World War 1 Propaganda Research Paper

INTRODUCTION

Propaganda is the act of influencing or planting an opinion into a community's mind. It is used during war and played a major part in both World Wars. It was, and is, used to influence enemy countries, neutral countries as well as your own people. Throughout history, governments have used propaganda as a powerful tool for gathering support for wars among its citizens, and the period during World War I was no different. In order for a powerful defense and attack during war, it was not enough for the government to fight. They also needed the people to join armies and to feel nationalistic. A strong nationalistic feeling is very important during war, since it assures that people will be very motivated and willing to work to win

The government would smear the opposing country’s reputation by spreading lies or “manipulating the truth”(#2). Since the government could decide on which information gets passed onto the people, citizens didn’t have anything else to believe. This is how the government could get the people to believe in almost anything. People were recruited for the army with posters that said things like “We want you!” (#3)This almost made them feel obligated. An example of hiding information is when German troops wrote to their loved ones at home, the government or government officials would always check these letters and black out any information they didn’t want leaking to the citizens(#4).

Propaganda influenced everybody, from soldiers to women and children. Posters and leaflets trying to get women to work in factories were also very common, since men were at the front, and gun and military gear production had to stay to speed(#5). Food was being rationed, which meant that everybody would get the same amount. There are some posters that tell people to eat less of certain foods, or to not put anything to