How were civilians affected by World War 1? Aim: To revise key details about the British Home Front during the First World War

How were civilians affected by World War 1?Aim: To revise key details about the British Home Front during the First World

War

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Total War• What was the Total War?

– A war where the countries drafts all the people and collects all resources that they can.

• When did this war take place?– Around 1916

• Where did it take place?– Europe

• Why did the Total War occur?– The war turned into a Total War because

the countries expected the war to be short so they weren’t prepared for long term war, when their supplies ran out, total war was their only option.

• What was the significance of the war?– WWI turned into a Total War which affected

the home front and government a lot. – It affected women too because with the

absence of men they were expected to take over more jobs and help out with the war effort.

– They received the rights to new jobs, to vote, and the right to apartments.

WWI on the Home FrontWWI on the Home Front• WWI was a WWI was a Total WarTotal War – required populations on the – required populations on the home fronthome front to to mobilize mobilize their resources completely toward the war effort; their resources completely toward the war effort; civilian population centers also became targets of the war effort – civilian population centers also became targets of the war effort – not since the US Civil War & the Napoleonic Wars had the world not since the US Civil War & the Napoleonic Wars had the world seen such complete mobilization for warseen such complete mobilization for war

• Mass Mass conscriptionconscription was carried out by all nations – most was carried out by all nations – most European nations had armies of 1-2 million – eventually over 70 European nations had armies of 1-2 million – eventually over 70 million would be drafted worldwide – many women would million would be drafted worldwide – many women would volunteer services as nurses at home & the frontvolunteer services as nurses at home & the front

• Entire economies were geared toward war production – led toEntire economies were geared toward war production – led to rationing rationing of all sorts of essentials as raw materials & agricultural of all sorts of essentials as raw materials & agricultural products were utilized to feed the war machine – led to increased products were utilized to feed the war machine – led to increased centralization & gov’t control of economiescentralization & gov’t control of economies

• WWI saw an increase WWI saw an increase in restrictions of civil liberties in restrictions of civil liberties – the press – the press was censored as was speech & mail; due process of law was was censored as was speech & mail; due process of law was suspended for those suspected of treason; German books were suspended for those suspected of treason; German books were burned, speaking German was banned & lynchings of German-Brits burned, speaking German was banned & lynchings of German-Brits were interned in Britain and its colonieswere interned in Britain and its colonies

• Women pWomen played an important role in the war effort – taking up layed an important role in the war effort – taking up jobs as men were sent to the home front – over 35% of the jobs as men were sent to the home front – over 35% of the workforce was women in many European nations during the warworkforce was women in many European nations during the war

• Sought to control public opinion

• Censored newspaper reports about fighting to keep from discouraging public

• Created propaganda, information to influence opinions, encourage volunteers

• Posters, pamphlets, articles about enemy’s brutal actions

Government Control• Winning new type of war required

use of all society’s resources

• Total war, governments took stronger control of citizens’ lives

• New controls changes nations’ industries, economies

• Factories produced military equipment, citizens conserved food, other goods

Government Actions

War on the Home Front

starter activity

This was arguably the most successful recruitment poster of the War. It shows Earl Kitchener, the man responsible for getting men to join the army. It uses a clever visual trick. Can you guess what it is?

Recruitment

• Initial recruitment used posters, leaflets, etc. to build an army quickly

• What is the message of this poster?

• How would this poster encourage men to join the army?

Why did people ‘join up’?

Patriotism• Britain joined the War on 4

August 1914• People encouraged to ‘do

your bit for King & country’• ‘King’s shilling’• Pals brigades (including

villages, football teams, orchestras, old school friends)

• Over by Christmas• By December 1914, 1

million men had enlistedWhat is the artist of who made this

poster trying to say?

Propaganda• Leaflets & posters• Women were told to encourage sons, husbands &

boyfriends to enlist• By January 1916, 2.6 million men had enlisted

What do you think the man in the poster is thinking?

Recruitment




Recruitment• Women’s organisations tried

to boost recruitment• White feathers were given to

men as a sign of their “cowardice”

• The Mother’s Union urged its members to get their sons to join up

Recruitment




Recruitment

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Recruitment of volunteers to the army, 1914-15

19141915

“Recruiting” by E. A. Mackintosh• ‘Lads, you’re wanted, go and help,’• On the railway carriage wall• Stuck the poster, and I thought• Of the hands that penned the call.

• Fat civilians wishing they• ‘Could go out and fight the Hun.’• Can’t you see them thanking God• That they’re over forty-one?

• Girls with feathers, vulgar songs-• Washy verse on England’s need-• God-and don’t we damned well know• How the message ought to read.

“Recruiting” continued• ‘Lads, you’re wanted! Over there,’• Shiver in the morning dew,• More poor devils like yourselves• Waiting to be killed by you.

• Go and help to swell the names• In the casualty lists.• Help to make a column’s stuff• For the blasted journalists.

• Help to keep them nice and safe• From the wicked German foe.• Don’t let him come over here!• Lads, you’re wanted-out you go.’

“Recruiting” continued• There’s a better word than that,• Lads, and can’t you hear it come• From a million men that call• You to share their martyrdom.

• Leave the harlots still to sing• Comic songs about the Hun,• Leave the fat old men to say• Now we’ve got them on the run.

• Better twenty honest years• Than their dull three score and ten.• Lads, you’re wanted. Come and learn• To live and die with honest men.

“Recruiting” continued• You shall learn what men can do• If you will but pay the price,• Learn the gaiety and strength• In the gallant sacrifice.

• Take your risk of life and death,• Underneath the open sky.• Live clean or go out quick-• Lads, you’re wanted. Come and die.

• What aspects of Home Front changes are addressed in this poem?• What is the overall message?

Conscription• Voluntary recruitment was decreasing, but

the demand for troops was increasing• Voluntary recruitment didn’t share the

burden between all parts of society• Conscription introduced in 1916• All men aged 18-40 had to register• They could be called up to fight at any time

Conscription• The British army had consisted of all volunteers.• As hundreds of thousands of men were killed or wounded,

more volunteers were needed.• Due to this the height limit was reduced.• And the upper age limit increased.• But the flow of volunteers was not enough.• In January 1916, the Military Service Act was passed.• It required all unmarried men between 18 and 41, except

those in exempted occupations to serve.• On April 26, 1916, the Act was extended to include married

men between the ages of 18 and 41 as well.

Conscription• Who took practiced conscription during the

time of World War I?– Europe

• When exactly did conscription occur during this time? – Between 1890 and 1914

• What was conscription?– Conscription was a military draft which

made European armies double in size.• Why did countries choose to practice

conscription?– European countries felt the need to become

more powerful because of tensions tightening between them.

