PROPAGANDA IN WAR

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVIII, Issue 99, 9 April 1928, Page 7

PROPAGANDA IN WAR

BREAKING ENEMY’S MORALE. The use, that wa s made of propaganda during the Great War in maintaining the spirit of the Allied nations and in breaking down the morale of the enemy troops and civilian populations was related by Captain W. Ivory . of Defence Headquarters, in an address tn the members of the Auckland Advertising Club last week (states the “New Zealand Herald”). The war dances of the savages formed a type of propaganda, designed to arouse a bellicose spirit, .and during the last war it was found necessary to awaken a similar feeling in order to gain the co-operation of all classes to meet the needs of those in the field. In 1916, a Ministry of Information was set up, with headquarters at Wellington House, London, where information from the ,«cret agents of the three service# was collated. They had to educate not only home opinion to the cause of the Allies, but also the Allies themselves, as well as neutrals and the enemy. Captain Ivory remarked that newspapers did more to inculcate the will to win in the public mind than any other form of propaganda. Cartoons did much, and the cinema was an important factor The censorship office, primarily rendered necessary to keep news from reaching enemy countries, was later found to be invaluable as an aid to disseminate propaganda. Britain, showered Germany with printed propaganda from airplanes. Small balloons of paper or rubber were used, and when the wind was favourable they were released to carry bundles of literature which were released by special devices. The Secret Service also was able to distribute a quantity of leaflets. Tills form of breaking public morale was so effective that German Headnuarters issued drastic orders regarding any literature found, and heavy penalties were imposed on anyone holding sinh propaganda. It was inninlv through propaganda that Austria surrendered.