War Propaganda in WWI and WWII essays

War Propaganda in WWI and WWII essays During the First World War, people started realizing that campaigns and techniques of mass persuasion were working their way around the world. It was not the first instance of the use of propaganda, but it was the period in which it was relied upon heavily to manipulate the masses. In light of this excessive use, it was immediately labeled as an evil to orchestrate people to a certain way of thinking because it was slanted toward a particular position. The term "propaganda" originated with the Roman Catholic Church and its efforts to propagate its faith. The creation of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith was partly a response to the Protestant Reformation. It set up centralized control and coordination of the Church's basic religious messages. Its persuasive techniques are regularly applied by politicians, advertisers, journalists, radio personalities, and others who are interested in influencing human behavior. It entered into popular usage referring to a deceitful communication, and it was consequently used to refer to many communications of totalitarian regimes, such as the fascists, the Marxists, and the Nazis. Also known as the "Big Lie," this technique was popularized by Josef Goebbels, the Nazi minister of propaganda, who said that "People would believe anything, no matter how false, as long as it was repeated consistently and confidently." To fully understand Hitler in 1933, one must realize that ever since the Balkan Wars, great nationalism was promoted in Europe. Perhaps this was the first step toward propaganda. There were incredible debates over social tensions rising and new domestic policies which induced nationalism, a crucial point leading to the Great War. People were greatly impressed by their own nations' strength and were careless of the risks of wars and social revolutions. As the war progressed in 1914, by August, the people thought that their soldiers would be home for Christmas and this was...