• What was the significance of conscription during this time?– Conscription, which is an act of militarism,

cause Military leaders to receive more power and gave countries the means to go to war.

Conscription

• Casualties increased• News returned to Britain of

horrors of trenches• Conscription introduced for

all men between ages of 18 and 41

• Conscientious objectors (conshies) given white feathers

• By 1918 2.5 million extra men had been enlisted

Why did millions of men feel ‘obliged’ to fight in the War?

All now depended on how the Somme was followed up.

Conscription was introduced in 1916.

•Had it been introduced in 1914, which had not been possible, then death and disablement would have been more evenly spread.

•While this does not diminish the unquestionable tragedy the war, the perception of the death toll may well have been less shocking.

•The British nation had never been so involved in a war before,

•never had it suffered as it did 1914-18,

•but it suffered fewer losses than most of the other combatants.

Conscientious Objectors• The Military Service Act that introduced conscription put many who opposed the

war into a position of direct personal conflict with the British Government.• Exemption was allowed on grounds of conscience, and unsympathetic and biased

trials were set up to assess those who claimed conscience as a reason for not fighting.

• David Lloyd George, the British Prime Minister, promised the conscientious objectors a ‘rough time.’

• However, such was the decline in enthusiasm for the war, there were 750,000 claims for conscience exemption.

• Of these tribunals, only 16,500 of the 750,000 were accepted as Conscientious Objectors.

• The great majority of these men accepted some form of alternative service, working in hospitals, factories, mines, etc…

• However, over 1000 refused all forms of war service.• These men were imprisoned, and most were brutally treated, resulting in

physical and mental abuse.• 70 of these men dies in prison.

'The Ideal' - one of many cartoon produced by COs (1917).This and several other were also produced and widelydistributed as postcard

In The Daily Express on July 4, 1916, Lieutenant Colonel Reginald Brooke, Commander of the Military Detention Barracks for the C.O.s

bragged about how he broke them:

• “Some of the early batches, when nothing could be done with them, were taken singly and run across the yard to special rooms---airy enough, but from which they could see nothing. They were fed on bread and water and some of them presently came round. I had them placed in special rooms, nude, but with their full army kit on the floor for them to put on as soon as they were so minded. There were no blankets or substitutes for clothing left in the rooms which were quite bare. Several of the men held out naked for several hours, but they gradually accepted the inevitable. Forty of the conscientious objectors who passed through my hands are now quite willing soldiers.”

Conscription and Conscientious Objectors

• Conscientious objectors opposed the war for political or religious reasons

• They refused to fight, and were imprisoned – or executed – for doing so

• Others helped the war effort, but not through military action– Field hospitals– Stretched bearers

The Conchies•Conscientious objectors were people who simply did not want to fight in World War 1. •Conscientious objectors became known as 'conchies' or C.O's • They were a sign that not everybody was as enthusiastic about the war as the government would have liked.

Over one million soldiers died on the Western Front during World War One but there were some men who refused to go because they believed the war was wrong.

There were several types of conscientious objector.

• Some were pacifists who were against war in general.

• Some were political objectors who did not consider the government of Germany to be their enemy

• Some were religious objectors who believed that war and fighting was against their religion. Groups in this section were the Quakers and Jehovah Witnesses.

• A combination of any of the above groups.

Quakers were prominent in promoting conscientious objection, and were ridiculed in the papers.

• “A Christian To A Quaker”• I much regret that I must frown• Upon your cocoa nibs, (reference to

Cadbury chocolate owned by a Quaker family)

• I simply hate to smite you down• And kick you in the ribs;

• But since you will not think as I,• It’s clear you must be barred,• So in you go (and may you die)• To two years hard.

• We are marching to freedom and to love;• We’re fighting every shape of tyrant sin;• We are out to make it worth• God’s while to love the earth,• And damn it, you won’t join in!

• To drive you mad, as I have done,• Has almost made me sick.• To torture Quakers like a Hun• Has hurt me to the quick.• But since your logic wars with mine• You’re something I must guard,• So in you go, you dirty swine,• To two years hard.

• We are marching to destroy the hosts of hate:

• We’ve taken, every man, a Christian vow;• We are our to make war cease,• That men may live at peace,• And, damme, you’re at it now!

• By Harold Begbie

Some conscientious objectors did not want to fight but were keen to 'do their bit'. These people were willing to help in weapons factories and some went to the trenches to become stretcher bearers etc., though not to fight. Other C.O's refused to do anything that involved the war - these were known as 'absolutists‘.

What did people think of the conchies?

• They were treated as cowards• Traitors• Criminals• White feathers were handed

out to young men who had not joined the army

• They could not get jobs in factories doing war work

What happened to the conchies?• Some did war work• Medical services• Support services• Some refused every kind of alternative service

and went to prison. Ten died and 31 went mad as a result of their experiences

• HAROLD BING'S STORY

There were plenty of protests against war in 1914. Some of the protesters were socialists, who believed that the working men of the world should unite, not obey orders to kill each other.

• Some belonged to religious groups which forbade taking human life. • Some thought this particular war was wrong, some thought all war was wrong. • Thousands of these varied protesters gathered in London's Trafalgar Square on August 2 to

make their anti-war voices heard. • A 16-year old called Harold Bing was there. • He had walked the 11 miles from Croydon (and walked back again afterwards). ‘• It was thrilling,' he said. Harold and his father were both pacifists (his father had opposed the

Boer War as well), and they both joined the No-Conscription Fellowship. • Harold helped to distribute NCF leaflets from house to house; on one occasion he was chased

by a hostile householder wielding a heavy stick.• After conscription was introduced in 1916, Harold, an 'absolutist' CO, went before his

tribunal. • He was not thought to qualify for exemption. • '18? - you're too young to have a conscience,' said the chairman. • But not, apparently, too young to be sent to war. • A policeman came to his home to arrest him, and he was taken to Kingston Barracks.

• A policeman came to his home to arrest him, and he was taken to Kingston Barracks.• When he refused to regard himself as a soldier, or obey military orders, he was court-

martialled. • The sentence: 6 months hard labour. In the end Harold spent nearly 3 years in prison.• Many COs were given what was called the 'cat and mouse' treatment: at the end of their

sentences in civilian prisons, they were released, taken back to barracks, arrested again for disobeying orders, and imprisoned once more.

• The good thing, as Harold observed, was that each time someone was released, they had enough time before re-arrest to get hold of newspapers and information which they could then pass on covertly to fellow inmates. 'I remember there was great excitement when news of the Russian revolution came through. People thought this would make a great difference to the war.'

