ENLIST NOW!

YOUR COUNTRY

NEEDS YOU!
Figure 1:
Women of Queensland! Send a man today
to fight for you, John Samuel Watkins
(1914-1918),
https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/ARTV
05632/, access no. ARTV05632, accessed
8/12/17

Australias War Propaganda during the World Wars

By Kane Baker
Readers are advised that some of the following images may contain disturbing images, as well as Racial stereotypes
that are considered offensive today. They are not in any way the views of the author, but are in fact a representation
of society at the time of their creation, and to not show that would be a dishonour to those who may have been
negatively impacted by these images
Australian headlines declared War with Germany twice in the first half of the twentieth century, followed quickly
by motions to help the Mother Country of Great Britain. But there is the crux of the matter. With a relatively small
standing Army, and almost no Air Force to speak of at the beginning of the First World War, Australia was forced to
muster its forces as quickly as possible to prepare for the storm to come. They did this through dozens of different
recruitment posters, each more different than the last. While the case was not the same for the Second World War,
recruitment posters were still scattered all over the place, and were as varied as those that had appeared in the First
World War, though with obvious differences. The recruitment posters changed with time as well, as many of those
who volunteered during the Second World War were children of those who had gone to war in the First World War.
Due to this, many people had to be convinced that the war was something that they should participate in, as they
had been raised on stories of the previous World War and the casualties it had caused.

WORLD WAR ONE

The First World War arose due to a variety of circumstances, most of which can be traced back to the rising tensions
between the European nations involved. The war that would ultimately destroy an entire generation of young
European meni started in 1914, and was sparked by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the
Austro-Hungarian throne. This caused, due to many convoluted alliances, all the nations of Europe to be pitted on
one side or the other of the conflict. Australia became involved when, during the middle of an election campaign,
both the Prime Minister Joseph Cook and Opposition Leader Andrew Fisher pledged full support for Britainii.
With Australia now involved in the war and support continually on
the rise, efforts were put in place to muster the required number
of forces to send to Europe.

Following this, a recruitment campaign was launched to reach the

number of men that had been pledged to fight for the British.

The Atrocities of War

The Image to the left was printed in 1915. It depicts a mother with
torn and shredded clothes, her arms raised in both defiance and
anger. Her children lie dead at her feet representing the horrors of
German warfare. It refers to the atrocities caused by the Germans
in Belgium in late 1914, and it alleges that German soldiers
committed appalling acts of violence against non-combatant
Belgians, including women and childreniii. It is suggested that the
torn clothing and exposed breast of the woman are indicative or
suggestive of the allegations of rape by the Germans. As
Robertson says in her article women and young girls were
rapediv by the Germans, and that Germans did indeed execute
civilian hostages.

Figure 2: The Cry of the Mothers, by John

This kind of propaganda has become known as atrocity
Samuel Watkins, (1915),
propaganda, as it depicts the atrocities caused by the enemy, and
https://www.awm.gov.au/index.php/colle
especially de-humanized the Germans and exaggerated the pure
ction/C98985, access no. ARTV03508,
moral qualities of the British and the Alliesv. Though this was used
accessed 8/12/17
to justify the war on both sides, in many cases it worked more in
favour for the Allies than it did the Central Powers, due to Germanys invasion of Belgium. No matter how much
propaganda material the Germans poured out, Poor Little Belgium remained a rallying cry for their enemies
throughout the warvi, and this went on to cause Germanys eventual defeat at the hands of the Allies.

A Call to Arms
Other propaganda that we find calls on men on the homefront to
join the fight for those men already on the frontlines. The image
on the right depicts a distinctly Australian soldier standing across
the Dardanelles, with his hands to his mouth, as if shouting
something. In red text we see the words Coo-ee-. Wont YOU
come? This would have been printed sometime after the Allied
landing at Gallipoli, as the number of dead continued to grow, and
the number of men needed for the campaign to be successful
continued to rise. By the end of the Gallipoli campaign, it is said
that there were 26,111 Australian casualties, including 8,141
deathsvii, with the most successful part of the campaign having
been the evacuation.

