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THE FIRST WORLD WAR: A DOCUMENTARY RECORD
Series One: European War 1914-1919, the War Reserve Collection
from Cambridge University Library

Part 3: Allied Propaganda of the First World War

The First World War: A Documentary Record is a major microfilm series which is making available for the first time the riches of the Cambridge War Reserve Collection. This collection is acknowledged to be one of the finest sources of documentation concerning the First World War in the world, with much unique, rare and ephemeral material. Professor Jay Winter, Department of History, Yale University is the Consultant Editor for the microfilm edition. The emphasis is on the inclusion of materials unlikely to be held in most libraries.

Parts 3 and 4 concentrate on one of the great strengths of the War Reserve Collection - its holdings of Allied and German propaganda. Part 3 offers Allied Propaganda, Part 4 German Propaganda.

The Propaganda War was a war within a war and, more than any other aspect of the conflict, it reveals the international dimensions of the conflict. Whilst the war on the ground took place mainly in Europe and the Middle East, the war of words was truly intercontinental - affecting North and South America, the Far East, North Africa, the Middle East, Australasia and Scandinavia. For, in addition to attempts to raise the morale of friendly troops, and to depress the morale of the enemy, propaganda campaigns were also fought to encourage neutrals to enter the war, or to persuade them to stay neutral; to encourage international condemnation for the acts of one’s opponent, and to generate approval for one’s own acts; and to destabilise sources of support for the enemy, whilst solidifying one’s own.

The range of places of publication for the items included makes this internationalism abundantly clear. In Part 3 (Allied Propaganda), the chief places of publication are London, Paris, Rome, New York, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Washington DC, Copenhagen and Chicago. But there are also imprints for Petrograd, Cairo, Valencia, Napoli, Bombay, Torino, Ohio, Milan, Peru, Oxford, Zurich, Berne, Rio de Janeiro, Bordeaux, Sydney, York, Birmingham, Geneva, Edinburgh, Uppsala, Limoges, Tokyo, Pennsylvania, Lausanne, Manchester, Algiers, S Paulo, Rabat, Mexico, Wisconsin, Melbourne, Londonderry, Stockholm, Buenos Aires, Constantinople, Cambridge, Caracas, Providence and Quito.

The British centre for propaganda at Wellington House, London was headed by Sir Gilbert Parker. Much of the effort was aimed at the United States before 1917. The great battles of Verdun, the Somme and Passchendaele gave rise to tremendous outpourings on each side trying to justify the stalemate, slaughter and renewed offensives. In this project all types of material are portrayed: appeals to keep up morale; the undermining of enemy civilian and front-line morale and finally the wooing of neutrals. The propaganda produced comes in a variety of forms all of which are well presented in this collection.

Part 3 commences with the series of leaflets dropped by Allied aeroplanes and balloons. War maps - intended to mislead and discourage - are one of the central features of these leaflets, which also feature grotesque caricatures, encouraging words about good treatment in P o W camps for defectors, and digs at authority.

Posters are among the most striking propaganda efforts, and were designed to have an immediate, visceral effect on the reader. WRB 19.46 (Part 3, Reel 1) contains a selection of the most effective posters of the First World War (Allied and Axis).

Cartoons were also intended to have an immediate visual impact and the work of the Dutch-born cartoonist, Louis Raemaekers, became familiar to soldiers and politicians alike. We include a comprehensive edition of his cartoons with supporting descriptions by Hilaire Belloc, John Buchan et al (WRB 19.30, Part 3, Reel 1) as well as a popular cigarette card set (Cards 1-140) from Black Cat cigarettes (WRE 19.303, Part 3, Reel 20).

Cartoons were also a prominent feature of Humorous Journals - of which two examples are included in this microfilm edition. The Cartoon (WRB 106; Part 3, Reel 4) is an allied Humour Journal including large fold-out cartoons as well as humorous articles. Much of the propaganda in journals of this type is subliminal - the reader is carried along with the general whimsy, which is embedded with the values of those producing it, encouraging the development of stereotypical attitudes to 'the Hun' or 'the Britisher'.

