Thesis on "Propaganda Used by England and Triple Entente"

Thesis 10 pages (2931 words) Sources: 8 Style: Chicago

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Propaganda Used by England and Triple Entente

When the United Kingdom entered the Great War in august 1914, the British government had to organize rapidly toward building a war propaganda machine to act toward two main ends: the recruiting for the army and the encouraging of the population to support the war effort. The British army did not have a compulsory service until 1914 and although it was made of highly trained professionals, it needed a far more advanced recruitment plan in order to be able to sustain a war that rapidly spread at a world wide scale.

The British chancellor David Lloyd George appointed Charles Masterman as the head of the British War Propaganda Bureau (WPB). The British War Propaganda worked on three front lines: propaganda meant to bolster the spirit of the population at home, propaganda that was aimed at counterattacking the German propaganda machine and finally, the propaganda that aimed at motivating the U.S. To enter the war.

The fact that beside being a prominent politician, Charles Masterman was also a well-known and acclaimed writer was not an accident. The propaganda apparatus will be based on two essentially supporting pillars: the creativity of the artists and the publishing institutions.

After having held two conferences with representatives of the literary world and those of the publishing houses and the mass media, Masterman established the quarters of the WPB at wellington House, a block of flats in Buckingham Gate (Sanders 1975, 119).

David George Lloyd was one of the best orators of his time and after Great Britain had entered the war, his speeches were directed to gather the support of the population for the immense efforts their country needed to sustain. Lloyd's first public speech as a high representative of the British government was aimed at explaining the reasons for defending Belgium against the German invaders British people had to understand and, more importantly support with their own efforts.

What could appeal best to the British people than putting their honor and thus that of their country at stake? Lloyd masterful art of using the most important feature of the national character of his fellow countrymen was striking where it hurt most: national pride and personal value: "Why is our honour as a country involved in this war? Because in the first place, we are bound in an honourable obligation to defend the independence, the liberty, the integrity of a small neighbor that has lived peaceably, but she could not have compelled us because she was weak" (Lloyd, cited by Heyman 1997, 176). Two of the best ways to get the British public's attention were used in the introduction of Lloyd's first public speech meant to mobilize the masses to join the war effort with every resource they had in order to help the balance towards the victory of the Entente. The British people were very sensitive when it came to concepts such as: "honor" and, another intelligent strike: the cheering of the weakest party. The psychology that worked in the sport fields when the public would cheer for the weakest player if it was obvious that the party was outweighed by the opponent was also working on the minds of commoners. They were asked to agree with sending their family members to the front lines in order to defend a small country that had been invaded by the much more powerful and larger neighbor, Germany.

The third key element in Lloyd's speech closely followed the two above mentioned: the contrast between the brutality of barbarism and the nobility and sense of fairness of those who considered themselves civilized. Further, Lloyd comes up with a short introduction of how the Germans acted when they wrongfully invaded Belgium. In the name of fairness, he is not attempting to attack the Germans as a nation, but their leader, the representative of pure evil: the Kaiser. This would serve two purposes: the first would be to persuade the British people of their legitimacy in supporting their government in all its efforts to defeat the Germans as soon as possible and restore order and fairness in the world and second, to send a message abroad, on the other side of the Atlantic. The Americans were considering if they were to join the war on the side of the Entente and they had to be motivated by such powerful symbols as that of the Keiser presented by the chancellor.

Lloyd's speech can be used in any textbook today as an example of how well the masses can be manipulated by someone who is able to use the psychological and social information about a nation's features at hand. He is showing generosity in his assessment of the national character of the German nation, but the next paragraph is a well directed attack at the hegemonic aspirations Germany manifested during the last decades. He does not forget to mention one of the most important goals of the German propaganda aimed at its own population for the motivation of the German leadership's willingness to conquer the world: the German superiority in race: "Treaties? They tangled the feet of Germany in her advance. Cut them with the sword. Little nations? They hinder the advance of Germany. Trample them in the mire under the German heel. The Russian Slav? He challenged the supremacy of Germany and Europe. Hurl your legions at him and massacre him. Britain? She is a constant menace to the predominancy of Germany in the world. Wrest the trident out of her hands. Ah! more than that. The new philosophy of Germany is to destroy Christianity"(Lloyd, cited by Heyman 1997, 176).

The British and the Triple Entente were at the dawn of the propaganda era. The First World War produced the mass manipulation techniques, instruments and theories that were applied as they appeared and tested almost instantly. By the end of the Great War, there were already well established institution that were functioning on their own, more or less under the supervision and approval of the government.

The materials with propagandistic messages were diverse and could be found practically under any form the written, the spoken word and the art of image could take: leaflets, pamphlets, speeches, newspaper and magazine articles, posters etc. The posters were propagating mobilizing slogans like: "How the Hun Hates," http://www.firstworldwar.com/posters/images/pp_uk_01.jpg

The Hun and the Home" http://www.firstworldwar.com/posters/images/pp_uk_03.jpg

Red Cross or Iron Cross" http://www.firstworldwar.com/posters/images/pp_uk_04.jpg

Men of Britain! Will You Stand This?" http://www.firstworldwar.com/posters/images/pp_uk_39.jpg

The first poster presents some civilians who are followed by guards dressed like the marines, with bayonets in their hands, walking through a crowed that laughs at the civilians who appear to have half of their beards and heads shaved off. The text below the picture explains its meaning: "The Huns captured some of our fishermen in the North Sea and took them to Sennelager. They charged them without a shred of evidence with being "mine layers." They ordered them to be punished without a trial. That punishment consisted in shaving all the hair off one side of the head and face. The Huns then marched their victims through the streets and exposed them to the Jeers of the German populace. British Sailors!Look!Read!andRemember!" (www.firstworldwar.com).Readingthis message it becomes clear that the campaign against the Germans was going beyond what Lloyd said in his first discourse to the public since the beginning of the war. The poster is depicting civilians who are punished without a trial and exposed to the mockery of the German population. The loss of dignity and the public shame are two elements that are obviously destined to turn not only the British soldiers, but also the entire British population against those who were supposed to have broken the war laws and had gone at taking civilians prisoners. It is not hard to image the indignation the British public must have felt when reading this poster.

The second poster is entitled "The Hun and the Home" and it presents two parallel images: England and Belgium. England is represented by a peaceful image of a village and below this picture, it reads: "OUR Homes are secure. OUR Mothers and Wives safe. OUR Children still play and fear no harm" (www.firstworldwar.com).Belgiumis represented by ruins and two people who are wondering through what appears to have been once an idyllic and peaceful place. The text below this image reads: "THEIR Homes are destroyed. THEIR Women are murdered and worse. THEIR Children are dead or slaves" (idem). And the last message of the whole poster is: "Back up the men who have saved you!" (idem). The idea does not need to be explained here. The incentive for those who are at home and could be crying after their family members fighting in the tranches and the front lines is the image of a possible future without the safety and peace from home. The peace at home is conditioned by the peace in the neighboring countries and the British public receives this message by means of comparison.

Another powerful image is created by the… READ MORE

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