• Harold made a difference himself. • He helped to get vegetarian food provided (though unappetisingly) by the prison kitchen,

and additional nourishment (a mug of cocoa) supplied for men who worked overtime. • He also made friends with a few of the kinder warders - helping the daughter of one of

them with her maths homework; that particular warder died soon after the war, and Harold and some other ex-prisoners set up a fund to pay for the girl's secondary education.

• Harold was also one of the men who together created a prison magazine: written on thin brown sheets of toilet paper using the blunt end of a needle and the ink supplied for monthly letters home.

• Just the one copy ('different people writing little essays or poems or humorous remarks, sometimes little cartoons or sketches') was passed secretly from one prisoner to another.

• In Harold's prison this unique publication was called 'The Winchester Whisperer'. • The idea was widely copied. • Wandsworth COs, for example, produced their 'Old Lags Hansard', once with an

apology for late publication 'owing to an official raid on our offices', the editor's cell.

• A work camp attached to a stone-breaking quarry published 'The Granite Echo', with copies printed by a supporter in London.

• Harold Bing left prison with his sight damaged by years of stitching mailbags in dim light, but also having taught himself German and French.

• He wanted to teach, but he quickly found that many advertisements for teachers said 'No CO need apply'.

• 'And if you did apply, you got turned down as soon as they knew you were a pacifist.'

• But at last he found a sympathetic headmaster who was willing to employ him. • As well as teaching, Harold worked as a peace campaigner (often travelling

abroad) for the rest of his life. He died in 1975.

AFTER THE WAR• No-one was in a hurry to release the COs - certainly not until the

surviving soldiers were brought back from the front, which took months.

• Some COs went on hunger strike in protest at their continued detention: 130 were forcibly fed through tubes (as suffragettes had been) - so forcibly that many were injured by the treatment and had to be temporarily released.

• Others went on work strikes and were brutally punished for it.• In May 1919 the longest-serving prisoners began to be released; the

last CO left prison in August. • Many found that no-one wanted to employ them. • Those who hadn't done alternative or non-combatant service were

deprived of their votes for five years (though this wasn't always strictly enforced)

Planned Economies• What was planned economies?

– An economy controlled by the government, for example, when European governments decided price of goods, wages of the people, and the rent people had to pay. They Also Rationed food and materials and controlled imports, exports, transportation and industries.

• Where/ Who used planned economies?– Europe

• When did these take place?– During WWI

• Why were these used?– Planned economies were set up as a result of Total War and the high demands of the

war.• What was the significance of planned economies?

– The planned economies that the government set up had a large impact on the civilians at home and caused their support of the war

DORA

• The Defence of the Realm Act• Introduced on August 8, 1914• Gave the government powers to

control many aspects of people’s daily lives

• The priority was to keep industrial production high, but other things were affected too

• One of the first businesses it took over was the railways

DORA• Mines and railways were

taken over by the government

• The government had ultimate control over them

• This meant production of coal, and the movement of trains, would be prioritised for the war effort

Dilute Beer

BritishSummer

TimeControl ofMines andRailways

Rationing

Censorship

LicensingHours

DORA

• Ministry of Munitions created in May 1915

• Ministries of Labour, Shipping, and Food all created in Dec 1916

• In ten years, from 1911 to 1921, the number of government employees doubled due to DORA

DORA• British Summer Time

was introduced• The government

move the clocks forward by an hour in the summer

• This ensured factories had maximum daylight, meaning they could operate later

Impact on Industry Primary Source from Birmingham in 1918

• “Jewelers abandoned their craftmanship and the fashioning of gold and silver ornaments for the production of anti-gas apparatus and other war materials; old-established firms noted for their art productions, turned to the manufacture of an intricate type of hand grenade. Cycle-makers adapted their machines to the manufacture of cartridge clips; and railway carriage companies launched out with artillery wagons, limbers, tanks and aeroplanes, and the chemical works devoted their energies to the production of deadly TNT.”

Unions’ Reactions to DORA• April-May 1917: unofficial strikes broke out• Resulted in the estimated loss of 1.5 million working

days• April-July 1918: Engineering Workers Strike in Leeds

and Birmingham• Government ended the strike with the threat of

conscriptions• Overall, between 1915-1918, there were 3227 strikes

involving 2.6 million workers• Estimated loss of 17.8 million working days

DORA• Licensing hours were

introduced• Pubs could only open for 2

hours at lunchtime and 3 hours in the evening

• This made sure the workforce was awake and sober for factory work

DORA• Beer was diluted• The government allowed

publicans to make beer weaker• This ensured the workforce

didn’t drink so much as to make them drunk or hung-over while at work

Leisure and Pastime Changes• Prohibitions on public clocks chiming in between

sunset and sunrise• No whistling for taxis between 10PM and 7AM• Restaurants and hotel dining rooms had to turn

off lights at 10PM• All places of entertainment had to close at

10:30PM• British Summer Time was introduced in May 1916

DORA• Food was rationed• The government took over

land and used it for farm production

• This ensured there was enough food to feed the public and the army, despite German U-Boat attacks

• During war, average household spend 75% of income on food, fuel, and housing

• Pubs were to close by 10PM• Weakening of the spirits and watering down

beer• “We are fighting the Germans, Austrians, and

Drink, and so far as I can see the greatest of these deadly foes is Drink.” was said by Prime Minister David Lloyd George

• Spectator sports continued until 1915• Football or soccer was targeted• So was hunting and horse-racing• People still went to the beach but now there

was barbed wire along the beaches and some piers were cut in half as precautions against invasion

• American jazz and ragtime became popular• 150 night clubs operated in Central London by

1915 with illegal liquor sold in coffee cups• Soho was very popular• Cinema became very popular---20 million

tickets sold per week• War Exhibitions were created to communicate

public information on health and hygiene• Examples: War Exhibits on Houseflies and

Exhibits on Lice• Church attendance declined

Homefront: Food Administrationa. Assure the supply,

distribution, and conservation of food during the war,

b. Facilitate transportation of food and prevent monopolies and hoarding, and

c. Maintain governmental power over foods by using voluntary agreements and a licensing system.

The “Home Front”• Brings changes in hair length and

fashions• World War I innovations

--Chanel #5--Spam--Deodorant

• Impact on language and culture-- “Dud”-- “Lousy”-- “Rats!”-- “Gas Attack”

Rationing

• In April 1917, German U-Boats were sinking one in every four British merchant ships

• Britain was running out of food

Rationing

• In 1917 voluntary rationing began, led by the royal family

• In 1918 compulsory rationing began– Sugar– Butter– Meat– Beer

• Efforts to control Food Consumption:• Dec 1916: Lunches in public eating places were

restricted to two courses and dinners to three courses

• Fines were introduced for feeding pigeons and stray animals

• Food Control Campaign of 1917:• One Ministry of Food Leaflet introduced the

public to “Mr. Slice o’Bread” proclaiming that 48 million slices of bread were wasted every day

• “I am the ‘bit left over’; the slice eaten absent-mindedly when really I wasn’t needed: I am the waste crust.

