Why did Australia decide to use war propaganda during WW1?
Australia before the first world war was one of the biggest farming countries in the world, so when the first world war came along, the Australian government had trouble enlisting people into the army. This was when government propaganda came in handy, this propaganda was strongly focused on the war effort, and compared battles to situations tackled during farming.
This poster is an example of those posters that were aimed towards farming communities in Australia during the first world war. Many other forms of posters were aimed at different audiences during this time, like the sportsmen, the hunters, etc...
Some posters like these were used to guilt the reader into joining the army, and made a huge difference on the audience. The Australian government soon rallied together 50,000 men in a short period of time. The Australian army were able to make the attack on Gallipoli occur 2 days earlier than planned.
These posters were some of the best posters at this time, and caused a paradigm shift in many stubborn people who had sworn not to fight in the war.
These posters were some of the best posters at this time, and caused a paradigm shift in many stubborn people who had sworn not to fight in the war.
Propaganda in World War One encouraged men to join the military and adjust their morals and priorities to adapt to the needs of war and satisfy the government.The government mainly advertised on posters but radio and television messages also circulated. The two main types of propaganda were recruitment propaganda and conscription propaganda.
Recruitment Propaganda
Recruitment propaganda was successful as it amplified the original reasons for Australia to participate in WW1; and was strong enough to change the minds of those who didn't want to enlist.
Australian men rushed to enlist in droves but many were turned away because they were not able to meet the rigorous physical standards required at the time. These standards were set to be a certain height, not have any problems with teeth, no issues with limbs, and to have a certain chest size.
Conscription Propaganda
While the recruitment campaigns were successful, it was only
for a limited time; by the end of 1916 support for the war was in serious
decline. This was evident in the figures for 1916 where 124 000 volunteers
enlisted in Australia. The number dropped to 45 000 for 1917. People had
experienced the devastation of loss first hand and no amount of propaganda
could change that. Recruitment campaigns continued with the expectation that
every single eligible man should enlist. Those who had prioritised the war,
however, were already overseas fighting or had lost their lives. Eventually the
numbers lowered and propaganda no longer united people. Putting shame on those
who could not or did not enlist created a division in society.
With volunteer numbers almost run out, there was the
necessity for more drastic recruitment measures to be implemented. These
included the introduction of a six o'clock closing in public bars in 1916 to
ensure that the people of Australia were continuing to be directed towards the
war effort and to ensure those on the home front were maintaining their moral
integrity to win the war. The most controversial measure, however, which is
still debated almost a century on, was that of conscription. Two national
opinion polls were held on whether Australia should introduce compulsory
military service overseas.
Conscription propaganda worked in the same way that
recruitment propaganda had. It utilised techniques of persuasion, fear and
guilt, as well as instilling a sense of patriotism and hatred for the Germans.
Regardless of whether or not the conscription posters were encouraging their
audience to vote 'yes' or 'no' they presented their side as the more moral,
loyal and safe option for society. For example, if the poster wanted people to
vote 'yes' to conscription it would often emphasise the community's fear by
allowing them to believe that if their men were not sent to fight overseas the
Germans would invade Australia. If the propaganda was advocating a 'no' vote,
it often placed emphasis on the notion that men were being sent against their
wishes to meet their death overseas.