World War 1, beginning in 1914, resulted in millions of fatalities and casualties; a fragment of those being Australians. Australians were recruited to join the Triple Entente with use of various methods from the governments. Wartime governments used a range of strategies to strengthen the war effort; two of those being, censorship and propaganda. Censorship is, “the suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, news, etc. that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security.”
Source A is a propaganda and was created by Norma Lindsay for the Commonwealth Government of Australia in 1918. It was sourced by W.E Smith LTD. Sydney. This poster Depicts a group of armed German soldiers threatening a young man pinned against a water tank. The other victims in this scene include an elderly man in the foreground, who has been shot, an elderly woman on her knees pleading with their captors, and a young woman in a state of half-undress who is being restrained by two German soldiers in the background.
During World War 2 both America and Germany used propaganda for a number of reasons. Propaganda was used to either encourage citizens to help in conservation efforts, to help boost morale, to fill jobs, or anything else that could assist the country. Propaganda was important to the war because it helped to conserve supplies, support soldiers, and sometimes make fun of our enemies. In America at the time of war we mainly used propaganda to aid in conservation efforts.
An independent government agency known as The Committee on Public Information was formed as a way to influence the public’s opinion which they did by using propaganda. There are many different forms of propaganda and many of them were used in WWI which author Joseph Joe Kaminski further discusses in “World War I and Propaganda Poster Art: Comparing The United States and German Class”. The answer to getting the public’s attention was by using different tactics to intrigue citizens; “The use of propaganda art was essential in galvanizing opinions and reshaping ideas during WWI” (Kaminksi, 2).
Source A “Will you fight now or wait for this” has been created by the Commonwealth Government of Australia. This source is a poster from World War 1 and designed in 1918. The poster was created to persuade people from Australia, especially men between the ages of 18 and 35 to fight against the Triple Alliance, and to also prevent the German Empire from invading Australia. Additionally, Source A would be useful to a historian studying the impact of propaganda on the Australian society during World War 1. This source would be useful because it depicts the outcome of Australia, If no troops from Australia were ordered to fight against the German Empire, nevertheless It also shows the experiences and impacts directed towards the civilians after
In times of need for countries citizens always stay loyal and feel more strongly toward their country than during peacetime. The use of national symbols such as Uncle Sam and new national icons such as Rosie the Riveter instilled a new sense of pride and loyalty to many in the nation. Propaganda was very effective from encouraging people to by war bonds, to encouraging people to join the military. Every piece of propaganda was used for the same common purpose, to help Americans help America to win the war.
“Propaganda is a monologue that is not looking for an answer, but an echo,” (W. H. Auden). World War II, like many other wars, was influenced by myriad of different variables. One variable that echoed throughout America was propaganda. Propaganda was a major influence in the rally for overall support in America during World War II. The propaganda’s intentions in World War II can be broken down into three major categories: war efforts, Anti-German and Anti-Japanese backing, and homefront endeavors.
World War 1 was the first war were propaganda played huge role in keeping people at the home front informed about what was happening throughout the battlefields. This was also the first war where the government introduced propaganda to target the public and change their opinion on war (“Propaganda in World War 1”). There were many reasons for the governments to use propaganda throughout World War 1 such as; to blacken the enemy's name, to turn countries against another country, to persuade people into enlisting, to make war sound glorious ("Facts - AL WWI Propaganda."), and to calm down or even to stir up emotions throughout the war. One of the main ways propaganda was used in World War 1 was to ensure that the public only knew what the governments wanted them to know.
To gain their support, the public image of women had to be changed. More propaganda was produced, encouraging women to enter the workforce as a way to continue the progression of the United States as their men went off to fight. Propaganda targeted towards women usually consisted of an emotional tone rather than an authoritative one. “To mobilize women… government propaganda needed… central theme… concentrated on patriotism and emotional appeals” (Mathis). It was known by the government that the best way to persuade women into aiding the war effort was to appeal to their emotions; women were angry that their loved ones were forced to go off to war to partake in a fight that was believed America had no need to be in.
The stand out topics in the course was World War I and World War II. These were stand out topics for me because these are my favorite periods of history. I found the propaganda presented throughout the course to be interesting. I found it interesting because there was always a clear bias for a specific person or idea in each image or video. Plus, the people were easily tricked by the images.
TV commercials also played a part in propaganda by showing video of the war, boot camp, and bases. People donated food simply because they were told to. Propaganda was used to make it seem the entire world would end if no one contributed and worked. People were scared and paranoid into doing anything they were told. Posters
Often in times of war, especially in World War One, countries used propaganda to justify their side and get other countries to join them. Propaganda is a weapon that the allies used to get America into World War One. “One of the first actions carried out by Britain at the start of the war was to cut Germany’s undersea communication cables, ensuring that Britain had a monopoly on the fastest means of transmitting news from Europe to press agencies in the United States of America”(Cooke 1). This evidence is important because it shows that once the war started Britain tried to gain full control of the story about the war that America would be hearing. Britain trying to get
Roffin F. Collins “This is Your Propaganda, Kids: Building a War Myth for World War I Children” looks at the use of propaganda in American magazines to gain children involvement in war efforts. Pier P. Pedrini and Jean-Patrick Villeneuve’s “Fear Propaganda: From the Great War to modern communication” also focused on the use of propaganda in World War I, but their approach to the topic in relation to WWI focused on the use of fear to incite involvement. While both of these text did great jobs of arguing their points and analyzing several posters, P. Pedrini and Jean-Patrick Villeneuve’s article was better at getting its point across than Roffin F. Collins. Even though the authors conduct their analyses differently, they both utilize varying modes of ethical appeals, emotional appeals, and logical appeals to advance their arguments.
What is propaganda? Well, the definition of propaganda has been debated, for there are many different viewpoints on it. However, it is usually defined as any type of material used in hopes of influencing a community’s thoughts and viewpoints towards one subject. Many different types of propaganda were used in World War I successfully since people only received the information that the government wanted them to know. It twisted the truth and allowed for governmental control of people’s thoughts and viewpoints towards the war.
World War 1, beginning from August 1914 to November 1918, was ultimately a time of demise for European countries. During this time, the use of propaganda became widespread and significant to be considered a turning point for World War 1. The power of image became largely recognized as important because of each message the image would display. The entire point of the propaganda was to sway the public opinion and propaganda was one of the fastest ways to do that during this time. In The Ways of the World, by Robert Strayer, are quite a few examples of war time propaganda from the time of World War 1.