• If you collected me and my companions for a whole week, you would find that we amounted to 9,380 tons of good bread---Wasted.”

• It was similarly claimed that a teaspoon of breadcrumbs saved by every person every day would amount to 40,000 tons a year.

• “Government Bread”:• Reducing the amount of white flour and

substituting other grain or potato• Long queues or lines for food led to people

taking off from work to wait in line, crowds bordering on riots, changing clothes and appearance to try to get seconds, etc…

• Inflation skyrocketed: 80% increase on wheat and 40% on meat just within the first year of the war

• Diets of ordinary families changed throughout the war:

• 1914: oatmeal was the cheapest• 1915: beans and rice• 1916: lentils and oatmeal• By 1918: sorrel, dandelion leaves and nettles

were substitutes for vegetables• Official Government Rationing:• Began in 1917• Sugar rationed first• Then meats and fats• Weekly Ration: 15oz beef, mutton, or lamb,

5 oz of bacon, 4 oz of fat, and 8 oz of sugar

• Coal Rationing began in Oct 1917• 200 hundred weight a week for up to four rooms• 300 hundred weight a week for up to five or six

rooms• The Total War led to many Welfare Programs being

passed:• Health of Munitions Workers Committee of the

Ministry of Munitions provided for factory inspectors and 900 canteens created to feed the workers---sausage and mash, mince and mash, stewed fruit, and milk pudding

• The Maternity and Child Welfare Act was passed in August 1918 to provide services for mothers and infants under the age of five

• Extension of government provision of school meals for the needy for the whole calendar year

• Rents and Mortgage or Rent Restriction Act of 1915 eased the pressures of housing shortages

DORA• Newspapers and radio

broadcasts were censored• The government could

control what people heard about the war

• This made sure the public continued to support the war effort by only hearing good things

Propaganda• What is this?

– These were ideas spread around to influence public opinions or to go against a cause. It is a method that the government used to create enthusiasm for the war also.

• When did this occur?– August 1914

• Where did this take place?– In Europe

• Who used propaganda?– The European government

• What is the significance of using propaganda?

– They used it because before the wars it stirred up national hatreds.

WW I Propaganda - The Poster War• Propaganda - the spreading of ideas,

information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person.– A deliberate attempt to influence individuals by

leading one to behave “as though his response were his own decision.”

• In war, it’s used as an instrument for maintaining unity, good will and a common purpose:

– Maintaining and boosting the morale of soldiers.– Unifying society at home in support of the war effort.

Propaganda & WWIPropaganda & WWI

• WWI was one of the 1WWI was one of the 1stst wars in which a wars in which a massive propaganda campaign was massive propaganda campaign was unleashed – usually to gain support for the unleashed – usually to gain support for the war and/or demonize the enemywar and/or demonize the enemy

• Germany faced an onslaught of negative Germany faced an onslaught of negative propaganda – stemming from their illegal propaganda – stemming from their illegal invasion of Belgium (and treatment of invasion of Belgium (and treatment of civilians) – “savages” “barbarians” and civilians) – “savages” “barbarians” and “Huns” were often-used phrases“Huns” were often-used phrases

• Propaganda was used to sell war bonds, Propaganda was used to sell war bonds, persuade volunteers/recruits and to persuade volunteers/recruits and to demonize the enemy (justify the war effort)demonize the enemy (justify the war effort)

• Germany (and Adolf Hitler) would learn Germany (and Adolf Hitler) would learn the lessons of “winning the propaganda the lessons of “winning the propaganda war” at home and utilize it effectively in war” at home and utilize it effectively in WWIIWWII

• The propaganda that “Germany started The propaganda that “Germany started WWI” would be critical in the post-war WWI” would be critical in the post-war agreements & shaping of the post-war agreements & shaping of the post-war worldworld

• Propaganda was used to stimulate or revive national morale and damage the enemy

• Propaganda was used in the church, in classrooms, in the cinema, in music halls, in postcards, in cartoons, in porcelain figures, in jigsaw puzzles, children’s toys, and even in Christmas decorations

• Example: Christmas scene that had a trench scene with a tank

The following posters are divided into three parts:• Propaganda symbols

• The use of the soldier on the battlefront as a universal propaganda image.

• The home-front, especially the evolution in the portrayal of women.

Propaganda Symbols

• Identify and vilify the enemy.

• Glorify the Allies

• Portrayal of Women as Victims.

Britain 1917

Artist: David Wilson

USA

1917

One last effort & we will get them.

Artist: Unknown

France 1917

USA

1918

Sottoscrivete al Prestito

Subscribe for the Loan

Artist: Giovanni Capranesi Italy 1917

Canada

1918

Liberation Loan France 1918

The use of the soldier on the battlefront• Defender of Civilization

• Heroes

• One who always does his duty despite hardships.

They Shall Not Pass

France

1918

We Will Get Them

France 1916

Zeichnet 7. Kriegsanleihe - Wiener KommerzialbankTranslation: Subscribe for the 7th War Loan Alfred Offner 1917 - Germany

Canada

1917

Offering the Army and Navy

Germany 1916

For The Supreme Effort

France 1915

USA

1917

THE HOME-FRONT

• Evolution in the portrayal of women.–Shifted from one of women as victims

to a more positive image:• As care givers.• Factory workers in jobs formerly held

by men.

USA

1918

USA

1918

USA 1918

The Frenchwoman in War-Time. Artist: G. Capon - France 1917

Censorship• British journalists were expelled from France

in August 1914• Official Press Bureau allowed only six war

correspondents• Persuaded writers, artists, and intellectuals to

publish materials in support of the war: Rudyard Kipling, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Thomas Hardy, and HG Wells

Propaganda and Censorship• All news was tightly controlled (censorship)• Reports aimed to:

–Maintain morale–Encourage civilians to support the war

effort–Create hatred and suspicion of the enemy

• Newspapers, radio broadcasts, films and even board games were used

The Home Front and Censorship• Censorship

– Not told about high death toll

– Romanticized the battlefields

“soldiers have died a beautiful death, in noble battle, we shall rediscover poetry…epic and chivalrous”

The Home Front• Censorship “Newspapers described

troops as itching to go over the top.”

