How were civilians affected by World War 1?

1. How were civilians affected by World War 1? Aim: To revise key details about the British Home Front during the First World War

2. Total War • What was the Total War? • A war where the countries drafts all the people and collects all resources that they can. • When did this war take place? • Around 1916 • Where did it take place? • Europe • Why did the Total War occur? • The war turned into a Total War because the countries expected the war to be short so they weren’t prepared for long term war, when their supplies ran out, total war was their only option. • What was the significance of the war? • WWI turned into a Total War which affected the home front and government a lot. • It affected women too because with the absence of men they were expected to take over more jobs and help out with the war effort. • They received the rights to new jobs, to vote, and the right to apartments.

3. WWI on the Home Front • WWI was a Total War – required populations on the home front to mobilize their resources completely toward the war effort; civilian population centers also became targets of the war effort – not since the US Civil War & the Napoleonic Wars had the world seen such complete mobilization for war • Mass conscription was carried out by all nations – most European nations had armies of 1-2 million – eventually over 70 million would be drafted worldwide – many women would volunteer services as nurses at home & the front • Entire economies were geared toward war production – led to rationing of all sorts of essentials as raw materials & agricultural products were utilized to feed the war machine – led to increased centralization & gov’t control of economies • WWI saw an increase in restrictions of civil liberties – the press was censored as was speech & mail; due process of law was suspended for those suspected of treason; German books were burned, speaking German was banned & lynchings of German-Brits were interned in Britain and its colonies • Women played an important role in the war effort – taking up jobs as men were sent to the home front – over 35% of the workforce was women in many European nations during the war

4. Government Actions Government Control • Winning new type of war required use of all society’s resources • Total war, governments took stronger control of citizens’ lives • New controls changes nations’ industries, economies • Factories produced military equipment, citizens conserved food, other goods • Sought to control public opinion • Censored newspaper reports about fighting to keep from discouraging public • Created propaganda, information to influence opinions, encourage volunteers • Posters, pamphlets, articles about enemy’s brutal actions War on the Home Front

5. DORA • Newspapers and radio broadcasts were censored • The government could control what people heard about the war • This made sure the public continued to support the war effort by only hearing good things

6. Propaganda • What is this? • These were ideas spread around to influence public opinions or to go against a cause. It is a method that the government used to create enthusiasm for the war also. • When did this occur? • August 1914 • Where did this take place? • In Europe • Who used propaganda? • The European government • What is the significance of using propaganda? • They used it because before the wars it stirred up national hatreds.

7. WW I Propaganda - The Poster War • Propaganda - the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person. • A deliberate attempt to influence individuals by leading one to behave “as though his response were his own decision.” • In war, it’s used as an instrument for maintaining unity, good will and a common purpose: • Maintaining and boosting the morale of soldiers. • Unifying society at home in support of the war effort.

8. WWI was one of the 1st wars in which a massive propaganda campaign was unleashed – usually to gain support for the war and/or demonize the enemy • Germany faced an onslaught of negative propaganda – stemming from their illegal invasion of Belgium (and treatment of civilians) – “savages” “barbarians” and “Huns” were often-used phrases • Propaganda was used to sell war bonds, persuade volunteers/recruits and to demonize the enemy (justify the war effort) • Germany (and Adolf Hitler) would learn the lessons of “winning the propaganda war” at home and utilize it effectively in WWII • The propaganda that “Germany started WWI” would be critical in the post-war agreements & shaping of the post-war world Propaganda & WWI

9. Propaganda was used to stimulate or revive national morale and damage the enemy • Propaganda was used in the church, in classrooms, in the cinema, in music halls, in postcards, in cartoons, in porcelain figures, in jigsaw puzzles, children’s toys, and even in Christmas decorations • Example: Christmas scene that had a trench scene with a tank

10. The following posters are divided into three parts: • Propaganda symbols • The use of the soldier on the battlefront as a universal propaganda image. • The home-front, especially the evolution in the portrayal of women.

11. Propaganda Symbols • Identify and vilify the enemy. • Glorify the Allies • Portrayal of Women as Victims.

12. Britain 1917 Artist: David Wilson

13. USA 1917

14. One last effort & we will get them. Artist: Unknown France 1917

15. USA 1918

16. Sottoscrivete al Prestito Subscribe for the Loan Artist: Giovanni Capranesi Italy 1917

17. Canada 1918

18. Liberation Loan France 1918

19. The use of the soldier on the battlefront • Defender of Civilization • Heroes • One who always does his duty despite hardships.

