experiencing total war in ww1 Flashcards
from what at perspective are most recorded experiences from?
representation of experience is often middle-upper class, as they had access to writing and publishing
what were the typical perceived gender roles of ww1?
men should join the army out of duty and to protect the family and women’s role was as the mother and wife
what was the role of class in wartime propaganda?
propaganda often downplayed the role of class in favour of unity and gender roles
what was happening pre-war with gender roles?
women were fighting for the right to vote and extended rights and freedoms
how did wartime propaganda represent the man?
represented as the hero soldier, defending the nation. the man being capable and aggressive
how did propaganda appeal to men?
emphasised responsibility to defend their home and family, appealed to male comradery and masculinity. appealed to men as defender of women.
the inherent masculinity left little room for those who didn’t join the effort
how did propaganda encourage women?
appealed to women to encourage men to enlist, by questioning neglect to the country and neglect to women
how were men who didn’t enlist treated by women?
women often gave men a white feather in public to shame them for not joining, could be seen as women asserting themselves in public
what shaped men’s experience of fighting in war?
trench warfare shaped experience with poor conditions, threat from snipers artillery. attritional violence happened in short bursts in raids on trenches.
what was the mental affect of the conditions of trenches on men?
some men broke down in the face of violence and refused to go over the top. others thrived in war and enjoyed the experienced, many junior officers enjoyed the command
how did the war experience increase male bonding?
since most men had no military experience, recruiting from the same area would create a bond and unit cohesion. intimacy between men was often physical and refined them of times in schools and clubs, slept, cooked and washed together
how did men take on feminine tasks?
the lack of women meant men had to take on tasks of sewing, cooking to create new aspects of masculinity
what was women’s experience in war effort?
nursing was large image of the war as mothering figures. working class women opportunity to work in factories and gave greater economic dependance. however many women died in factory accidents
what was the complex nature in experience of nurses?
the job allowed travel and adventure but also romanticised the role with men
what were some of the new medical challenges posed by the war?
had to overcome new weapons e.g poison gas and shell shock. the new tech of warfare posed a challenge and large scale casualties with new wounds due to large gun capacity and new bullets