“Government reported to the press that life in the trenches promoted good health and clear air”

Propaganda and Censorship• The film, The Battle of the Somme, was

filmed in 1916• The Battle was a disaster for the British

Army– Failed objectives– Enormous causalities

• What can the film tell an historian about the use of propaganda in WW1?

BATTLE OF THE SOMME MOVIE

• For the first time the home front in Britain was exposed to the horrors of modern war with the release of the propaganda film, The Battle of the Somme which used actual footage from the first days of the battle.

• The film spanned five reels and lasted 63 minutes .

• It was first screened on 10 August, 1916, while the battle was still raging.

• On 21 August the film began showing simultaneously in 34 London cinemas.

Battle of the Somme Video Clips:

http://www.encyclomedia.com/video-battle_of_the_somme.html#moretext

Battle of the Somme Film• Created by Malins and

McDowell- who were sent to the British Fourth Army to do some general filming.

• Ended up turning into a documentary of the Somme offensive.

• On July 1, Malins filmed the famous scene of the explosion of a large British mine under the German Hawthorn Redoubt.

Battle of the Somme Film

• The film caused awareness- most notably from some faked scenes of men falling dead and wounded.

• Led to the establishment of the War Office Cinema Committee in November 1916.

• Eventually war films were replaced with newsreels.

SOMME MOVIE CONT…• The film was screened for British

soldiers at rest in France where it provided new recruits with some idea of what they were about to face.

• Soldier's main complaint was failure of film to capture sounds of battle. However, as a silent film, the titles could be remarkably forthright, describing images of injury and death.

• The film was shown to British public as a morale booster and was favorably received.

• British public's response to film was enormous with an estimated 20 million tickets being sold in two months. On this basis, The Battle of the Somme remains one of the most successful British films ever.

Effects of the Battle of the Somme

• The film, The Battle of the Somme, is seen by historians as a propaganda triumph

• People at home felt they could see how their efforts were helping the troops

• Although it showed some casualties, it also showed advancing troops, helping morale

Propaganda and Censorship

• The film, Britain’s Effort, was created in 1917• What was its purpose?

Propaganda and Censorship

• It is hard to measure how effective propaganda was

• BUT– Support for the war was reasonably constant

• Only really changed with the enormous causalities at the Battle of the Somme in 1916

– People read lots of newspapers, and watched the films, so they were being exposed to it

Effects of Propaganda • The Parliamentary Recruiting Committee

(PRC) eventually printed almost 6 million posters and over 14 million leaflets at a total cost of £24,000.

• For every PRC leaflet produced in 1914-1915, at least ten had been produced by the three main political parties during the 1910 election campaigns.

• Propaganda was certainly not the most significant factor in Germany’s defeat.

The Brown Family’s Four War Christmas

• What is happening in each frame?• Explain why these things are happening,

based on what you know about life on the Home Front

Womenand the

WarEffort

Womenand the

WarEffort

Key pointsKey points

Before the war, the most Before the war, the most common common

employment for a woman was employment for a woman was as aas a

domestic servant. domestic servant. However, womenHowever, womenwere also employed in what were also employed in what

werewereseen to be suitable occupations seen to be suitable occupations

e.g.e.g.teaching, nursing, office work.teaching, nursing, office work.


When war broke out in August When war broke out in August 1914,1914,

thousands of women were thousands of women were sackedsacked

from jobs in dressmaking, from jobs in dressmaking, millinerymillinery

and jewellery making.They and jewellery making.They neededneeded

work – and they wanted to help work – and they wanted to help thethe

war effort.war effort.


Suffragettes stopped all militantSuffragettes stopped all militantaction in order to support the action in order to support the

warwareffort.effort.

Obstacles They Still Faced

• In 1914, Dr. Elsie Inglis offered to raise an ambulance unit to help the wounded soldiers. She was told by the Ministry of War…”My good lady, go home and sit still.”

• But despite this view, women played a vital role in winning the war.


At first, there was much trade At first, there was much trade unionunion

opposition and the employment opposition and the employment ofof

women had not increasedwomen had not increasedsignificantly before the summer significantly before the summer

ofof1915. In July 1915, a 1915. In July 1915, a ‘Right to‘Right toWork’Work’ ,march was organised by ,march was organised by

aaleading suffragette, Christabelleading suffragette, ChristabelPankhurst.Pankhurst.


The introduction of conscription The introduction of conscription in in

1916 led to an increase in the1916 led to an increase in thenumber of women employed in number of women employed in

allallsectors of the economy.sectors of the economy.

“War Girls” by Jessie Pope• There’s the girl who clips your ticket for the train,• And the girl who speeds the lift from floor to floor,• There’s the girl who does a milk-round in the rain,• And the girl who calls for orders at your door.• Strong, sensible, and fit,• They’re out to show their grit,• And tackle jobs with energy and knack.• No longer caged and penned up.• They’re going to keep their end up• Till the khaki soldier boys come marking back.

“War Girls” continued• There’s the motor girl who drives a heavy van,• There’s the butcher girl who brings your joint of meat,• There’s the girl who cries ‘All fares, please!’ like a man,• And the girl who whistles taxis up the street.• Beneath each uniform• Beats a heart that’s soft and warm,• Though of a canny mother-wit they show no lack;• But a solemn statement that is,• They’ve no time for love and kisses• Till the khaki boys come marching back.

War on the Home Front

Women in War

• Millions of men at battle

• Work on home front done by women

– Some worked in factories, producing war supplies

– Others served as nurses to wounded

• Contributions of women

– Transformed public views of women

– Helped women win right to vote

Women on the Home Front

• Women took war factory jobs

• Received lower wages than males

• Food shortages made running a household difficult

Women and Jobs• Women were asked to

take over jobs that had not been available to them before

• Women were employed in jobs that had once been considered beyond their capacity.

• Jobs included: – Chimney Sweeps – Truck Drivers– Farm laborers– Factory workers


Many women were paid good Many women were paid good wages, wages,

especially in munitions especially in munitions factories, but factories, but

in most cases they were paid in most cases they were paid lower lower

rates than men.rates than men.

Improved wages did permit Improved wages did permit greater greater

independence for some women.independence for some women.


Women became more visible in Women became more visible in the the

world of work. They were seen world of work. They were seen to beto be

doing important jobs.doing important jobs.

Women and Work• The place of

women in the workforce was far from secure

• Both men and women expected that many of the new jobs were only temporary

• This was evident in the British poem “War Girls” written in 1916

• “There’s the girl who clips your ticket for the train,

• And the girl who speeds the lift from floor to floor,

• There’s the girl who calls for orders at your door.

