also changed their type of design for information campaigns that supported the national efforts of World War I and all of the social alterations that followed the war. The beginning of the propaganda in the World Wars was the beginning of posters and the way and style they were designed ¬to promote and gain widespread of the war. The role of posters played a huge role because this was the time way before electronic media was invented. Posters were inexpensive to produce as well as easy to produce in multiple copies with the intension of being used for public display. The type of art and composition that was posters was mostly pictorial imagery to arise the emotions of citizens’ and supporters as well as unifying support for the war. During World War 1, there were nearly 3,000 posters that were designed in the United States all by designers who volunteered their services to government and civilian agencies. Posters that were designed in World War I were often used in World War II because of the visual imagery and bold text, which continued to

The posters were used to make victory the ultimate and personal mission of every citizen. Propaganda posters used in World War II for the most part were informative and very matter-of-fact. They used mainly photographs to push toward a more realistic view. In World War II the communication became unique and amplified the fear of espionage and sabotage. It was also a way to illustrate people from talking carless talk. A great example of this is Frederick Sieble’s poster Someone Talked, 1942 [2]¬¬¬¬¬¬¬. Conservation posters were a huge part in propaganda in both the World Wars. In World War II the conversation posters were used to portray many different avenues of subjects, one being travel. Another poster propaganda was one that was against Nazi ideology. A famous example of this type of poster is a poster done by Ben Shahan called This is Nazi Brutality, 1942 [3]. He had a hatred of injustice as can be seen through this poster. Shahn was employed with the Office of War Information. The poster is a black, dark background with a hooded figure, which symbolizes the destruction of the village of Lidice by the