Newspapers aimed at sympathetic (often expatriate) residents abroad are also represented. The Bulletin des Français Résident á L’Etranger (WRB 420, Part 3, Reel 4), Nouvelles de France (WRB 421, Part 3, Reel 4), Reality: The World’s Searchlight on Germany (WRB 429, Part 3, Reel 5), and Heraldo Americano (WRB 429, Part 3, Reel 5) are Allied examples of the genre. These titles play on the innate sympathies of the reader - selecting and shaping the news to confirm existing prejudices.

However, by far the most common form of propaganda adopted throughout the war was the pamphlet - offering a concise argument intended to persuade, cajole, mislead, or otherwise transform the beliefs of the reader. Parts 3 and 4 include hundreds of such pamphlets produced by both sides, enabling the intellectual issues of the war to be thoroughly examine, as well as the specific propaganda campaigns, such as that to try to encourage or discourage America to enter the war.

The ad authoritem use of leading politicians and writers as authors of the pamphlets was a common practice. Amongst the authors of Allied Propaganda in Part 3 are to be found the names of Guy Aldred, William Archer, H H Asquith, A J Balfour, John Buchan, G K Chesterton, Winston Churchill, Will Crooks, Arthur Conan Doyle, Emile Durkheim, H A L Fisher, David Lloyd George, Sir Edward Grey, Otto Kahn, Rudyard Kipling, Gilbert Murray, Jan Smuts, Booth Tarkington, A J Toynbee, G M Trevelyan, Mrs Humphrey Ward, H G Wells and Woodrow Wilson.

The issues covered by these pamphlets are many and varied and it may be instructive to look at a number of these.

Who started the war and why war continues are common themes and both sides attempt to gain the moral high ground to underwrite the justness of their cause. Some allied examples, included in Part 3, are:

J H Beck and C W Eliot’s America’s View of Germany’s Case (WRC 35a.301, Part 3, Reel 5)
Sir E Cook’s How Britain Strove for Peace (WRC 35a.370, Part 3, Reel 7)
H H Asquith’s Why we are at War (WRC 35a.396, Part 3, Reel 7)
David Lloyd George’s Für die Demokratie und den Weltfrieden. (WRC 35a.505, Part 3, Reel 10)
P Sabatier’s The Ideals of France (WRD 35a.423, Part 3, Reel 19)

The violation of Belgian neutrality is another particular theme within this overall category and is dealt with in Part 3 by pamphlets such as:

La violation de la neutralité belge (WRC 35a.404, Part 3, Reel 7)
J M Beck’s El caso de Belgica (WRC 35a.440, Part 3, Reel 8)
W J Pincombe’s Britain and gallant Belgium (WRC 35a.527, Part 3, Reel 10)
Lettre de l’épiscopat belge au cardinaux… d’Allemagne… (WRD 35a.440, Part 3, Reel 19)

The conduct of war and, in particular, the drawing of attention to alleged atrocities and acts of vandalism is another element of the moral argument. Some interesting examples featured in Part 3 are:

Charles D Davison’s The Lusitania murders and the responsibilities of Presidents (WRC 35a.361, Part 3, Reel 7)
C A McCundy’s Guilty (WRC 35a.417, Part 3, Reel 8)
J Bedier’s Les crimes allemandes (WRC 35a.510, Part 3, Reel 10)
A J Toynbee’s The destruction of Poland (WRC 35a.584, Part 3, Reel 12)
A Michel’s The martyred towns: Reims, Soissons… (WRD 35a.387, Part 3, Reel 18)

Both sides were also anxious to achieve not just moral, but also formal religious support for their cause. The religious dimension of the war is revealed in numerous pamphlets evoking the support of the major religions, often claiming that the other side has systematically suppressed that creed. For instance:

German attempts to suppress Islam in East Africa (WRB 35a.321, Part 3, Reel 1)
Sir Frederick Pollock’s The Fight for Right Movement (WRC 35a.339, Part 3, Reel 7)
L Wolf’s Jewish ideals and the War (WRC 35a.426, Part 3, Reel 8)
J Cohen’s The German Attack on Hebrew schools in Palestine (WRC 35a.553, Part 3, Reel 11)
Lieut El Hadj Abdallah’s L’Islam dans l’armée française (WRD 35a.421, Part 3, Reel 19)

It is a small step from appeals for support on account of religious conviction to appeals for support on account of race. Examples illustrating this include:

G W Lewis’s The black slaves of Prussia (WRC 35a.600, Part 3, Reel 12)
Alemania y la cultura latina (WRD 35a.308, Part 3, Reel 16)
A M Hyamson’s Grossbritannien und die Juden (WRD 35a.357, Part 3, Reel 17)

The attempt to win the support of Islamic states is also picked up in a number of Arabic pamphlets such as those to be found at WRC 35a.602-605 (Part 3, Reel 12). Another interesting title is Propaganda in Palestine (WRD 35a.453, Part 3, Reel 19).