Throughout the course of the war, Australia remained one of the

few participating nations to have an entirely volunteer army. In
Britain, the initial flood [of volunteers] soon dwindled into a
stream and then into a trickle as enthusiasm began to fadeviii.
While nations such as Britain, New Zealand, Canada and the
United States implemented conscription, either as the war Figure 3:
progressed, or, like the States, had without a moments hesitation A Call from the Dardanelles, HM Burton,
formed her armies by (1915),
Timeline of Major Events [conscription] ix https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C100
World War One when they joined the 619, access no. ARTV05197, accessed
war in 1917. 8/12/17
1914 Australia, on the
28 June: Franz Ferdinand, Heir to the other hand, put the question to the public, with not one, but two
Austro-Hungarian throne is Assassinated referendums concerning conscription, one in 1916 and one in 1917.
28 July: War is officially declared in The referendum held in 1916 followed three months after the battles
Europe of Fromelles and Passchendaele, where Australia lost 28,000 men
4 August: Australia enters the war, over the course of 2 days in the Battle of Fromelles alone. However,
declaring it will help Britain throughout both referendums resulted in slim victories for the No voters.
the war
15 August: First Australian Imperial Force What Are You Guilty Of?
is formed, recruitment for the coming In July 1915, 36 575 men volunteeredx to join the large number of
war begins men already overseas fighting in Gallipoli. Australia never saw this
1915 level of enlistment in a single month again for the rest of the war, but
25 April: Landing of Allied troops at why was this the case?
Gallipoli
July: Recruitment levels reach the highest To begin with, this relatively high number of enlistments came within
for the war, at over 36000 volunteers three months of the landing of the Gallipoli campaign, as the news
29 August: Stalemate begins at Gallipoli of the landing at Anzac Cove had led to a massive increase in
after a number of failed offensives enlistments and a surge of recruitment efforts [led by] government
18-20 December: Evacuation of Gallipoli by authoritiesxi. However, the number of recruits sharply dropped for
the Allies the next month, and while enlistment numbers remained generally
1916 high in late 1915 and
1 July: Battle of the Somme early 1916xii, by 1917
enlistment never rose
19 July: Battle of Fromelles
above 4989xiii.
31 July: Battle of Passchendaele
However, despite the
28 October: First referendum concerning
low number of
conscription. Slim victory for No voters
enlistments for the
1917
remainder of the war,
1 Feb-31 March: Germans Withdraw to
that isnt to say that
Hindenburg Line
there werent capable
15 March: Russian Emperor Nicholas II
men who could fight.
abdicates
6 April: United States declares war on
The image to the right
Germany
depicts a man
25 June: First American troops land in
swimming in the surf
France
of a beach, a smile on
2 December: Russia abandons war against
his face. The text reads
Germany
It is nice in the surf,
20 December: Second conscription
but what about the
referendum. No voters win again
men in the trenches?
1918
Go and help. It was
3 March: Russia officially leaves the war
printed sometime in 1915, and as we have talked about, recruitment
with the signing of the Treaty of Brest-
levels began to decline after July of that very same year. However,
Litovsk
this wasnt due to a lack of available, able bodied men. Billy Hughes,
4-6 April: First Battle for Villers-Brettoneux
the Labor Prime Minister
25 April: Second Battle for Villers- Figure 4:
in 1915, conducted a
Brettoneux It is nice in the surf, but what about
War Census, which
1 June: Lieutenant-General Sir John Monash the men in the trenches?, David Henry
supposedly revealed that
is appointed commander of Australian Souter (c. 1915),
there were 600,000 fit
troops in France https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/A
men available for
4 July: Battle of Hamel RTV00141/ , access no. ARTV00141,
servicexiv.
8-11 August: Battle of Amiens accessed 11/12/17
18 September: Australian and Allied troops
What we can say about
push through the Hindenburg Line
the lack of recruitment after July of 1915 is that it could very well be
30 October: Turkey surrenders
attributed to a lack of enthusiasm for the war. By the time of the
1 November: Australian Servicemen begin to
referendum in 1916, two costly battles had ensued at Fromelles and
return home
Passchendaele, causing the deaths of over 50,000 Australian soldiers,
3 November: Former Austro-Hungarian
and lowering the morale of the country. By the time the war ended in
Empire surrenders
November of 1918, half of the forces Australia had sent overseas
9 November: Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates
were either wounded or dead. But what became known as the War
11 November: Germany signs the Armistice. to End All Wars paled in comparison to what would occur 21 years
Fighting ceases on the Western Front later.
1919
28 June: World War I officially ends with the
World War Two
signing of the Treaty of Versailles
Much like the First World War, there were many different factors to
At the end of the war, there were 61,513
be taken into account as an explanation for as to why the Second
Australians dead, and 152,000 wounded
World War started. The fact that the Treaty of Versailles forced the
German signatories to admit German responsibility for the war
and to accept the countrys economic and military enfeeblement, [including] extensive territorial lossesxv was a
major part of why the Germany went to war. Another reason was the rampant nationalist and fascist ideologies at
play in Germany, Italy and Japan. By the time Germany invaded Poland in 1939 the threat of war had been brewing
for almost a year. Australia joined the war the same day Britain and France declared war on Germany, when the
Prime Minister at the time, Robert Menzies, announced the beginning of Australias involvement in the Second
World War on every national and commercial radio station in Australiaxvi. Aside from a number of instances
involving the Navy and a number of pilots during the Battle of Britain, the Australian army did not engage in combat
until 1941xvii when a number of divisions joined the Allied assault in the Mediterranean and North Africa.

