The most important aim of wartime propaganda was to encourage hatred of the enemy. Is the sufficient evidence in Sources A to I to support your interpretation?

by dipz1993 (student)

Dipti Kothari

10LA

Candidate number: 4090

Centre number: 13240

Coursework 1 – World War One Propaganda (Source Evaluation)

Question 1:‘The most important aim of wartime propaganda was to encourage hatred of the enemy.’ Is the sufficient evidence in Sources A to I to support your interpretation?

Propaganda was used in World War One as in any war. It ensured that the people only got to know what their governments wanted them to know, all forms of information were controlled. Newspapers were expected to print what the government wanted people to do and know. This would appear to be a form of censorship. They printed headlines that were intended to stir up emotions despite the consequences of whether they were accurate or not. There were three important aims of wartime propaganda which were hatred of the enemy; this was designed to make people hate the enemy so that people would be willing to fight in the First World War. Encourage patriotism; their aim was to make people feel proud of their country so that they prepare to fight for it. As well as that, it was planned to guarantee Britain had the moral high ground. If the Germans were shown as cowards or immoral, then people will feel that their fight was justified. Along with, Anti-war; this was the fourth aim of war time propaganda, this is when your against war, it also refers to Pacifism. I will now analyze all the evidence to see whether if they support the statement above.

There is some evidence showing hatred of the enemy was the most important aim of wartime propaganda. Hatred of the enemy was proved to be one of the propaganda elements because the government wanted the British to hate the enemy, so that they are prepared to fight in the war. The only source which used this propaganda element was source C. Source C is an anti German cartoon, from Punch, a British magazine. It shows a man who represents Germany holding a gun, and is on top of British soldiers, the background clearly shows destruction around the place. The true colours of German soldiers are captured in this picture, which will make British people hate the Germans, as they are killing their soldiers who are defending their country. Also, this will make them think the Germans are to blame instead of them. For that reason, they will be willing to fight. However, once the German’s take a look at this magazine, they will also have hatred for British people because this could ruin their reputation. Therefore, they will also be willing to fight. Source C is a primary source, and was produced during the time in 1914; this makes it reliable as it shows middle class British troops feelings. Also, it’s a primary source, which means that it has been taken from the event; therefore it is reliable because it hasn’t been edited. As well as that, it reflects on how they educated people on hatred of the enemy. On the other hand, it is also unreliable as it’s a British magazine, therefore only British feelings were captured, it doesn’t show German’s point of view towards the war. The reason why it is unreliable is because it is only showing one interpretation in the British magazine, therefore it might have not been true. Also, as it was written by a British; they are going to support their own group, which makes it bias. Furthermore, a cartoon is someone’s creative work; therefore it’s someone’s opinion. This also makes it bias, as they could have created this cartoon showing the Germans were to blame. The purpose of this source was to encourage hatred of the Germans to middle class people and the government. Also to show the British public the destruction that the German’s would cause if they won the war, so that they unite together to defeat their enemies, which in this case, is the Germans. From my own knowledge, I know that the government censored the magazine to show only British’s point of view, through DORA. (DORA) The Defence of the Realm Act was introduced 8th august 1914, it gave the government special powers such as the right to take over industries and to censor newspapers or magazines. The reason for this was to make people believe, what the government wants them to do, which is to hate the enemy.

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However, there is also some evidence to prove that the most important aim of wartime propaganda was to encourage patriotism. Encouraging patriotism was another propaganda element because when people felt proud of their country, they are prepared to fight for it. Source A uses the propaganda element ‘encouraging patriotism’. Source A, is an extract from a novel, Covenant with Death, by John Harris, published in 1961. Despite the fact, this extract is set in August 1914, source A was produced after 47 years later in 1961. It tells us how men joined the army through cinema. Instead of watching a movie, a girl had appeared on stage and sang a patriotic song; eventually everyone start singing along with her and then they sang the National Anthem, everyone was carried away by their emotions. Also it tells us that a man’s back ‘seemed straighter’ and felt ‘six inches taller’ while singing the National Anthem. This shows his love of his country and is now prepared to do anything for it. This encouraged patriotism as the girl encouraged many men to join the army to defend their country. Source A, is reliable as it was produced 47 years ago, after the event, therefore it will be well-researched, as well as that it is very factual, I know this because Battle of Mons happened in August 1914. On the other hand, it is also unreliable because it is a novel, and novels are fiction which means it may not contain the whole truth. It is also an imaginative peace of work therefore it could be exaggerated as well. The purpose of this source was to show to the British public, how the government recruited men to join the army. From my own knowledge, I know that cinema’s was one method of recruiting men to join the army. It highlights how encouraging patriotism was an important aim because it shows how men joined the army by singing the National Anthem and they reliased how much love they have for their country and to how it made people willing to fight for it.