• Strong, sensible, and fit.• They’re out to show their frit.• And tackle jobs with energy and

knack.• No longer caged and penned up,

They’re going to keep their end up• Till the khaki soldier boys come

marching back.”

Women and Work• At the end of the war,

governments would quickly remove women from the jobs they had encouraged them to take earlier

• The work benefits for women from World War One were short-lived

• By 1919, there would be 650,000 unemployed women in Great Britain

• Wages for women who were still employed were also then lowered

• In some countries, the role women played in wartime economies had a positive impact on the women’s movement

• The most obvious fain was the right to vote given to women in Germany, Austria, and the USA immediately after the war

• In Britain, women over the age of 30 were given the right to vote and be elected to Parliament in 1918

• Many upper and middle class women gained new freedoms as their young women took jobs, got their own apartments, and became independent

• Women’s Police Service• Women’s Patrols Committee of

the Nation Union of Women Workers

• Women’s Emergency Corp• Women’s Volunteer Rescue• Queen Alexandra’s Imperial

Military Nursing Service• Territorial Force Nursing Service• Voluntary Aid Detachment

(VADs)• VAD---74,000 women• First Aid Nursing Yeomany (FANY)

Upper and Middle Class Women

Poster from WWI calling on women

to do their patriotic duty by fulfilling their 'role' in the

home and industry.

Motor Ambulance Drivers in France 1917

Women's Police Volunteers compare notes with a police constable.

© Imperial War Museum Q31088

Motor Ambulance Drivers in France 1917

A Woman Ambulance Driver

A Woman Ambulance Driver

Red Cross NursesRed Cross Nurses

Women in the Army Auxiliary

Women in the Army Auxiliary

• Women’s Army Auxiliary Corp (WAAC) was for working and lower middle class women

• Formed in March 1917• 41,000 women volunteered• Women’s Land Army (WLA)• Opened to all classes• Formed in March 1917• 16,000 women• Paid less than unskilled male agricultural workers• Overall by end of the war, 260,000 women were

farming and producing food for the soldiers and home front.

Working in the FieldsWorking in the Fields

• WLA Handbook reminded its members:• “that they were doing a man’s work, and so

you’re dressed rather like a man, but remember just because you wear smocks and breeches, you should take care to behave like a British girl who expects chivalry and respect from everyone she meets.”

• The Times in July 1917 described the WLA women as:

• “the land women, bronzed, freckled, and splendidly healthy.”

Munitions WorkersMunitions Workers

Women in Munitions

• 947,000 women were employed in munitions work

• 300 lost their lives to TNT poisoning and from explosions in the factories

• Munitionettes:• Primarily for lower middle class and working class• Women in worked in the munition factories• Shift work and very long hours• Horrible working conditions: badly ventilated, poorly lit, and overrun

by rats• One women working in a munitions factory in Lanchashire walked

three miles to and from work, worked 12 hour shifts, and shared a room with five other women

• Whereas in 1914 there were 212,000 women working in the munitions industry, by the end of the war it had increased to 950,000.

• Christopher Addison, who succeeded David Lloyd George as Minister of Munitions, estimated in June, 1917, that about 80 per cent of all weapons and shells were being produced by women.

• In World War I Britain, about 1 million mostly lower-class women worked in munitions jobs.

• They were called “munitionettes” or “Tommy’s sister.” • Unlike nurses, the munitions workers could not profess pacifism

since their work directly contributed to the fighting.• In fact, in 1918, Scottish women working at a shell factory

raised money and bought a warplane for the air force. • However, the munitionettes’ main motivation was financial,

contrary to the popular belief that it was patriotic. • The women found the wages “at first livable and later lucrative.”• Compared with domestic work, war work “offered escape from

jobs of badly paid drudgery.” • However, although they earned more than they would have

doing women’s work, the women received nowhere near the fortunes they had been led to expect when deciding to take war work.139

Edward Skinner, For King and Country (1916)

“Munition Wages” by Madeline Ida Bedford• Earning high wages? Yus,• Five quid a week,• A woman, too, mind you,• I calls it dim sweet.

• Ye’are asking some questions---• But bless yer, here goes:• I spends the whole racket• On good times and clothes.

• Me saving? Elijah!• Yer do think I’m mad.• I’m acting the lady,• But----I ain’t living bad.

• I’m having life’s good times.• See ‘ere, it’s like this:• The ‘oof come o’ danger,• A touch-and-go bizz.

• We’re all here today, mate,• Tomorrow---perhaps dead,• If Fate tumbles on us• And blows up our shed.

• Afraid! Are yer kidding?• With money to spend!• Years back I wore tatters,• Now---silk stockings, mi friend!

• I’ve bracelets and jewellery.• Rings envied by friends;• A sergeant to swank with,• And something to lend.

• I drive out in taxis,• Do theatres in style.• And this is my verdict---• It is jolly worth while.

“Munition Wages” continued

• Worth while for tomorrow• If I’m blown to the sky,• I’ll have repaid mi wages• In death----and pass by.

• What is the message of this poem?• What does it tell us about the dangers of the

work women did during World War One?

• The women working in factories began to play football during lunch-breaks.

• Teams were formed and on Christmas Day in 1916, a game took place between Ulverston Munitions Girls and another group of local women.

• The munitionettes won 11-5.• Soon afterwards, a game between munitions

factories in Swansea and Newport. • The Hackney Marshes National Projectile Factory

formed a football team and played against other factories in London.

•

“Women At Munition Making” by Mary Gabrielle Collins

• Their hands should minister unto the flame of life,

• Their fingers guide• The rosy teat, swelling with milk,• To the eager mouth of the suckling babe• Or smooth with tenderness• Softly and soothingly,• The heated brow of the ailing child.• Or stray among the curls• Of the boy or girl, thrilling to mother

love.• But now,• Their hands, their fingers• Are coarsened in munition factories.• Their thoughts, which should fly• Like bees among the sweetest mind

flowers,

• Gaining nourishment for the thoughts to be,• Are bruised against the law,• ‘Kill, kill.’• They must take part in defacing and destroying

the natural body• Which, certainly during this dispensation• Is the shrine of the spirit.• O God!• Throughout the ages we have seen,• Again and again• Men by thee created• Cancelling each other.• And we have marvelled at the seeming

annihilation• Of Thy work.• But this goes further,• Taints the fountain head,• Mounts like a poison to the Creator’s very heart.• O God!• Must It anew be sacrificed on earth?

• Blyth Spartans Munition Girls - Munitionette Cup Winners 1918

• Vaughan Ladies in 1918

Women and girls working at a Scottish sugar refinery.