BEWARE! For the walls have ears

Espionage played a critical role in the war, for both sides. While a large part
of espionage during the war relied upon efficient air reconnaissance and
photographic interpretationxviii when looking at aerial surveillance,
Australians at the time feared that they were beset by an enemy within
[that] existed on the homefrontxix. The public of numerous Allied countries
panicked, as they feared that they were being undermined by a Trojan
Horse of saboteursxx. In Papua New Guinea, under an Australian
administrator, it [was] believed that every Japanese [was] a potential
intelligence officer for Japanxxi.

The image to the left depicts a stereotyped Japanese soldier, listening into
what seems to be radio communications, radiating out of the centre of
Australia. The words The Enemy Listens is written in an Oriental-like script,
radiating out with the
Figure 5: communications, while the Timeline of Major Events
The Enemy Listens, Your words words your words are his World War Two
are his weapons, Biz, (c. 1939- weapons are imposed in block 1939
1945), letters over Australia. This was 1 September: Hitler invades Poland
https://www.awm.gov.au/collecti a general fear in Australia that 3 September: Britain, France and Australia
on/ARTV00045/ , access no. spies would be listening in on declare war on Germany
ARTV00045, accessed 13/12/17 conversations and reporting 1940
back to their country of origin, 10 May: German Blitzkrieg of Holland and
in an attempt to undermine both the Australian people and Belgium begins
government, and make it easier to invade the country. Suspicions 13 May: Neville Chamberlain resigns as
were high regarding any enemy aliens, and were compounded by Prime Minister of Britain. Winston Churchill
the dire situation Australia found itself in after Japan entered the war takes his place
in December 1941xxii. Further enforcing the belief of a possible 26 May: Evacuation of Dunkirk
invasion, and inside help from those who supported the Japanese, 22 June; France surrenders and is occupied
was the bombing of Pearl Harbour in December of 1941, and the by German forces
bombing of Darwin three months later, in February of 1942. These 10 July 31 October: Battle of Britain
fears continued to spread through the population as the Japanese 1941
continued to advance across the South Pacific, and eventually stoked 22 June: Hitler attacks Russia
the fear that was prevalent throughout the rest of the war of an 7 December: Japanese forces bomb Pearl
invasion from the north. Harbour
1942
AUSTRALIA NEEDS YOU! 15 February: Japanese forces capture
As the war continued, Australia needed to recruit more and more Singapore
men, yet despite this the Australian Army did not engage in fighting 19 February: Japan bombs Darwin, in the
until 1941. However, not much really changed when posters were largest attack by a foreign power on
made to lure in fresh recruits. Though the enemy was both similar Mainland Australia
and different in many ways, the content and reasoning behind the 4-7 June: Battle of Midway ends with
posters remained the same - that the country would be invaded, American victory
and that recruits were needed to stop any impending invasion. November: Battle of Stalingrad. Allies make
There was a successful push in government to institute a push into North Africa
conscription, however it was 1943
only so that there was to be May: Axis powers surrender North Africa
no conscription for overseas July: Allies invade Sicily
servicexxiii. August: Allies capture Sicily
3 September: Italy surrenders
The poster on the left 1944
depicts a Japanese soldier June: Rome is Liberated
charging through the Pacific 6 June: D-Day
islands towards Australia, July: Japanese Evicted from Burma
with the Imperial Japanese 25 August: Paris is Liberated
flag in the background December: Battle of the Bulge. Ends in
behind him. The text on the Allied victory
poster reads Hes coming 1945
south, its fight work or March: Allies cross the Rhine
perish making it out to be April: Russians reach Berlin
like there was no other 30 April: Hitler commits suicide, alongside
choice when it came to the wife Eva Braun
Figure 6: war. And in this case, there 8 May: Victory in Europe Day
Hes Coming South, maker was the prevailing threat 6-9 August: Atomic bombs dropped on
unknown (1942), that Japan might invade Hiroshima and Nagasaki
https://www.awm.gov.au/collecti Australia.
on/ARTV09225/ access no.
ARTV09225, accessed 15/12/17 This poster is eerily similar to one that can be found during the first world
war, found on the left. It depicts a German general, quite possibly the Kaiser,
reaching his hand across the globe towards Australia, as if to seize it for
himself. The words Must it come to this? are emblazoned across the top in
red, with a large Enlist resting underneath.

