Propaganda does not deceive people; it merely helps them to deceive themselves. |
Little is known about the very beginnings of Britain’s propaganda machine however is it vastly believed that prior to the breakout of the war, the British nation had no proper propaganda strategy, it has however since been regarded as “an impressive exercise in improvisation” by authors Sanders and Taylor. The British propaganda efforts eventually did exceed Germany’s attempts with their artistic flourish, as while the German nation surpassed them in quantity, no one could deny the quality of Britain’s attempts. With such a rich literary tradition in place, a major aspect of British propaganda contribution was the factor of using the right phrases in order to persuade and convey precise meaning to the audiences. They often used newspapers and visual media to produce the desired effect of the masterpieces, which were extremely successful among households across the nation. The effect of these successes was of course, increased recruitment. At the humble beginnings of the war, Britain had a small army compared to Germany, which meant that they needed a much larger number of troops in a very small time frame. This was not a problem initially for Britain, however as the war continued on over time, and more casualties increased then recruitment became rather difficult and this was the precise timeframe when propaganda began to play such a major role in the British context. Pamphlets and posters had aimed to bring guilt into the hearts of those who did not volunteer for service to their country, as national honour was a very large contributor in the production of propaganda for Britain. From the very beginning of propaganda use for Britain, the demonization of Germany was crucial for the proper persuasion of the civilians, and while Germany too used this tactic against Britain, the effect was no where near as lasting.
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