© Imperial War Museum Q28345

• Hazards:• TNT poisoning• The chemicals attack the red corpuscles in the blood

and the tissues of organs like the liver• Their skin became jaundiced due to the toxin and

their skins turned yellow• They became known as “Canaries”• Health Effects: loss of memory, sight disorders,

convulsions, delirium, and death• 109 women died from this

• Hazards Continued:

• The ‘dope’ varnish applied to aircraft canvas caused many women to collapse unconscious.

• An explosion at the National Filling Factory near Leeds killed 35 women in Dec 1916.

• Other explosions:–Nottingham July 1918---35 dead–East London in Jan 1917---69 dead

French Women Factory Workers

French Women Factory Workers

• Trade unionism proved to be the second legacy of the war.

• Female workers had been less unionised than their male counterparts.

• This was because they tended to do part-time work and to work in smaller firms (which tended to be less unionised).

• Also, existing unions were often hostile to female workers. World War One forced unions to deal with the issue of women's work.

• The scale of women's employment could no longer be denied and rising levels of women left unmarried or widowed by the war forced the hands of the established unions.

Working conditions: unionism and pay

• In addition, feminist pressure on established unions and the formation of separate women's unions threatened to destabilise men-only unions.

• The increase in female trade union membership from only 357,000 in 1914 to over a million by 1918 represented an increase in the number of unionised women of 160 percent.

• This compares with an increase in the union membership of men of only 44 percent.

• However, the war did not inflate women's wages. • Employers circumvented wartime equal pay

regulations by employing several women to replace one man, or by dividing skilled tasks into several less skilled stages.

• In these ways, women could be employed at a lower wage and not said to be 'replacing' a man directly.

• By 1931, a working woman's weekly wage had returned to the pre-war situation of being half the male rate in more industries.

• Germany:• In World War I, when the expected quick victory

turned to protracted war, German women entered industrial jobs (about 700,000 in munitions industries by the end of the war),

• and served as civilian employees in military jobs in rear areas (medical, clerical, and manual labor; women trained for jobs in the signal corps late in the war but never deployed).

• German women won the vote after World War I, and some kept their jobs in industry.28

German Women Factory Workers

German Women Factory Workers


The armed forces also employed The armed forces also employed women, but the jobs were women, but the jobs were

mainly ofmainly ofa clerical and domestic nature.a clerical and domestic nature.

The wartime employment of women became a staple subject for humour.

© Imperial War Museum

For RecruitmentFor Recruitment

• Women played an important role in persuading men to join the army.

• In August 1914, Admiral Charles Fitzgerald founded the Order of the White Feather.

• This organisation encouraged women to give out white feathers to young men who had not joined the army.

• The British Army began publishing posters urging men to become soldiers.

• Some of these posters were aimed at women.• One poster said: "Is your Best Boy wearing khaki? If not,

don't you think he should be?" • Another poster read: "If you cannot persuade him to answer

his country's call and protect you now, discharge him as unfit."

The Mothers' Union also published a poster.• It urged its members to tell their sons: "My boy, I don't want

you to go, but if I were you I should go." • The poster added: "On his return, hearts would beat high

with thankfulness and pride."

• Baroness Emma Orczy founded the Active Service League, an organisation that urged women to sign the following pledge: "At this hour of England's grave peril and desperate need I do hereby pledge myself most solemnly in the name of my King and Country to persuade every man I know to offer his services to the country, and I also pledge myself never to be seen in public with any man who, being in every way fit and free for service, has refused to respond to his country's call."

Financing the WarFinancing the War

• Russia:• During World War I, some Russian women took

part in combat even during the Czarist period.• These women, motivated by a combination of

patriotism and a desire to escape a drab existence, mostly joined up dressed as men.

• A few, however, served openly as women. “The [Czarist] government had no consistent policy on female combatants.”

• Russia’s first woman aviator was turned down as a military pilot, and settled for driving and nursing.

• Another pilot was assigned to active duty, however.32

• The most famous women soldiers were the “Battalion of Death.”• Its leader, Maria Botchkareva, a 25-year-old peasant girl (with a history of

abuse by men), began as an individual soldier in the Russian army. • She managed (with the support of an amused local commander) to get

permission from the Czar to enlist as a regular soldier.• After fighting off the frequent sexual advances and ridicule of her male

comrades, she eventually won their respect – especially after serving with them in battle.

• Botchkareva’s autobiography describes several horrendous battle scenes in which most of her fellow soldiers were killed running towards German machine-gun positions, and one in which she bayoneted a German soldier to death.

• After two different failed attacks, she spent many hours crawling under German fire to drag her wounded comrades back to safety, evidently saving hundreds of lives in the course of her service at the front

• . She was seriously wounded several times but always returned to her unit at the front after recuperating.

• Clearly a strong bond of comradery existed between her and the male soldiers of her unit.33

Russian Women Soldiers

Russian Women Soldiers

• The battalion was formed in extraordinary circumstances, in response to a breakdown of morale and discipline in the Russian army after three horrible years of war and the fall of the Czarist government.

• By her own account, Botchkareva conceived of the battalion as a way to shame the men into fighting (since nothing else was getting them to fight).

• She argued that “numbers were immaterial, that what was important was to shame the men and that a few women at one place could serve as an example to the entire front….[T]he purpose of the plan would be to shame the men in the trenches by having the women go over the top first.” The battalion was thus exceptional and was essentially a propaganda tool.

• As such it was heavily publicized: “Before I had time to realize it I was already in a photographer’s studio…. The following day this picture topped big posters pasted all over the city.”

• Bryant wrote in 1918: “No other feature of the great war ever caught the public fancy like the Death Battalion, composed of Russian women. I heard so much about them before I left America….”35

• The battalion began with about 2,000 women volunteers and was given equipment, a headquarters, and several dozen male officers as instructors. Botchkareva did not emphasize fighting strength but discipline (the purpose of the women soldiers was sacrificial).

• Physical standards for enlistment were lower than for men. • She told the women, “We are physically weak, but if we be strong morally and

spiritually we will accomplish more than a large force.” • She was preoccupied with upholding the moral standards and upright behavior of

her “girls.”• Mostly, she emphasized that the soldiers in her battalion would have to follow

traditional military discipline, not elect committees to rule as the rest of the army was doing.

• “I did not organize this Battalion to be like the rest of the army. We were to serve as an example, and not merely to add a few babas [women] to the ineffective millions of soldiers now swarming over Russia.”

• When most of the women rebelled against her harsh rule, Botchkareva stubbornly rejected pleas from Kerensky and others – including direct orders from military superiors – to allow formation of a committee.

• Instead she reorganized the remaining 300 women who stayed loyal to her, and brought them to the front, fighting off repeated attacks by Bolsheviks along the way.

