Gesner 1
Victoria Gesner
Mr. Andrew Rutledge
History 110
19 February 2015
Exaggerating Atrocities
Violence and Propaganda in the First World War I found Dr. Lisa Todd’s lecture about propaganda in the First World War was very interesting and enlightening. Her lecture largely focused on gender roles and the violation of women during this time. I had not known about or considered any of these things prior to listening to her speak, only the basic facts concerning the event, so this was all new information. I also appreciate hearing about this topic from a women’s point of view, especially when it came to the part regarding women abuse. It was easy to see that she knew the subject she was talking about very well and was comfortable answering any questions related to the matter afterwards. She spoke clearly and I understood the majority of what she was saying, even though her intended audience was meant to be people a little bit older than me.
I learned many new things, such as the tactics used when targeting an audience with propaganda and the hardships that women and sometimes children went through during this war. I also learned about the word “kultur” and what it meant to the Germans. They used this word, which means culture in English, to define themselves and their development, which they believed was highly civilized compared to the unoriginal culture of Britain. British Propaganda depicted the Germans as monsters or ape-like creatures carrying distressed women and destroying British land. The Germans said that the British were using “poisonous weapons of lies” to stain Germany’s reputation so they made their own propaganda, calling themselves “We Gesner 2
Barbarians” but with pictures of them helping women to do laundry or other such kind gestures. The British however, were far more successful with their approach to propaganda.
I also learned about British Propaganda portraying women as victims of “men’s barbaric actions” and the Germans as the barbarians. Apparently, this concept is rather
