Summary: Documentary about the use of anti-German propaganda during the First World War and its effects.
Description: The documentary gives examples of the different types of propaganda used 1914-8. There are newspaper cartoons, posters, the cartoon films of Lancelot Speed and official Ministry of Information melodramas. John Huntley talks about the cinema in 1914 and demonstrates one of the large, cumbersome cameras. Cecil King talks of the anti-German methods of the Lords Northcliffe and Rothermere in the popular press. The dangers in this previously untried element of total war are made clear, for instance the violence against harmless German aliens in Britain, and the vast gap between the heroic ideal and the gruesome reality of war at the Front that the "nauseating sentimentality" of much propaganda created. Richard Crossman talks of a working class anti-war counter-culture that grew up in opposition to this. Other purposes of war propaganda are briefly mentioned, like aiding recruitment, encouraging the use of food substitutes, glorifying our allies, etc. By 1918 the German had been transformed into a Devil in the popular image and the heavy demand for revenge at Versailles grew out of this. John Terraine argues the reaction against the excesses of German-hating meant that by the 1930s people did not appreciate the real horrors of the Nazi regime until too late.
Alternative Title:
Colour:Colour
Digitised:
Object_Number:MGH 717
Sound:Sound
Access Conditions:NON-IWM
Featured Period:
Production Date:1972
Production Country: GB
Production Details: Thames Television (Production company)
Morley, Peter (Production individual)
Morley, Peter (Production individual)
Terraine, John Alfred1921-01-152003-12-27 (Production individual)
Isaacs, Jeremy (Production individual)
Slade, Freddie (Production individual)
Taylor, Mike (Production individual)
Raine, Maurice (Production individual)
Reilly, Tommy (Production individual)
De Jong, Florence (Production individual)
Hargreaves, Allan (Production individual)
Mango, Alec (Production individual)
Haste, Cate (Production individual)
Terraine, John Alfred1921-01-152003-12-27 (Production individual)
Terraine, John Alfred1921-01-152003-12-27 (Production cast)
Personalities, Units and Organisations:
Keywords:
Physical Characteristics: Colour format: Colour
Sound format: Sound
Soundtrack language: English
Title language: English
Subtitle language: None
Technical Details: Format: 16mm
Number of items/reels/tapes: 2
Footage: 1935 ft; Running time: 55 mins
