Source D is a newspaper article from August 1914 that suggests Germans “are not enemies of ours but faithful friends”. The article implies that Germans have worked hard to promote friendship with Britain. The source suggests that nobody is to blame for the war except rulers, diplomats and the military that “have forced this criminal war upon us all”. The source definitely does not encourage hatred for the enemy and may not have been successful at the time of the war.
Source E is a British newspaper report from the Battle of the Somme. All six paragraphs of the article show hatred for the enemy. The article suggests that the British carried on fighting which showed bravery and courage, unlike the Germans. The source describes Germans as callous as they threw grenades at the British soldiers when the British were lenient. A sentence explains how the Germans wanted to surrender showing that they were weak. The source does show hatred for the Germans as it describes them as weak and cruel.
Source F is a private letter written by a British newspaper reporter Phillip Gibbs. The information given is the writer’s own thoughts concerning the war and is censored, as it does not mention everything. The selective information given about the wartime only expresses the good points of the war and does not mention the ‘agonies and horrors’. The article does not include thoughts on death of soldiers and the fact that Britain maybe loosing the war. This is to spare the feelings of wives and children in Britain. The source does not include a hatred for the enemy, as the writer does not express his thoughts on death and the German soldiers.
Source G is a poster trying to persuade women to make weapons for the war. It is useful as it shows what some types of propaganda were used for; on the other hand, it is not useful to show hatred of the enemy. It shows what role women played in the war effort.
Source H is also a poster that does show hatred for the Germans. The picture shows a German nurse pouring water on the ground instead of giving it to a wounded British soldier. This shows that Germans are inhumane and cruel people. The source implies to never forget what the Germans did and is aimed at British people.
Source I is a poster that shows German men killing British women and children and definitely shows hatred for the Germans. Its aim is to encourage men to enlist to the war. The picture portrays Germans as ruthless and murderous.
Source J is also a wartime poster that shows no hatred for the enemy. Its aim is to encourage British citizens to eat less food as it was being rationed at the time. It gives a strong message to not waste food. Although the Germans were to blame for the rationing crisis the poster shows no hatred of them.
The last source, source K is a selection of media sources such as a wartime film and songs played during and after World War I. The first part of the video shows no hatred for the Germans, but shows how men who did not enlist to the war were treated. It shows a man named Percy Topliss in a British pub. As he did not enlist to the war he is ignored and shouted at by soldiers. The landlord refuses to serve the man at first but when the landlady serves him she puts a white feather in his drink. This was a sign to show that she thought he was a cowardly man. A scene of the war shows the incompetence of officers and the bad conditions in the trenches. A scene of a fight on the front line does show hatred for the Germans as it shows British soldiers being killed. The scene also shows the stupidity of the British plan. The video is a type of propaganda as it shows what the war was like for many men but it shows limited hatred of the enemy.
The second part of the source is a selection of patriotic songs that show no hatred for the enemy. The songs were used to raise people’s morale and boost soldiers’ confidence. Examples of some of the songs are, “Oh! It’s a lovely war” and “When this lousy war is over”. These songs have no hatred for Germany but do use humour to get at the enemy.
All of the sources studied have various uses to establish whether propaganda was mainly used to encourage hatred of the enemy. Source A is useful for understanding that some propaganda was used to raise people’s morale. It is a secondary piece of evidence and is a mixture of fact and opinion. The source is not biased towards or against either Britain or Germany. The two posters of source B are both primary pieces of evidence, as they were used during World War I. Both posters show opinions of people in Britain; an example of this is the opinion of women is used in the second poster. None of the two posters are biased, and are very reliable as they show the opinions of different people.
Source C is extremely useful to support the interpretation that propaganda was mainly used to encourage hatred of the enemy. The poster is an example of primary evidence and is useful for establishing what people thought of Germans. Therefore it is an opinion. The poster is biased against Germans as it portrays them as murderers and rapists. Although it is useful for showing the opinion of British citizens, the source is unreliable as it is one-sided. Source D contradicts the original argument, as it was used to “promote friendship” between Britain and Germany. The article was written during the war and therefore is primary. The source is useful for showing how the government tried to make peace between the two countries. The text is not biased as it shows the views of Germany and Britain.
Another source that is reliable for showing that propaganda was used for hatred of Germany is source E. The article is primary source and is useful for showing that Germans were cruel people. It is opinion, as it says that every man was for himself in the war. The source is not biased as it shows the strengths and weaknesses of Britain and Germany. Source F is not useful for showing hatred of the enemy as the writer only chose to include selective information about the war. The article does not explain how soldiers were lost in fighting. The source is primary and is a mixture of fact and opinion. The letter reveals his own thoughts and opinions but also uses facts concerning the war. The source is biased towards Britain. It is reliable as it is giving the writer’s opinion.
Source G is not useful to prove the original statement, as it is a poster trying to convince women to make weapons at factories. It is a primary piece of evidence and is factual, as it shows that women had to help with the war effort. It is not biased in any way. Source H is also a poster and does show hatred for the enemy, therefore it is extremely useful. It is a primary source and is unreliable as it is biased against the Germans.
Source I shows hatred for Germans, although its aim is to encourage men to enlist to the war. It is a primary piece of evidence and is an opinion. For this reason it is unreliable as it is biased against Germany. Although it is biased, it is very useful. Source J shows no hatred for Germany and is a primary piece of evidence like most of the sources analysed. It is factual as it concerns the issue of rationing that occurred during the war. It is not biased and is unreliable.
The final source is K. It is limited to show hatred for Germany, but does give an indication into what life was like during the war. The video is secondary evidence, as it was made after the war. It is biased towards Britain and is fact and opinion. The patriotic songs are primary songs and are very useful to show what methods were used to raise morale, although it is not useful to encourage hatred. The songs are reliable as they were produced at the time of the war. They may be biased against Germany, as they use humour that gets at the enemy.
The propaganda methods used in the sources were put into effect during the war, as songs were sung to strengthen people’s attitudes to war. But the most popular form of propaganda were posters. They were used in many places during World War I. Not all of the posters were used to encourage hatred; an example is source B, although posters such as source C were used in hatred campaigns. Some of the events pictured in source C are factual such as the bombing of British cities, which occurred during the war. Many cathedrals and churches were also destroyed, such as Coventry cathedral.
In conclusion, I believe that wartime propaganda was used to encourage hatred of the enemy and for other reasons. Although after analysing the sources I believe that propaganda was mainly used for non-hatred reasons. The main issues of war used in propaganda were the role of women, recruitment to the war and rationing. Other evidence, which may have proved otherwise could have been information from an officer, a speech by a government minister or leaflets used for hatred of the enemy.