World War I is known as one of the most devastating wars in history, killing over millions of people. The conflict was between the Allied forces (Britain, France, Italy, Japan, Russia, United States) and the Central Powers (Austria-Hungry, Bulgaria, Germany, Ottoman Empire) which led to a split in nations. One of the causes of World War I was due to the assassination of Franz Ferdinand who is the archduke of Austria-Hungary in Sarajevo. As a result, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia and other European nations joined in. Women had many roles like persuading their husband to take part in the war, becoming nurses to aid for the injured soldiers, and taking care of their family. For today’s class we will be looking at documents and propaganda …show more content…
Document 9 from The First World War A Brief History with Documents by Susan R. Grayzel, talks about a British poster titled Women of Britain Say- “Go!”, uses the image of a woman to motivate men to join the war. The British government encouraged women to persuade their husbands to protect them through this “damsel in distress” imagery because their lives could be threatened by the possible invading German soldiers. As a result, this imagery had a great psychological impact on the men in questioning their masculinity and this helped to recruit more men to join the military. Britain did not have a conscript military, so they used propaganda posters to draft …show more content…
Due to the heroic inspiration from Florence Nightingale after the Crimean War, military nurses become a crucial part for the nation as she was a positive influence towards other women. Nurses started to become a popular profession for young individuals as well as middle and upper-class citizens. This duty requires bloodshed, labor, as well as emotional strength. She describes the gruesome injuries as “intertwined, so you could not tell whose arms and legs were whose” (79). Zakharova also mentions that this was very disturbing because the men were sitting in positions that made them look lively. She describes the front as, “a city of the dead” (79). This statement is key because it shows the importance of how this war has affected the whole community. Women sacrificed their service in the war, while leaving behind their own family. She explains that as a nurse, she has to care for other mother’s sons, while she also has her own kids at home to feed. Even though all women may not have been war combatants, many still experienced the devastation and trauma of the war. Most people would only think about the men when they remember World War I, however, women like Zakharovea, also played major