World War I: War-Time Propaganda

"Propaganda is a form of communication that promotes a particular perspective or agenda by using text and images to provoke an emotional response and influence behaviour ... "

"Australian propaganda was designed to maintain public anger about German atrocities and idealise Australian soldiers. Most pieces promoted enlistment in some way or another and the most violent propaganda images surfaced around the time of the conscription debates ... "

"Australian government propaganda was subordinate to state and federal recruiting bodies and thus was mainly tasked with maintaining enthusiasm for recruiting in one of the few countries that sustained voluntary enlistment throughout the war. Wielding strong censorship powers, the government sought to control anti-war propaganda, particularly as voluntary recruiting declined from the middle of 1916 ... "

"One hundred years ago, 112,000 Victorians enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF), 89,000 served overseas and 19,000 would tragically lose their lives. This article takes us back in time through a selection of World War I propaganda materials located in the archive ... "

"After the outbreak of war, Australia responded in many ways. Politically, the country continued on the road to a federal election. The Australian Government introduced economic measures to curb trade with 'enemy' companies. Both imports and exports declined. Socially, the outbreak of war generated many different responses, from initial enthusiasm to an increase in racism towards Australians of German, Austrian and Hungarian descent ... "

"The conscription debate generated an enormous volume of propaganda material. Although the Australian Government promoting the 'Yes' case had more resources at its disposal, the 'No' side created some extremely effective cartoons and leaflets, some of which were extraordinarily influential ... "

"The issue of conscription split the Australian community and created a sense of bitterness and tension. The conscription debates involved two sides arguing their case and trying to persuade people to support one or the other side ..."

"Fifty recruitment and war effort posters held by State Records give us a unique insight into the mind of the South Australian home front during the First World War ... "

"Students work closely with graphic materials and newspaper articles from WWI, analysing how recruitment and conscription paraphernalia and news reports reveal the values and attitudes of people at that time ... "