BEN DUNKLEY 11M HISTORY
Why was propaganda used in world war one in order to promote the war effort?
(10 Marks)
Propaganda was used in world war one to promote the war effort for many reasons. The reasons for using propaganda varied greatly depending on the area of the war being promoted. Also, different propaganda started at different times in the war and not all types of propaganda lasted until the end of the war.
Recruitment propaganda was used from the start of the war until conscription was introduced in 1916. It was intended to get the fit and able men of Britain to join the army. Recruitment propaganda was also aimed at the women of Britain. They were bombarded with propaganda to try and get then to send their husbands and partners to war.
At the start of the war there was no need for propaganda surrounding the topic of food and the supply of food in Britain, as it was not in short supply. However by 1917, at on point Britain had only a few weeks supply of grain left. This was down to the sinking of nearly a quarter of the supply vessels entering and leaving Britain from America and Canada. To try and help the crisis the government took over most of the food production industry under DORA and began to publish propaganda that encouraged the people of Britain to ‘EAT LESS BREAD!’ When compulsory rationing was introduced, the government began issuing propaganda that displayed the punishments that people had been given when they broke the rationing act in an attempt to scare the people that had not yet been caught and people that were thinking of cheating the system. As well as the propaganda and the rationing act the government also imposed bans that prevented people from feeding animals certain foods. As the war went on the propaganda became increasingly less subtle and by the end was very clear and blunt.
