Analyzing
World War I
Propaganda
Posters
Objective
 Students
will be able to
understand propaganda and
nationalism in mobilizing the
civilian population in support of
"total war“ by analyzing
propaganda posters.
TOTAL WAR

What is “TOTAL WAR”?

“a war in which every available weapon is used
and the nation's full financial resources are
devoted “

“military conflict in which the contenders are
willing to make any sacrifice in lives and other
resources to obtain a complete victory”
The First World War was
the first global war that
used “Total War”.
People around the world
focused all of their energies on
winning the war.
All aspects of life were related to
the war effort.
Men were encouraged to join the fight.
Factories focused on supplying war materials.
While the men left the factories to fight the war, women were
encouraged to replace them at the work place.
Many women were also
encouraged to join women’s
branches of the military or the
Red Cross.
Propaganda was used to encourage support for the war.
Propaganda – What is it?
 Propaganda
is a persuasive
technique used to spread
information to help or hurt a
cause. Governments use
propaganda to support “total
war” in a country.
Common Objective of Propaganda

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1. Unify the people of a country to
support a war – eliminate any opposition
2. Convince people to save resources like
food, oil, steel – necessary to fight a war
3. Recruit soldiers
4. To persuade people to participate in
home-front organizations to support the
war effort
Tools Used in Propaganda
 Demonization
 Name
Calling
 Patriotic Symbols
 Catchy Slogans
 Appeal to Fear
Demonization


This tool convinces people to
hate the enemy by depicting
them as evil. The enemy may
be portrayed as a scary
creature or the devil himself.
This tool becomes more
powerful when the enemy
can be blamed for committing
atrocities against women and
children.
Name Calling

This tool uses loaded
labels to encourage
hatred of the enemy.
Labels like “Japs”
and “Huns” reinforce
negative stereotypes
and help to
demonize the
enemy.
Patriotic Symbols


This tool is used to promote
nationalism within a
country.
Common symbols or
slogans are used to build
national pride.
Catchy Slogans

This tool involves
using memorable
phrases to encourage
support for the war.
For example,
“Remember the
Alamo!”
Appeal to Fear

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Appeal to Fear builds
support by creating fear
in population.
Disaster will result if
you do not follow a
specific course of
action.
Directions
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Step 1: Describe what you see in the
poster.
Step 2: Check off the propaganda tools
used in the poster.
Step 3: Describe the goal(s) of the poster
related to “total war”
Let’s complete one together…
Example

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Step 1: Describe what
you see in the poster.
Step 2: Check off the
propaganda tools used
in the poster.
Step 3: Describe the
goal(s) of the poster
related to “total war”
This is a U.S. poster of a soldier
returning from service in World War I.
#1
The poster is designed to evoke feelings
of patriotism and devotion to family
among potential recruits. The soldier’s
uniform and his loving family reinforce
the poster’s caption, “For Home and
Country.”
The enemy helmet hanging from the
soldier’s neck symbolizes his success in
service to his country.
Propaganda Tools:
- Patriotic Symbols
- Catchy Slogans
The objectives of the poster are to
recruit soldiers, eliminate dissent, and
unify the country behind the war effort.
This is a U.S. poster showing an
enraged man ripping off his jacket.
#2
The source of the man’s anger is
revealed in the newspaper at his feet,
which describes atrocities committed by
the Huns. Because of a comparison that
a German Kaiser once made between
the Germans and the Huns, a fearsome
nomadic group from Asia, during World
War I the term Huns was often used to
refer to the Germans.
The implication of the poster is that the
man is responding to such outrages by
choosing to give up civilian life to
become a marine.
Propaganda Tools:
- Demonization
- Patriotic Symbols
- Name Calling
The objectives of the poster are to
recruit soldiers.
This is a German poster depicting a fist in
knight’s armor, which evokes Germany’s
past military strength and medieval
history.
#3
The caption of the poster reads, “That is
the way to freedom—the enemy wills it
so! Therefore sign up for war loans!”)
Despite the fact that Germany launched
the offensive that initiated fighting in
World War I, the poster claims that
Germany had no choice but to fight in the
war—that the war was forced on
Germany by its enemies.
Propaganda Tools:
- Patriotic Symbols
- Could be – Catchy Slogans
The objectives of the poster are to raise
funds for the war effort, eliminate
dissent, and unify the country behind
war
This is a a U.S. poster showing a female
gardener and a variety of fruits and
vegetables going “over the top” of a hill.
#4
A U.S. flag flies proudly in the background.
The implication is that the woman and the
produce are assisting in achieving victory
over the enemy.
The poster encourages Americans to plant
what the federal government called “victory
gardens” to grow food for themselves so that
commercial agriculture output could support
World War I soldiers. During the war, the
U.S. Food Administration used posters like
this one to promote victory gardens as well
as food conservation efforts called wheatless
Mondays and Wednesdays, meatless
Tuesdays, and porkless Thursdays.
Propaganda Tools:
- Patriotic Symbols
- Catchy Slogans
- Humor
The objective of the poster is to solicit
support for the conservation of
resources during the war
This is a French poster showing a
rooster—a French national
symbol—on a coin attacking a
fearful German soldier.
#5
The coin is labeled “liberty,
equality, and fraternity,” the slogan
used during the French Revolution
to declare the people’s values.
The caption of the poster reads,
“For France, pour out your gold.
Gold fights for victory.”
Propaganda Tools:
- Patriotic Symbols
- Catchy Slogans
The objective of the poster is
to finance the war effort.
This is a U.S. poster depicting the German Kaiser as a devil.
#6
The Kaiser is sitting on a stack of skulls, with a bloody sword at his feet.
The caption of the poster reads, “Superior to everything”.
Propaganda Tools:
- Demonization
- Appeal to fear
- Catchy Slogans
The objective of the poster is to eliminate dissent and unify the country
This is a German poster showing
Great Britain as an octopus whose
tentacles encircle the globe.
#7
The caption of the poster reads
“Freedom of the seas. England is
the bloodsucker of the world.”
The poster’s message is that Great
Britain is the enemy of freedom in
the world. The list of dates and
locations at the bottom of the
poster shows the places colonized
by the British.
Propaganda Tools:
- Demonization
- Name Calling
The objective of the poster is to
eliminate dissent and unify the
German people behind the war
effort
This is a British poster
showing a German helmet
filled with ferns.
#8
The German helmet—proof of
conquest—was a prized
acquisition among Allied
soldiers.
The presentation of it as a fern
basket glosses over the killing
that would have gone into
acquiring it.
Propaganda Tools:
- Patriotic Symbols
The objective of the poster is to
recruit soldiers
Wrap-Up Discussion
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What were some of the most common
goals used in the propaganda posters?
What were some of the most common
tools used?
Which propaganda poster do you think
was the most persuasive? Why?
To what extent does propaganda appeal
to emotions and not reason?