Source B also backs up this point as well. It is a local newspaper known as The Bath Chronicle from 6th March 1915. The headline reads: ‘For King and Country; Brave Bath Lads who have answered the call’, this makes young men feel obliged to fight for their country. This is about five bothers and their brother in laws who all were in the British army and fought in the war. This tells us that they are patriotic as they fought the war, defending their country. Source B is a primary source and was produced during the time in 1915; therefore it tells us how people felt about the war and what their beliefs are. Also, as it is a primary source, it is reliable because it is a truthful source as it has been taken from the event and is not edited. However, this source is also unreliable as it is bias because the local government wants to show one side to the war, so they censored everything to make sure its only good news that they gave. The purpose of this source was to show to the people living in Bath, the bravery of the family who fought the war, even when they know that it’s risky because they may never see their family again. The government encouraged patriotism, so that they do the same. As part of my own knowledge, I know that people are unconvinced to fight the war for their country as many have been injured and have died during the war and are also frightened as they may never see their loved one’s again.

In the early 1918’s, the key aim of wartime propaganda was to make British people feel morally superior. Source E is a British newspaper report by Phillips Gibbs on 10th July 1916, during the Battle of Somme. The newspaper is known as the Daily Chronicle. Phillips Gibbs interviewed men who took place in the Battle of Somme. It shows how men are dieing in the Battle of Somme, also shows how German’s are acting cowardly during the war; whereas British men are acting in a moral way. The evidence for is the quote “many Germans who had been flinging bombs lifted up their hands and cried out “Mercy!” to those they had just been trying to blow to bits”. This shows that the British proved themselves to be morally superior than Germans as they made them out as ‘cowardly’. This source is reliable as it’s produced during the time in 1916; therefore it’s first hand experience and because Philip Gibbs interviewed soldiers from the battle of Somme. On the other hand, it is also unreliable as it is bias, because a British newspaper, journalists illustrates British soldiers as moral and forgiving. It also could be exaggerated by the author through censorship to reassure British soldiers. The purpose of source E is to get British government’s point of view across and to promote the feelings of moral superiority in Britain and amongst people. As part of my own knowledge, I know that the newspapers and the journalists supported Britain and the government as they used censorship from the government’s power and made British soldiers more superior than the German’s.

Source G also backs up this point because this source also makes people believe that British people are morally superior than Germans. It is a First World War song that was popular in Britain in 1916 for the Home front. It was a song about keeping your spirits up, motivating people, especially the women, to get them through the war without their loved ones. It is reliable because it was produced during the time; therefore it’s a primary source as a result it captures the feelings of a woman at the time of the war. It also tells us how women coped during the war, as well as that how the government organized propaganda on the home front. On the other hand, it also could be an unreliable source, the reason for this, is because the song does not tell us about all the other hardships of wartime at the home front for women. Therefore this source does not tell us the whole truth. Another reason why it doesn’t contain the whole truth is because it shows that women are “betrayed” by their men. It is mainly for British women and extended female family members, to require support from them on the home front. The purpose for this source is to indirectly control men in the army through this song and lift people’s sprit’s up without their loved ones with them. As part of my own knowledge, I know that full horrors of the war had reached Britain, especially for the women whose men were in the war.

The source that suggests Anti-war was the most important aim of wartime Propaganda was source D. Source D is a newspaper of the Independent Labour Party from the Labour Leader. It shows a British Socialists Newspapers view of the war in August 1914. This source shows the socialists view of the war and it also tell us that the war is between Ruling classes such as Diplomats and Military government. This source is reliable because it’s produced during the time therefore it shows anti-war feelings and also there was no censorship because most people supported world war one until DORA was introduced. Therefore, minority groups could still put their points across. However, it could also be unreliable as it is bias; the reason for this is because it only represents a small percentage of the Socialists view in Britain. The purpose of this source is to promote socialism (in and out of Britain), also to put his views across Europe to the workers and the government, as well as that to stop the war and encourage anti-war. As part of my own knowledge, I know that Conscientious objectors – against war on religious grounds (Christians) and also pacifists, who believe that all war is wrong, were for anti-war as they did not prefer to fight.

Another source which backs up this point is source H. Source H is a poster, warning to recruits on a wall in Glasgow about the results of World War One. It depicts the famous recruitment poster by Lord Kitchener with a graffiti message as the warning. Its warns young men that this is a war between the rich and powerful, and once the war is over, the wealth, land and industry will not be shared with the soldiers or the working class. This source is reliable as it is an uncensored source. It was produced in Scotland by Glaswegians as a warning about the results and the outcomes of World War One and how the government will not really repay all the hard work and toil by the soldiers. However, it can also be unreliable because it is bias. The reason for this is because it is an Anti-war propaganda therefore it only reflects the feelings and attitudes of a minority group. The purpose of this source was to stop the war and to gain support from Scottish people, British people and young “potential” recruits thinking of joining the army. As part of my own knowledge, I know that it was produced at the time; therefore it’s a primary source. The reason for this is because Lord Kitchener was in charge of the British army in 1914.

After analyzing the sources, I believe that the most important aim of wartime propaganda consists of all three elements. Hatred of the enemy, encourage patriotism and British being morally superior. Hatred of the enemy was an important aim because it manipulated people on to what the government wanted them to know and do. In order to fight, the governments made them hate the Germans. This made the British public realize who their enemies are. Encourage patriotism was also as important as hatred of the enemy because the government wanted people to defend their country, so they encouraged patriotism to make people realize their love for their country and they could do anything for it. British are morally superior is also important because it made people believe that British are better than Germans and made them feel that their fight was justified. Overall, I believe all three propaganda elements are as important as each other.