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IN BRITAIN AND GERMANY – WORLD WAR 1
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Britain
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In August 1914 Britain had a
modestly sized professional
army of twenty divisions. It was
assumed that voluntary signing
up would ensure an enlistment
rate of 100,000 per month.
Recruitment committees were
drawn up and had little problem
attracting men
By mid November 1914
700,000 men had volunteered.
By January 1915 1.34 million
men had joined the army
Germany
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Conscription had been an
accepted part of the German
way of life for decades. In 1914
Germany had 94 divisions and
millions of reservists
On 31 July 1914 martial law was
declared in Germany. 24 army
districts headed by generals
were created. Later the
government increased its control
over the population with the
Auxiliary Services Law of 1916
Britain
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In the early months there was
great competition to enter the
ranks. The army set high
physical standards so that entry
implied elitism.
By mid 1915 enlistment had
declined to 22,000 per week.
Tough physical standards were
gradually removed. In July 1915
height requirement fell from 168
cm. to 157 cm. and the age
bracket was widened from 1930 years to 19-40 years.
Germany
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Enormous enthusiasm
surrounded enlistment early in
the war. The motivating factors
of a search for adventure,
excitement, patriotic duty, peer
pressure and a desire to
impress women operated
similarly in Britain and Germany.
Young German soldiers also
believed the war would be ‘over
by Christmas’ and troop trains
left stations with signs saying ‘to
Paris’ or ‘to London’ on them
Britain
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As enlistment numbers fell,
recruitment campaigns became
more radical. Propaganda
posters aimed at women were
produced. Posters that
attempted to shame me into
enlisting were also produced.
Sports clubs and professional
football associations were used
to promote recruitment. By
1914 professional football had
become the major working class
weekend entertainment
Germany
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The pro-war response was due
to the tight hold over the press.
Newspapers were not allowed to
openly discuss reasons for war
so there were few dissenters.
Like their British counterparts,
the average German had little
understanding of war. They had
been fed romantic notions of
service and chivalry for years –
there was little understanding of
the horrors of modern war
Recruitment Campaign
Recruitment
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It became clear that the voluntary system was failing by 1915
Lord Derby became Director of Recruitment. In 1915 he introduced the
Derby Scheme aimed at boosting numbers. He used the new national
register to enlist all men aged between 18 and 41. Men would be
called up starting with single men. Some men in reserved occupations
(munitions, coalmining, railways and some farming jobs) were exempt.
This scheme was a failure and closed by December 1915.
In May 1916 the Second Military Service Act saw the introduction of
conscription where all men were liable for service. Herbert Asquith
masterminded conscription and was opposed as being anti-liberal and
anti the freedom of the individual. Eventually however, only one of
Asquith’s colleagues, Sir John Simon resigned over this issue
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About 16,000 men registered as Conscientious Objectors during the
war.
Reasons included:
- Strong religious belief
- Moral revulsion to the taking of human life
The British public regarded these men as ‘conchies’ – slackers and
cowards to deserved to be treated severely. They were dealt with by
local tribunals – there was great inconsistency in the manner in which
they were dealt.
Most conchies were granted some exemption but if their claim was
turned down and they failed to report to duty, they were court martialled
and imprisoned. In prison they were badly treated and had no rights to
legal representation.
Cartoon showing attitudes
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Britain
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Early propaganda was to
encourage patriotism and
concentrated on German
responsibility for the war, the
plight of poor Belgium and
German atrocities.
From 1916 the tone of
propaganda changed to a
message of the need to
maintain national sacrifice and
unity on the home front
Germany
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German propaganda echoed the
British but did not need to
promote recruitment so early on
it was confined to anti-British
material
The speaking of English was
banned and any English names
(eg. the Hotel Westminster in
Berlin) were changed. An
expected greeting between
Germans was “Gott strafe
England”, meaning “God punish
England.”
Cartoon “Bravo Belgium”
published in Punch Magazine
in England August 1914
German Poster: “It’s their
fault”
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Propaganda needs to be simple to appeal to a low
intellectual level. The rules were basic:
- Propaganda uses stereotypes
- Proper names should not be used
- Propagandists are selective in their use of material
- Propaganda frequently lies
- Effective propaganda is repetitive
- Propaganda makes strong assertions
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Initially propaganda was under the control of the Secret War Propaganda Bureau
This was passed on to the Department of Information from February 1917 to
February 1918
From February 1918 to the end of the war it was the job of the Ministry of
Information created by Lloyd George. This ministry was headed by newspaper
tycoons.
Newspapers were important in the pre-radio and pre-television age. Cartoons in
particular were very powerful. Caricature became the means by which Germans
were demonised
Photographs were also used. Shots were rigged to present a positive view of the
front line.
The language of newspapers changed to inspire readers. Friends became
‘comrades’, the enemy was the ‘foe’ and men in danger became ‘men in peril’
Movie theatres depicted documentary footage of brave soldiers in training and
Church sermons contributed to the idea that God was on the side of the allies.
Cartoon
It was necessary for Germany to adopt a defensive position so that the
invasion of Belgium and France was defended as necessary for upholding
the Schlieffen Plan and for preventing encirclement.
 German soldiers were presented as heroes, defending the Fatherland
 German propaganda was not as effective as British because they had no
ministry of propaganda but they made up for this by using censorship:
- information from the front was tightly controlled
- Any discussion of peace moves in the press were banned
 The German press was generally pro-war. It indulged in anti-British atrocity
stories such as:
-British soldiers being accused of using dumdum bullets that enters
the skill and explodes shattering the skull
- Belgian priests were accused of firing from behind altars when
German troops entered their churches
-Belgian civilians were accused of mutilating the bodies of wounded
German troops
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Differed in tone to British propaganda in that it tended to use elitist
figures and heroic images that conveyed a glorious tradition
It was not as accessible to the average German, but then, this was
unnecessary because of conscription
The defence of German culture was often mixed with racial prejudice so
it was not as effective in influencing international opinion
Old medieval images of German heroism and pictures of the perfect
German Aryan family were used