Tag: World War I

Keyword: WAR | War’s Propaganda

In 1622, the Sacred Congregation for Propagation of the Faith (known as Propaganda), was established to regulate the work of missionaries. Their mission was to spread the word of the (Catholic) Lord to the entire world. It was not always peaceful and the word was sometimes more imposed than spread. The term Propaganda evolved to mean “the spreading of ideas, information, or rumour for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person”. Nowadays, it pretty much means making people believe in ideas or false information for a certain purpose. The difference between propaganda and marketing (or advertising) is the aim. The first aims to make people believe in governmental lies for political purposes, the second aims to make people believe they need to buy products or acquire services they don’t really need.

War is an especially fertile ground for propaganda. Governments need to make people believe that war is absolutely necessary and, thus, they twist the facts or simply lie about them. Arthur Ponson was a Member of Parliament in Great Britain and he was one of the few who stood against the participation of his country in World War I. In truth, he spent his life advocating for peace and he was even physically and psychologically attacked because of it. In 1928, he published the book “Falsehood in War-time”, where he stated at the beginning of the introduction:

      Falsehood is a recognized and extremely useful weapon in warfare, and every country uses it quite deliberately to deceive its own people, to attract neutrals, and to mislead the enemy. The ignorant and innocent masses in each country are unaware at the time that they are being misled, and when it is all over only here and there are the falsehoods discovered and exposed. As it is all past history and the desired effect has been produced by the stories and statements, no one troubles to investigate the facts and establish the truth.

In this book, Arthur Ponson exposes the lies told by governments during the World War I. Based on this, in 2001, Anne Morelli summarized his work and published the book “The Basic Principles of War Propaganda” *. She explains each Principle and gives examples from other wars that took place after World War I, showing that the same techniques are still used today. This is also confirmed in a documentary from Spiegel TV called “Fake War”, under the perspective of the use of mass media in war propaganda. The first episode is about World War I and mentions some of the false events described by Arthur Ponson.

Before World War I began, photography was used to complement articles published in newspapers. Film, which had been discovered by the end of the 19th century, was also used for the first time for propaganda purposes. Staged scenes of atrocities carried out by the enemy served Principle #3, showing the enemy as evil and full of heartless creatures. It also prepared the population for war. In fact, the British Government had created the first (secret) propaganda department with the aim of conveying false information in a way that looked objective and true. The target was the Germans and the Germans failed to properly respond to this campaign. However, years later, the Nazis took propaganda to another level. Inspired by the corporation advertising, the Minister of Propaganda conceived a coordinated plan using newspapers, photography, radio and film to influence the minds of the German population (they also tried to influence foreign countries, but failed), feeding them with lies and manipulating their thinking.

In the Vietnam War, the situation was reversed. There were no restrictions on journalists’ movements and there was not any kind of governmental censorship. This did not mean that the USA Government had given up on official propaganda. By this time, television was widespread throughout the world and journalists were no longer limited to written articles, outdated photos, and staged films. The problem was that the lies conveyed in official statements were being systematically debunked on a daily basis by the images that were shown on television and by the photographs that were published in newspapers. The discrepancy between these images and the official statements was considerable, which resulted in huge demonstrations and protests in the USA.

This was a lesson that the USA learned very well. In the Gulf War and in the Iraq War journalists were no longer authorized to go to the front line and they had no information on what was actually happening. This time, all the Principles were successfully applied. Both the general public and the journalists were fed with lies they could not dispute. Therefore, the war looked perfectly justifiable. It was only later, when the USA finally left Iraq, that journalists were made aware of the consequences of the US invasion and all the atrocities committed.

The Internet, especially social media, is making it increasingly difficult to control information. Yet, it is also making it increasingly easier to spread false information. Nowadays, propaganda is more than ever being confused with authentic information, even when it is proven to be false. Furthermore, there is this idea that propaganda is something that is only produced by the other side. People from “the other side” are the ones who are being brainwashed. Those in “our side” who disagree with what is said about the other side are liars and traitors. If we look closely, this is Principle #10.

As Aeschylus, the Greek and so-called father of tragedy, said: “in war, truth is the first casualty”.

 

* The 10 Principles are:
1. We do not want war.
2. The opposite party alone is guilty of war.
3. The enemy is inherently evil and resembles the devil.
4. We defend a noble cause, not our own interests.
5. The enemy commits atrocities on purpose; our mishaps are involuntary.
6. The enemy uses forbidden weapons.
7. We suffer small losses, those of the enemy are enormous.
8. Recognized artists and intellectuals back our cause.
9. Our cause is sacred.
10. All who doubt our propaganda are traitors.

 

Keyword: WRITER | Ernest Hemingway

Instead of going to study in a university, Ernest Hemingway preferred to go and work in a newspaper as a journalist, where he learned how to write objectively and to-the-point. Then, before turning 20 years old, he tried to be recruited by the army to go and fight in World War I. As he was refused, he found another way to be involved in the war: as a driver for the Red Cross. He was injured in the war and, after spending a long time in a hospital and being rejected by the nurse with whom he had fallen in love, he returned to the USA. These events forged his whole life.

As a journalist, he went back to Europe many times as a foreign correspondent. He was stationed in Paris, France, for some time, but Spain was his favourite country. He covered the Spanish Civil War and World War II, when he landed in Normandy with the American troops on D-Day. In the meantime, he went to Africa to do a hunting safari and bought a boat to go fishing. He lived life to the full, survived wars and plane accidents, and travelled extensively, soaking everything and turning it into masterpieces, before he died in 1961. He had been born five months before the 20th century started and witnessed all major (and terrified) events of the century.

Deep inside, he saw himself as a writer. Reporting was a way to achieve this (and make some money) and all his adventures were food for his novels and short stories. He wrote them in a style that was innovative at the time and had been inspired by his reporting: objective, without sentiment, with short sentences and without adjectives and adverbs. His mastery was in the rhythm of the words. Besides inspiring many subsequent writers, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize, mostly due to his best work, named “The Old Man and the Sea”. This was the last work to be published while he was still alive and it is considered his best work. It tells the tale of a fisherman that goes fishing and his struggle to catch a fish. The story is very simple. It’s in the way it is written, what it tells and what it implies, where genius lies. However, other books written by Hemingway are as good (or, at least, almost).

“A Farewell to Arms” is a vivid description of his experience in World War I and aims to show the reader how war is in reality. It is heavily based on his own experience. The main character drives ambulances like he did and he falls in love like Hemingway did. Although the descriptions of the war are authentic, the romantic connection is not (maybe he wrote what he wanted to have happened).

Also about war, but this time in the guerrilla point of view, “For Whom the Bell Tolls” is about an American who joins the Spanish resistance during the Civil War. It’s an intense account on how it is like to face death on a daily basis. These fighting men and women live lifetimes during short periods of time, living each day as if it could be their last, which would prove to be correct in most cases.

Inspired by his time as a foreign correspondent stationed in Paris, “The Sun Also Rises” (or “Fiesta”) is about how young people got lost after World War I ended. Starting in Paris, the narrative takes the reader (via characters) to Spain and the bullfighting, an event very dear to Hemingway’s heart. They also go to the south of France and Madrid, roaming from place to place without purpose and without feeling.

Those who wish to know how Hemingway’s hunting safari was, can read “The Green Hills of Africa”, his journal of the journey. However, if you don’t want to know details of chasing and killing animals, skip it. In any case, it is a beautiful view of the Africa landscape, and an insight on how humans can preserve (or destroy) nature.

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