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The Great War Propaganda

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The Great War was not only fought with tanks, U-boats, and trench warfare, but it was fought with propaganda. Propaganda from both sides was used throughout the Great War to help try and shape the opinions of each embattled nation. This ‘total war’ did not only require strategic fighting on the battlefield. It also required innovation and at times even deceptive propaganda. The British, Germans and United States governments specifically, invested many of its resources into propaganda as a way to increase recruitment numbers, build international support, and instill a sense of confidence in what was the Great War. Countries had to not just focus their efforts on getting people from their own country to support them, but also neutral countries,…show more content…
Propaganda worked to sway large populations and even countries on which side they should support. With the power of propaganda being so influential, it can be incredibly dangerous when put into the wrong hands. This was one of the underlying reasons for the United States turned to isolationism immediately following the war. Soon after the war, the widespread use of propaganda was adopted by Vladimir Lenin and Adolf Hitler as they used it to their own advantage to promote communism and Nazism respectively. Adolf Hitler specifically used the British propaganda model to promote Nazism, which played a large part in inciting the Second World War. However, even though many of the ideas and structure of the British Great War propaganda were adopted by Hitler, where he failed to find success were that many of his propaganda tactics were a complete lie and after awhile his actions were unjustifiable no matter how great the propaganda looked. Moreover, ever since the Great War, technology and industrialization has greatly increased and has allowed people to see further into the true depictions of war just as the Battle of Somme originally introduced. However, at the same time, even now in modern times with the internet, the influence and control the government has over the media is still present. Just as the United States felt duped after going to war in the Great…show more content…
War became no longer a battle of men, tanks, and weapons, but also a war of images, movies and words between countries. Propaganda was widespread in how it was used and similarly, where it was used. Of course, there is not a concrete yes or no answer about if propaganda changed the war’s outcome, that is forever unknown. However, what is clear is the profound influence propaganda had during the war. Propaganda during the Great War was created to serve as a boost of morale, increase recruitment, increase involvement on the home front, sway neutral countries, and to expose the enemy. While both sides had their own methods of implementing propaganda, the one resounding similarity was that both sides used deceit, censorship, and loose facts to try and sway the outcome in their favor. In turn, propaganda was extremely influential and effective throughout the Great War and its influence, both good and bad, is still prevalent in the creation of propaganda in the world
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