The colonial dimension of the war is the focus for numerous propaganda pamphlets. Allied propaganda hinted at German imperialist aims, especially in South America and South East Asia. German propaganda may have inflicted long-term wounds on British and French colonial rule as it continually attempted to drive a wedge between, for instance, England and India. Needless to say, both sides also produced their own propaganda aimed at stabilising colonial relationships and rekindling loyalty. In Part 3 these issues can be explored in pamphlets such as:

R de la Cara’s Venezuela ante el conflicto Europeo (WRC 35a.336, Part 5, Reel 6)
Les Ambitions allemandes sur l’Amérique du Sud (WRC 35a.470, Part 3, Reel 9)
Jan Smuts’s The British Commonwealth of Nations (WRC 35a.534, Part 3, Reel 10)
B Basu’s Why India is heart and soul with Great Britain (WRC 35a.537, Part 3, Reel 10)
Some Australian Common Sense Views (WRD 35a.393, Part 3, Reel 18)
G Puaux’s The German Colonies (WRD 35a.505, Part 3, Reel 19)

Attempts are also made in German propaganda to turn Egypt against British protectorate control (for example, M Fahmy’s La question d’Egypt [WRC 35b.508, Part 4, Reel 15]); and to exploit Irish demands for Home Rule (Sir Roger Casement wrote much in this vein as well as general pieces such as The crime against Europe [WRC 35b.356, Part 4, Reel 10]).

The socialist dimension of the war is illustrated in a number of pamphlets encouraging workers to contribute to the war effort rather than withdrawing their labour or revolting in sympathy with their Russian counterparts. Noteworthy examples are:

Guy Aldred’s The possibility and philosophy of anarchist communism (WRD 35a.416, Part 3, Reel 19)
Will Crook’s The British workman defends his home (WRD 35a.514, Part 3, Reel 20)
W S Sandars’s Pan-German Socialism (WRD 35a.520, Part 3, Reel 20)
Shall we go on? A socialist answer (WRE 35a.307, Part 3, Reel 20)

The Russian Revolution is dealt with in depth in Part 8.

The role of women in the war - particularly their part in war work - is also dealt with in Part 3. For instance:

L W Bates’s Woman’s duty to preparedness (WRC 35a.468, Part 3, Reel 9);
Les Soeurs L’Angleterre, La France (WRC 35a.535, Part 3, Reel 10);
F Masson’s Les Femmes et la Guerre de 1914 (WRD 35a.374, Part 3, Reel 17)

The extreme importance attached to the possibility of the United States of America entering the conflict is reflected in the abundance of pamphlets issued by both sides arguing the case for American intervention/non-intervention. Allied pamphlets in this area include:

J H Beck and C W Eliot’s America’s views of Germany’s case (WRC 35a.301, Part 3, Reel 5)
E Marshall’s The United States as a World Power (WRC 35a.366, Part 3, Reel 7)
E Marshall’s The United States of Europe (WRC 35a.400, Part 3, Reel 7)
G L Beer’s America’s part among nations (WRC 35a.450, Part 3, Reel 8)
H Lichtenberger’s L’opinion américaine et la Guerre (WRD 35a.377, Part 3, Reel 18)

Allied pamphlets also attempted to exploit the sinking of the Lusitania in, for example, Charles Davison’s The Lusitania murder and the responsibilites of President’s (WRC 35a.361, Part 3, Reel 7).