20. They Shall Not Pass France 1918

21. We Will Get Them France 1916

22. Zeichnet 7. Kriegsanleihe - Wiener Kommerzialbank Translation: Subscribe for the 7th War Loan Alfred Offner 1917 - Germany

23. Canada 1917

24. Offering the Army and Navy Germany 1916

25. For The Supreme Effort France 1915

26. USA 1917

27. THE HOME-FRONT • Evolution in the portrayal of women. • Shifted from one of women as victims to a more positive image: • As care givers. • Factory workers in jobs formerly held by men.

28. USA 1918

29. USA 1918

30. USA 1918

31. The Frenchwoman in War-Time. Artist: G. Capon - France 1917

32. Censorship • British journalists were expelled from France in August 1914 • Official Press Bureau allowed only six war correspondents • Persuaded writers, artists, and intellectuals to publish materials in support of the war: Rudyard Kipling, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Thomas Hardy, and HG Wells

33. Propaganda and Censorship • News was tightly controlled-censorship • Reports aimed to: • Maintain morale • Encourage civilians to support the war effort • Create hatred and suspicion of the enemy • Newspapers, radio broadcasts, films and even board games were used

34. The Home Front and Censorship • Censorship • Not told about high death toll • Romanticized the battlefields “soldiers have died a beautiful death, in noble battle, we shall rediscover poetry…epic and chivalrous”

35. Censorship • Censorship “Newspapers described troops as itching to go over the top.” “Government reported to the press that life in the trenches promoted good health and clear air”

36. Propaganda and Censorship • The film, The Battle of the Somme, was filmed in 1916 • The Battle was a disaster for the British Army • Failed objectives • Enormous causalities • What can the film tell an historian about the use of propaganda in WW1?

37. BATTLE OF THE SOMME MOVIE • For the first time the home front in Britain was exposed to the horrors of modern war with the release of the propaganda film, The Battle of the Somme which used actual footage from the first days of the battle. • The film spanned five reels and lasted 63 minutes . • It was first screened on 10 August, 1916, while the battle was still raging. • On 21 August the film began showing simultaneously in 34 London cinemas.

38. Battle of the Somme Video Clips: http://www.encyclomedia.com/video-battle_of_the_somme.html#moretext

39. Battle of the Somme Film • Created by Malins and McDowell- who were sent to the British Fourth Army to do some general filming. • Ended up turning into a documentary of the Somme offensive. • On July 1, Malins filmed the famous scene of the explosion of a large British mine under the German Hawthorn Redoubt.

40. Battle of the Somme Film • The film caused awareness- most notably from some faked scenes of men falling dead and wounded. • Led to the establishment of the War Office Cinema Committee in November 1916. • Eventually war films were replaced with newsreels.

41. SOMME MOVIE CONT… • The film was screened for British soldiers at rest in France where it provided new recruits with some idea of what they were about to face. • Soldier's main complaint was failure of film to capture sounds of battle. However, as a silent film, the titles could be remarkably forthright, describing images of injury and death. • The film was shown to British public as a morale booster and was favorably received. • British public's response to film was enormous with an estimated 20 million tickets being sold in two months. On this basis, The Battle of the Somme remains one of the most successful British films ever.

42. Effects of the Battle of the Somme • The film, The Battle of the Somme, is seen by historians as a propaganda triumph • People at home felt they could see how their efforts were helping the troops • Although it showed some casualties, it also showed advancing troops, helping morale

43. Propaganda and Censorship • The film, Britain’s Effort, was created in 1917 • What was its purpose?

44. Propaganda and Censorship • It is hard to measure how effective propaganda was • BUT • Support for the war was reasonably constant • Only really changed with the enormous causalities at the Battle of the Somme in 1916 • People read lots of newspapers, and watched the films, so they were being exposed to it

45. Effects of Propaganda • The Parliamentary Recruiting Committee (PRC) eventually printed almost 6 million posters and over 14 million leaflets at a total cost of £24,000. • For every PRC leaflet produced in 1914-1915, at least ten had been produced by the three main political parties during the 1910 election campaigns. • Propaganda was certainly not the most significant factor in Germany’s defeat.

46. The Brown Family’s Four War Christmas • What is happening in each frame? • Explain why these things are happening, based on what you know about life on the Home Front

49. Womenand theWarEffort

50. Key points Before the war, the most common employment for a woman was as a domestic servant. However, women were also employed in what were seen to be suitable occupations e.g. teaching, nursing, office work.