• The battalion had new uniforms, a full array of war equipment, and 18 men to serve them (two instructors, eight cooks, six drivers, and two shoemakers).36

• Other women’s battalions were formed in several other cities – apparently less than 1,000 women in all – but they suffered from a variety of problems, ranging from poor discipline to a lack of shoes and uniforms.

• These other units never saw combat.• There was not another offensive before the Bolsheviks took power in October

and sent most of the women soldiers home, telling them “to put on female attire.”39

• The Battalion of Death, then, never tested an all-female unit’s effectiveness in combat.

• Nonetheless, on one day in 1917, 300 women did go over the top side by side with 400 male comrades, advanced, and overran German trenches.

• The women apparently were able to keep functioning in the heat of battle, and were able to adhere to military discipline.

• These women were, of course, an elite sample of the most war-capable women in all of Russia.

• Nonetheless, they did it – advanced under fire, retreated under fire, and helped provide that crucial element of leadership by which other nearby units were spurred into action, overcoming the inertia of fatigue and committee rule.

• The Battalion of Death did this not as scattered individual women but as a coherent military unit of 300 women – instructed by Botchkareva that “they were no longer women, but soldiers.”40

SpiesSpies

e “Mata Hari”

e Real Name: Margareetha Geertruide Zelle

e German Spy!

e “Mata Hari”

e Real Name: Margareetha Geertruide Zelle

e German Spy!

After the WarAfter the War

11 Women were expected to give way to men Women were expected to give way to men returning from the forces and return to pre-returning from the forces and return to pre-war ‘women’s work’.war ‘women’s work’.

22 The assumption that ‘a woman’s place is in The assumption that ‘a woman’s place is in the home’ returned.the home’ returned.

33 The percentage of women at work returned to The percentage of women at work returned to pre-war levels.pre-war levels.

44 More women than before worked in offices.More women than before worked in offices.

After the WarAfter the War

55 Shorter skirts and hair became fashionable.Shorter skirts and hair became fashionable.

66 Women went out with men without a Women went out with men without a chaperone.chaperone.

77 Women smoked and wore make-up in public Women smoked and wore make-up in public for the first time.for the first time.

88 In 1919: being female or married was no In 1919: being female or married was no longer allowed to disqualify someone from longer allowed to disqualify someone from holding a job in the professions or civil holding a job in the professions or civil service.service.

•

Internment of Enemy Aliens• On October 22, 1914, in response to press campaigns calling for the

round up of enemies at large on the home front, the British Cabinet ordered the arrest of unnaturalized male Germans, Austrians, and Hungarians between the ages of 17 and 45.

• Internment camps were set up all over the mainland and on the Isle of Man.

• But this was not enough, and after the sinking of the Lusitania, the press called for more.

• Propagandists like Horatio Bottomley lashed out at the local Germans.

• The press campaigns incited riots and looting of German shops and property in Britain.

Horatio Bottomley wrote:• “I call for a vendetta---a vendetta against every German in Britain---whether

naturalized or not…You cannot naturalize an unnatural abortion, a hellish freak. But you can exterminate him.

• We have been very patient---patient with the Government, patient with the enemy…thousands and thousands of German savages are roaming at large in our midst---and all the time our brave and honourable soldiers are being asphyxiated in the trenches; our wounded are tortured; prisoners are being starved and insulted; unfortified towns are being bombarded; peaceful civilians---old men, women, and children---are being murdered; trawlers and merchant vessels are being sunk; and now comes the crowning infamy of the Lusitania…

• I should welcome the formation of a National Council of Righteous Retribution---a National Vendetta, pledged to exterminate every German-born man (God, forgive the term!) in Britain---and to deport every German-born woman and child…

• As regards, naturalized Germans they should be registered, made to report themselves every day, and compelled to wear a distinctive badge.”

• In John Bull on May 15, 1915

Internment • Distinguished men with German connections

were hounded by the press---even Lord Haldane, simply because he had been partly educated in Germany.

• He had been Minister for War until 1912, re-modelled the army and founded the Territorials.

• Yet he was victimized by the press until a formation of a coalition government in May 1915, when he was removed from office.

The Alien Presence---German Detainment Camps

• Many precautions were taken against aliens---resident foreigners even though they posed little threat to national security

• There were 35,000 Germans in Britain---the third largest immigrant group after the Irish and the Jews

• The German immigrants became the object of public suspicion and attack due to the imperial struggles in South Africa and the more recent naval arms race and spies scare

“The Half-Man” by William Watson• Sparing not age, sparing not youth,• They tore their way with wolfish tooth• Through human homes, through human hopes:• Not men, not men, but lycanthropes!

• Thus do not the fabled monsters rear• Their heads anew; thus reappear• Old Shapes that free us and appal;• And the Half-Man is worst of all.

The Alien Presence• The spy scare continued until 1915 with many

people caught up in wild rumors and false accusations

• The Daily Mail advised its readers that if a waiter serving them appeared German, but claimed Swiss, they should demand to see his passport

• Because of the fear of spies using carrier pigeons, the DORA required owners to have a permit for homing pigeons

• In reality, some 22 known German spies were rounded up in 1914, and 11 were executed

The Alien Presence• However, the public increasingly demanded the

internment of aliens• This led to 30,000 interned mostly on the Isle of

Man under the Alien Restrictions Act of August 1914

• Fueled by many stories of German atrocities in Belgium and elsewhere, actual or supposed Germans were subjected to harassment

• There were at least 7 deaths in the East End riots in May 1915 following the torpedoing of the Lusitania

• Even dachshunds, the Germanically named dogs, were stoned on the streets sometimes

The Alien Presence• Air raid by the zeppelins also increased anti-German

feelings• They even went after people with German

surnames who had lived in the area for generations and had Cockney accents

• There were large scale demonstrations against enemy aliens in a number of cities in 1918

• And a petition was signed with 1.2 million signatures

• Orchestras began to avoid German composers• The German measles became known as the Belgian

Flush

The Isle of Man• The Isle of Man was used by the British Government for the

internment of enemy aliens during both World War One and World War Two and there is still a great deal of interest, primarily from family historians who had relatives or friends detained in the camps.

• During 1914-1919 there were two large camps on the Island at Douglas and Knockaloe near Peel.

• The first was a requisitioned holiday camp whilst the second was purpose built using prefabricated huts and even had its own railway link.

• Large numbers of internees were held for up to five years until the camps finally closed in 1919.

The Alien Presence---Jews

• Jews also came under physical attack in East London in 1917 in the belief that they were dodging conscription

Documents

How were civilians affected by World War 1? Aim: To revise key details about the British Home Front during the First World War