After American entry on 6 April 1917, Woodrow Wilson and other U S politicians and authors, contributed their own talents and influence to the propaganda war, and many examples are featured in Part 3. For instance the War Information Series (WRC 35a.323-331a, Part 3, Reel 6); The University of Chicago War Papers (WRC 35a.588-595, Part 3, Reel 12); and individual examples such as J G Schuman’s Why America is in the War (WRE 35a.303, Part 3, Reel 20) and C G Lang’s Hands across the Atlantic (WRE 35a.323, Part 3, Reel 20).

Attempts to persuade other nations to enter/continue/exit the war are also well represented in Part 3:

The question of the Pacific (WRC 35a.315, Part 3, Reel 6)
Sir D M Wallace’s Our Russian Ally (WRC 35a.334, Part 3, Reel 6)
Sir E Cook’s Britain and Turkey (WRC 35a.376, Part 3, Reel 7)
D A Wilson’s What a German Victory would mean to Burma and China (WRC 35a.429, Part 3, Reel 8)
J W R Scott’s Japan, Great Britain and the World (WRC 35a.549, Part 3, Reel 11)
Las Relaciones historicas de Alemania con España (WRD 35a.340, Part 3, Reel 17)
M Borsa’s Italia e Inghilterra (WRD 35a.354, Part 3, Reel 17)

Winning the peace and the post-war end-game provides the basis for another cluster of pamphlets on both sides. The possibility of a solution to ensure that this was indeed the war to end all wars was sabotaged by the conflicting aims of American, British, French and German negotiators. Examples of this type of literature in Part 3 are:

L F Palavicini’s La democracia victoriosa (WRD 35a.2, Part 3, Reel 13);
Woodrow Wilson’s The conditions of peace (WRD 35a.524, Part 3, Reel 20);
D Mikoff’s Pour le droit et la paix dans les Balkans (WRC 35b.323, Part 4, Reel 8)

Other issues and themes touched upon include:

The War at Sea - both the British blockade and submarine war-fare. For example:

Charles S Davison’s The freedom of the seas (WRC 35a.362, Part 3, Reel 7)
A M Low’s Blockade and Contraband (WRC 35a.547, Part 3, Reel 11)
La campagne sous-marine (WRE 35a.314, Part 3, Reel 20)

Conscription/Enlistment (an appeal for the Northumberland Fusiliers: "The fighting fifth" [WRC 35a.410, Part 3, Reel 7] and A M B Meakin’s Enlistment or Conscription [WRD 35a.334, Part 3, Reel 17]).

Postal Censorship (In many ways the reverse of propaganda - attempting to transmit accurate data by devious routes, rather than transmitting misleading date by obvious routes, see Scrapbook dealing with postal censorship [WRA 46.317, Part 3, Reel 1])

The Role of Journalists in the War (e.g. H M Swetland’s American Journalists in Europe [WRB 46, Part 3, Reel 1] and A Trip through Headline Land [WRC 35b.331, Part 4, Reel 8.])

The Home Front. For example:

J D Syman’s The universities’ part in the war (WRC 35a.461a, Part 3, Reel 9)
Appeal to the Nation for thrift (WRD 35aa.361, Part 3, Reel 19)
Mrs F Boas’s Our village and the war (WRD 35a.455, Part 3, Reel 19)

Also many speeches are also included, such as E Venizelos, Speech to the people delivered Aug 27, 1916 [WRC 35a.428, Part 3, Reel 8]).

Three other series of pamphlets are reproduced in Part 3, including The Anti-German Union (WRC 35a.492-497, Part 3, Reel 10); the extremely well-argued and informative Oxford Pamphlets (WRD 35a.3-21, Part 3, Reels 13-15); and the Message series of Pamphlets (by Kipling, Smuts, Wilson, Asquith, Balfour, Lloyd George and Grey, WRD 35a.522-529, Part 3, Reel 20).

Through the use of Parts 3 & 4 scholars and students will be able to explore the issues and arguments of the war from the perspectives of both sides. They will be able to examine the various uses of propaganda, and the sources included provide an opportunity to re-assess such questions as:

 - Should European countries be blamed collectively for the escalation of the war?
  - How much importance was attached by either side to the entry of America in the First World War?
  - To what extent did the war-time propaganda campaigns have a lasting effect beyond the war?
  - How important was propaganda in shaping the Peace?

Parts 3 and 4 will provide the basis for much fresh research and teaching concerning the role of propaganda in the war.

 



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