Although not all the people were still faithful believers, most of them were under the spell of values deeply rooted in Christian tradition. Consequently, victory was absolutely certain. In all countries, the clergymen – in Germany and Russia even instructed by official Guidelines or Parish Bulletins – claimed that their nation was chosen and supported by God in order to wage a “Holy War” against “His enemies” and the champion of the Antichrist. The war between the Allies and the Central Powers was represented as a struggle between the forces of good and evil, a dualistic approach heavily influenced by Manichean tendencies inherent in Christian belief since St. What were the principal arguments of propaganda? ↑ A fight between good and evil? The Manichean approach ↑ In neutral countries one could only try to delay, impede or (better) destroy unfriendly and inimical information, against the enemy one had to concentrate on evident weaknesses and promise a golden future in case of defection. Therefore, censorship was immediately established in all warfaring countries. However, propaganda only has a chance if divergent sources of information can be suppressed as much as possible. Propaganda’s favourite targets are dissatisfied elements such as underprivileged classes, revolutionary movements, and national minorities. Propaganda against the enemy should demoralize its soldiers, encourage them to desert and stir up its civilians. As far as the neutrals are concerned, propaganda should win them over by encouraging friendly elements and local warmongers or, if this is not possible, at least, keep the neutrals out of the war by supporting non-interventionist or pacifist views. Moreover, it must explain setbacks by blaming scapegoats from strikers to war profiteers, so that the people will not question the war itself or even the social and political system. It has to arouse hatred of the foe, idealize the own war aims, warn of the consequences of defeat, confirm belief in the superiority of the fatherland, and make clear that the final victory will be certain. At home, propaganda must mobilize a nation, maintain its morale and make its soldiers fight until they will - in the words of the British Prime Minister David Lloyd George (1863-1945) - “knock out” the enemy. The tasks of propaganda, in popular language also called “brainwashing”, can be differentiated according to the four principal targets: home front, military front, neutrals, and enemies. The sixth section raises the issue of whether propaganda was successful or not. In the fifth section, selected propaganda targets are studied: the soldiers on both sides of the trenches and the enemy’s minorities. Theatre 1914-1918” and therefore with a few exceptions omitted. Indoctrination through entertainment is outlined in Roger Smither’s “ Film/Cinema” as well as Eva Krivanec’s “ Staging War. Section 4 analyses how propaganda reached its targets, and which logistical problems occurred in its distribution abroad. In Russia at least, religious propaganda demanded “Constantinople and the Bosphorus, the cradle of our faith”. Italy was an exceptional case since it proclaimed a war of conquest and took up the myth of defence only after the defeat at Caporetto. Two principal themes recur throughout the argumentation: first, that victory will be certain and second, that the war is fought in order to defend the fatherland against an unprovoked attack. This author distinguishes between the adversarial type, that is propaganda against the enemies at home and abroad the duty message fusing civic and sacrificial patriotism with the concrescent community the proprietal and supranational branch, evoking the ideologies of the belligerent nations and the aspirational type promising future rewards and benefits. The third section discusses the principal arguments of propaganda in an adaptation of David Monger’s categories of patriotism. It omits the propaganda organisations and the role of the propagandists because they are summarized in Stephen Badsey’s article “ Propaganda: Media in War Politics” and in the regional thematic articles on propaganda. My survey starts with a short summary of the fundamental aims of propaganda. “ The ultimate purpose of this war is propaganda, the destruction of certain beliefs and the creation of others.” (H.G.
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