WWI - Total War & Propaganda

Total War, Propaganda and the Cultural Consequences of WWI

Total War• Mobilizing resources, production &

populations for war effort

– War economy

– War expanding the size of the state

– Mobilizing women to work

Total War• Mobilizing populations– How to keep people to continue supporting war

effort?– Increasing opposition to WWI

• What is propaganda?– Persuasive technique that attempts to mold

opinion & behavior to support a cause– Appeal to emotion rather than reason– State propaganda

Propaganda & Democracy?“In no degree was the Committee an agency of censorship, a machinery of concealment or repression. Its emphasis throughout was on the open and the positive. At no point did it seek or exercise authorities under those war laws that limited the freedom of speech and press. In all things, from first to last, without halt or change, it was a plain publicity proposition, a vast enterprise in salesmanship, the world's greatest adventures in advertising...We did not call it propaganda, for that word, in German hands, had come to be associated with deceit and corruption. Our effort was educational and informative throughout, for we had such confidence in our case as to feel that no other argument was needed than the simple, straightforward presentation of the facts.”

- George Creel, Head of the U.S. government’s Committee on Public Information during WWI

Propaganda & Democracy?

“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized. Vast numbers of human beings must cooperate in this manner if they are to live together as a smoothly functioning society.”

- Edward Bernays, "Propaganda" (1928)

Poster is asking public to give books for German soldiers to read

Questions about posters:

• Who is the intended audience?• What is the main messages of the poster?• Do the messages attempt to manipulate with

emotion, reason or both?• Do you think the poster was a successful piece

of propaganda?• How do the two posters in the set

compare/contrast with one another?

“Through work to victory! Through victory to peace!”

“Never again!”

“Protect your children! Protect your women! Protect yourself! Join the army today!

Modern propaganda

• What is propaganda today? How is it similar and/or different to WWI propaganda techniques?

U.S. PSYOP leaflet disseminated in Iraq. It shows a caricature of Al-Qaeda in Iraq leader al-Zarqawi caught in a rat trap. The caption reads "This is your future, Zarqawi“ (2005)

Is this propaganda? Why or why not?

U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy, 2000

British Petroleum advertisement, 2010

Is this propaganda? Why or why not?

Ronald Reagan campaign poster (1980) Barak Obama campaign poster (2008)

Is this propaganda? Why or why not?

Review: some social and cultural consequences of WWI

• Immense documentation of war

• New ways of memorializing war

• Total War – Increased role of state in the economy– Propaganda

• Impact on women & gender roles