WW1 Censorship and Propaganda Flashcards
what was immediately cut at the start of the war?
the transatlantic telegraoh cables between the USA and Germany
what was the difference between propaganda use by Germany and Britain at the start of the war?
there was very little investment in propaganda by the British
Germany had a massive, well-funded propaganda system
what was DORA?
Defence of the Realm Act
when was DORA passed?
August 1914
what did DORA lead to?
gave the govt a range of emergency powers to be used to establish a wartime society in Britain
what did DORA take charge of?
- allowed govt to seize any land or buildings for the war effort
- govt could take control of industries vital for the war effort
- introduced censorship in Britain
to what extent did the British govt have control over the press?
almost total control
coverage of the deaths at the Western Front were never broadcasted
instead good news was heavily shown in newspapers
were reporters allowed to travek to France or Belgium to report on the war?
NO
what were examples of propaganda used by Britain in WW1?
adverts
films
newspaper reports
paintings
pamphlets
posters
when was the War Propaganda Bureau set up?
1914
who set up the War Propaganda Bureau?
Charles Masterman
when was the Official Press Bureau set up?
June 1915
what was the Official Press Bureau responsible for?
circulating the news to the press both at home and abroad
as well as censoring cables of war correspondents
when and what was the War Propaganda Bureau replaced by?
the Department of Information
in 1917
who ran the Department of Information?
John Buchan
what was the National War Aims Committee?
worked with the Department of Information to produce propaganda by:
- holding rallies and parades
- producing pamphlets
- making films
what did the Department of Information merge to form into?
Ministry of Information
who was made the Minister of Information?
Lord Beaverbrook
why was Lord Beaverbrook so influential?
he was the owner of The Daily Express, The Sunday Times and the London Evening Standard
which authors were employed by the War Propganda Bureau at the start of the war?
Arthur Conan-Doyle
Rudyard Kipling
H.G. Wells
how many writers were employed by the War Propaganda Bureau in 1914?
25
what propaganda boom did Rudyark Kipling write?
The New Army
what did all writers employed by the War Propganda Bureau promise to do?
to conceal the fact that this was being pushed by the govt
what book did John Buchan write?
The Thirty-Nine Steps
who did the govt propagandists work mainly with?
patriotic volunteer groops
SUCH AS
the British Empire Union
how many artists did the givt employ during WW1?
90
who was Muirhead Bone?
an artists sent to France to take sketches
his work was so popular, Masterman decided to expand the use of art for propaganda
what were the 2 types of art produced by propagandists?
reproduction
exhibition
what was reproduction art?
art intended to be reproduced in newspapers and journals
what was exhibition art?
art intended to be shown in galleries
how was art censored by the British government?
the govt had strict guidelines regarding what the art could show and portray
which voluntary organisation was primarily responsible for producing war films?
the British Tropical Commitee for War Films
how many feature length films were produced between 1915 and 1918?
240
what were examples of patriotic films produced?
Being Prepared
For the Empire
what film produced was extremely controversial?
The Battle of the Somme
in 1916
why was the film ‘The Battle of the Somme’ so controversial?
it depicted very horrifying scenes of battle, which really showed the reality of war
HOWEVER
most people appreciated the realistic depiction if warfare on the front
what was the estimated audience for ‘The Battle of the Somme’?
20 million
what were newspapers banned from publishing?
material which may help the enemy (so troop movements)
any material which might damage morale both at home and abroad
what did the ‘Neutral Press Committee’ do to censor the press?
it appointed 5 war correspondents to report officially with the British Army
these correspondents themselves were incredibly patriotic and would never release morale damaging information
also these correspondents had to have their reports checked over by a censor
how did the Official Press Bureau control the press?
- monitored press reports more closely
- introduced harsher rules on the censorship
how many reports on articles did the Official Press Bureau write?
38,000
what was the general view of the press regarding the war?
the majority were in full support of the war effort
what was the common occurence in newspapers on a daily basis?
reports of British heroism
and
reports of German atrocities
which major newspaper was suspended due to censorship?
The Globe
what had The Globe done to get itself censored?
published articles about the need for conscription
had not been cleared by censors
what were the aims of censorship and propaganda?
to boost morale
to explain the need to fight
to creat hatred of the enemy
to maintain support for the war effort
to damage enemy morale
what was the postal censorship service?
organisation which wrote reports on letters, telegrams and parcels
how many private telegrams were reported upon by the postal censorship service in 1916?
300,000
could soldiers take cameras into war?
NO
if they did and were caught, they would face the firing squad
how many official war photographers were there in WW1?
2
how was the Somme portrayed in the press?
it was played down and instead the little German defeats were exemplified
why were the govt keen to show the reasons for war against Germany?
they hoped to gain moral support did the war
how did British propganda portray the Kaiser?
it depicted him as an international villain who was trying to take Britain’s hold on the world away from her
how did the British protray Germany in propaganda?
as the isolated nation and the nation in the wrong
showe the population that Britain was taking the moral high ground
which books were published to show the reasons for Britain’s involvement in the war?
Why We Are At War
The War That Will End The War
what were examples of propganda used to creat anti-German feeling?
- death of British civillians
- Report on the Alleged German Outrages
- sinking of RMS Lusitania
how many British civillians were killed in WW1?
1500
how many were killed in a bombing of Scarborough?
119
how was the bombing of Scarborough portrayed in the news?
was the main news story and showed how Germans were killing civillians = bad people = hate them
what was the ‘Report on the Alleged German Outrages’?
an example of BLACK PROPAGANDA
shared ‘eye-witness accounts’ of supposed German atrocities at the Front
example of story from the ‘Report on the Alleged German Outrages’
the Germans would often rape nuns
however, like most stories in the report, there was very little who could support these accusations
when was the RMS Lusitania sunk?
1915
why was the sinking of the RMS Lusitania used extensively by British propaganda?
showed how Germany’s use of USW was leading to the loss of civillian lives = german hatred
tried to entice the USA to join the war
how did Germans living in Britain suffer?
they were attacked
men between 17-45 who were German were imprisoned
what were examples of name changes due to anti-German sentiment?
German Shepard to Alsatians
Saxe-Conurg-Gotha to Windsor
how was propaganda used to boost the war effort?
encouraged men to join the army and navy
encouraged men and women to work in factories and farms
encouraged the British public to buy war bonds
example of famous propaganda posters
Your Country Needs You
- Kitchener
did propaganda really improve recruitment?
it did prevent numbers from falling too low
BUT
conscription was introduced regardless in 1916
was propaganda successful in getting America to join the war?
YES
propaganda had shown the war in Europe as almost won, thus the Americans felt it was allright to take part in it
this was far from the case…only until November 1918 was the war any close to being in the favour of the allies
it also showe the Germans to be the villain in Europe and thus showed them as the enemy of the world
many Americans bought into this story and anti-German sentiment also grew in the USA
how was propaganda used to damage enemy morale?
- leaflets and pamphlets were dropped from the sky on German land
- using addresses from captured German postal records, British propaganda was posted to people in Austria and Germany
