Assignment 1

2014/05/15
History
FIRST WORLD WAR
PROPAGANDA
Jessica Strydom
201307894
Propaganda, maliciously and ingeniously applied, played a vital role in the Great War. It introduced
an entirely new playing field; changing the war into not just a war of weaponry but one of rhetoric.
Propaganda was used as a persuasion tool to shape public opinion through using deliberate lying, half-
truths and adaptations to truths. Stories of the atrocities both the triple entente and the triple alliance
supposedly committed took on a life of their own and were often so distorted that the truth and source
of the tales were hard to extract. The slogans, stories and symbols aimed at setting up boundaries
between the us and the them eventually indoctrinated public opinion to such an extent that the
general population was oblivious to the true happenings and mayhem. In this essay I will be critically
discussing the effects propaganda had on forming public opinion and how this affected the First
World War by looking at the transformation of propaganda itself and the methods that were used to
shape public opinion and the effects of the excessive use thereof.

Propaganda is officially defined as deceptive or distorted publicity to disseminate information that is
systematically made known by an organization or government to promote a policy, idea, or cause
1
,
originating from the term. It is usually associated with indoctrination and mass control mainly through
lies and corrupted information. Contrarily, it is often a re-emphasis of already existing concepts in
order to focus public attention on them. It is not always purely a fabrication either as it usually varies
from complete lies to semi-truths to lies in context misplacement.
2
The aim of propaganda is to
convince its audience of one perspective and cancel out any opposing views. Propaganda does not
always need to be verbal manipulation but can manifest in any other form such as the names of
buildings or the presence of symbols or flags
3
. Yet during the First World War the primary method of
propaganda dissemination was via newspapers, cartoons and rhetoric. The Great War gave new
meaning to propaganda by using it on a large organized scale as a way to sway public opinion which
played a vital role in devising government policy.
4
The First World War was fought by the triple
entente (France, Britain, and Russia who were later joined by the United States) and the triple alliance
(Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy later joined by the Ottoman Empire).

During the First World War the state and civil society applied propaganda to validate the war effort.
The vilification of the opposing forces, by accusing them of atrocities, strengthened the national
identity. The narrative to explain the alleged violations depended on the relevant ideologies. The
followers of the pertaining ideology argued these theories blindly to sustain the belief that the war
boiled down to survival. The propaganda was not simply to sway public opinion, but was also a
critical analysis of the inherent dehumanizing practices of the war.
5
Propaganda took on a new
ominous side in 1914-18 with the mass distribution of it from both sides. Public opinion thus became
a vital element in the devising of government policy. Britain adopted propaganda as the main public
indoctrination method while others also recognised it as a powerful tool in the military sector. This led
to the founding of the Ministry of Information in 1917 administered by Lord Beaverbrook and a rival
Propaganda Department at Crewe House under the order of Lord Northcliffe. All sectors of the media
were under severe expurgation in order to disperse authorised and expectable ideas to influence and
control public opinion.
6


The Dutch cartoonist, Louis Raemaekes work during the First World War is a prime example of
Propaganda. The reports of German violations at the start of the Great War stirred Raemaeke to start
drawing cartoons in protest to the Central Powers. In an interview he stated that he wished to capture
the ruthless nature of the Germans but found it often too heinous to be portrayed accurately on paper.
7

It is important to note here that his outrage was merely based on rumours and reports of which some
could have been distorted or fabricated. This shows how propaganda takes on its own life and starts
self-spreading. The propaganda in the form of reports of German atrocities ignited Raemaeker to
create more of the same propaganda which in turn inspired other people to spread the rumours.
Raemaekers works soon gained great repute amongst literary figures and the public and were even
replicated as postcards, which further spread his message.
8


Germany had the support of the media from the very start of the war. First simply in the name of
pragmatism stating that invasion was a necessity, but their general opinion was soon motivated by
patriotic pride in favour of German Victory. The general public opinion was fairly unified about the
war efforts mostly out of habit due to the already establishment of government controlled news under
Bismarck and Wilhelm II. Censorship was reinforced with the onsetof the Great War under the
pretence that they feared the exposal of military strategies. The Deutsche Kriegsnachrichten Dienst
was established to systemize the dispersing of propaganda. People were distracted from the real
military news through a range of methods varing from food rationings, death and casualty reports, and
rumours of peace protests, to posters advertising fake venereal disease cures.
9
While the actual
military action was under strict control through censorship and the constraint that any military news
published had to be approved by the local military command.
10


Due to the excessive use of propaganda a general distrust developed and the truth propagated was
questioned. Even the government considered it as politically dangerous and even morally
unacceptable in peace time.
11
Britains propaganda during the Great War substantiated Hitlers
theory that Germany was victimized. Yet, he was so impressed by Britains propaganda machine that
he established a Ministry of Propaganda immediately after assuming power in 1933. Whereas the
Germans regarded propaganda as a tool to pursue the masses through summary, repetition and
emotive language, the Bolsheviks distinguished between agitation for the masses and propaganda for
the party faithful. During the Second World War the establishment of radio stations brought a new
level of sophistication to the propaganda effort.
12




1
Encarta Dictionary (defintion). (2009). Microsoft Encarta, Vol. 2.1. Redmond, Washington,
United States of America: Microsoft.
2
Welch, D. (1999). Powers of Persuation. History Today, 24-26.
3
Ibid
4
Ibid

5
Horne, J. (2002). German Atrocities, 1914: Fact, Fantasy or Fabrication? History Today,
47-53.
6
Welch, D. (1999). Powers of Persuation. History Today, 24-26.
7
Bryant. (2006). The Man with the Poison Pen. History Today , 60-62.
8
Ibid
9
Marquis, A. G. (1978, July). Words as Weapons: Propaganda in Britain and Germany during
the First World War. Journal of Contemporary History , 467-498.
10
Ibid
11
Welch, D. (1999). Powers of Persuation. History Today, 24-26.
12
Ibid