These two images are very similar in how they depict Australia as being the
target of an invasion. However, one difference with the events that played
out in both wars was how Australia was not in any immediate or real danger
during the First World War. The closest enemy forces were situated in what
was then known as German New Guinea, and fell to Australian forces in early
September of 1914. In the Second World War, Australia faced a much larger
threat in the face of the expanding Japanese Empire. Japan never invaded
Australia, as Hideki Tojo, Japans Prime Minister during the war, stated that
they never had enough troops to do soxxiv. However, the fear of invasion
continued to spread throughout Australia, lending strength to
Figure 7: posters such as these.
Must it come to this? B E Pike (1914-
1918),
https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C101
462, access no. ARTV06030, accessed
15/12/17
Conclusion
War propaganda changed in many ways between the World Wars, as we have seen here. What is interesting,
however, is that the message that was being conveyed to the audience didnt really change from one war to the
next; it was more the way the message was conveyed that changed. While espionage was not a large factor in the
war, it was believed by some that various operations had been hindered or sabotaged by outside influence. We saw
how this might have influenced posters warning one not to talk about something they were not supposed to be,
especially with the wrong people. The enlistment posters are something that the message was always the same, in
an effort to recruit more and more willing volunteers to help fight on the front lines. However, as was shown in the
case of some posters, the image of one poster was almost identical to one found almost thirty years previous, with
one of the only exceptions being that the image of the enemy had changed. Other posters either attempted to call
on men to feel guilty for not enlisting, or called on women to send their loved ones to the front lines, to stop the
atrocities being committed against European women. By the time the Second World War had ended in 1945, we find
that posters changed only to suit the growing fears of the population, while still conveying the same kind of
messages that we find from posters in the First World War.

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i
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ii
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iii
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iv
Emily Robertson, Propaganda and manufactured hatred: A reappraisal of the ethics of First World War British and Australian
atrocity propaganda, Public Relations Inquiry, 3/2, (2014), 254
v
Emily Robertson, Propaganda and manufactured hatred: A reappraisal of the ethics of First World War British and Australian
atrocity propaganda, Public Relations Inquiry, 3/2, (2014), 246
vi
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vii
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viii
Philip M Taylor, Munitions of the Mind: A history of propaganda from the ancient world to the present era, (Manchester:
Manchester University Press, 2003), 193
ix
Ernest Scott, Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-1918 (Australia: Angus and Robertson LTD., 1936), 410
x
Joan Beaumont, Australias War in Joan Beaumonts (ed.), Australias War 1914-18, (New South Wales: Allen and Unwin,
1995), 14-15
xi
Joan Beaumont, Australias War in Joan Beaumonts (ed.), Australias War 1914-18, (New South Wales: Allen and Unwin,
1995), 14
xii
Joan Beaumont, Australias War in Joan Beaumonts (ed.), Australias War 1914-18, (New South Wales: Allen and Unwin,
1995), 14
xiii
Joan Beaumont, Australias War in Joan Beaumonts (ed.), Australias War 1914-18, (New South Wales: Allen and Unwin,
1995), 20
xiv
Joan Beaumont, Australias War in Joan Beaumonts (ed.), Australias War 1914-18, (New South Wales: Allen and Unwin,
1995), 15
xv
Richard Overy, The Origins of the Second World War (London: Routledge, 2017), 33
xvi
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xvii xvii
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xviii
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xix
Robert Loeffel, The Fifth Column in WWII: Suspected Subversives in the Pacific War and Australia (UK: Palgrave Macmillan,
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xx
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xxi
Max Everest-Phillips, Reassessing pre-war Japanese espionage: The Rutland naval spy case and the Japanese intelligence
threat before Pearl Harbor, Intelligence and National Security, 21/2 (2006), 263
xxii
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xxiii
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xxiv
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