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A Carefully Arranged Propaganda Exercise
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Keeping his father’s promise that his eldest son and heir would visit “when peace comes”, Edward Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII), undertook a tour of the Dominions to thank them for their effort and participation in World War One.
The Prince spent a month in Aotearoa, arriving in Auckland onboard the Renown. He toured the country in a lavishly decorated train and by motor coach. In total he visited 50 towns and cities between Auckland and Invercargill. The “dashing playboy” was mobbed by enthusiastic crowds wherever he went and is said to have shaken more than 20,000 hands.
In Auckland the Prince is presented with the 'Freedom of the City' by the Mayor and is given a guard of honour by returned soldiers. In Rotorua, guided by Māui Pōmare, the Prince shakes hands with members of Te Hokowhitu-a-Tū – the Māori Pioneer Battalion. Later he attended a huge reception at the Racecourse.
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What Did You Do in the Great War, Daddy?
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The subject of a child innocently shaming their father for failing to carry out military service was a commonly used theme of war propaganda.
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Carving Anzac Day
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An Anzac Day cinema advertisement encouraging Australians to not only mark Anzac Day as a day of significance but to 'carve’ its meaning into the nation’s psyche.
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France on the Firing Line
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France on the Firing Line was one of two propaganda films made by New York producer and theatre manager Lee Kugel and released through his company Kulee Features. The other – the now-lost Germany on the Firing Line – took the pro-Central Powers position, but reportedly contained similar footage of troops on the front line and copious dramatic explosions. When the films were released in 1916, the isolationist United States still hadn’t decided on which side they were going to enter the war – and as a clever producer, Kugel played to both sides. Though both played in the US, not surprisingly there is no evidence that Germany on the Firing Line was released in New Zealand.
Though not completely lost, only 8 of the original 85 minutes remain. The print held at Nga Taonga Sound & Vision – the only footage known to survive anywhere in the world – unfortunately suffers from nitrate decomposition. This irreversible chemical reaction causes the film stock to becomes brittle, crumbly and sticky, and the image to dissolve into an indistinct whirl. Luckily we have secondary resources such as this poster to provide additional information on the film.
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Early newsreels: A 1915 Pathé Animated Gazette
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People went to cinemas during the war to be entertained, but moving-pictures also played an important role in providing cinema-goers with news and information from abroad. Early newsreels, or topical films, were an important part of the typical cinema programme of the time.
This film is an example of a full-length Pathé Animated Gazette newsreel that was shown during the war. It demonstrates the contents of these types of films and how they mixed serious topics with more light-hearted footage: scenes of the Algerian Native Cavalry in Flanders, a brief glimpse of King George V and Queen Mary making their way through packed London Streets to a service at St Paul’s Cathedral, the opening of a New Zealand military hospital, and Zouaves (Algerian French Infantry).
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German war films
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As the war raged on, all the combatant nations quickly realised the power of film. Germany used its film industry to try to sway the hearts and minds of neutral countries – particularly the United States. This image is from the American trade journal, The Moving Picture World, published in November 1915, and is part of the Henry Gore Collection. It is an example of the feature film propaganda produced by the German film industry for exhibition in the United States, which was still neutral at the time. These types of films was quickly banned from being shown in New Zealand.
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The campaign that failed
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Conscription was introduced by law in New Zealand. However, Australians were able to vote on introducing conscription in a referendum in October 1916. This film was made as part of the “Vote Yes’ campaign. It shows PM William Hughes presenting the pro-conscription case, followed by messages to vote 'Yes' from well known figures such as the martyred Nurse Cavell, King George V and France’s General Joffre. Despite these efforts, however, the campaign for conscription was narrowly defeated.
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"When We March Through Berlin Town"
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When We March Through Berlin Town is a jaunty tune clearly aimed to lift the spirits the troops and encourage men to enlist. The soldier at the centre of the song says farewell to his sweetheart, Jeannie, because the King of England is needing ‘laddies big and broad’. He assures Jeannie that he will wear her sprig of heather in his old Scotch cap when they defeat the Germans and occupy Berlin. The tone of the song is one of supreme optimism.
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“Tell My Daddy to Come Home Again“
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The songs sung by music hall artists during the First World War were often filled with war fever and patriotism. Propaganda messages promoted through song could appeal both emotionally as well as rationally and had the added benefit of being easily remembered and repeated by the average citizen. Tell My Daddy to Come Home Again: The Evening News Lonely Soldiers Song, recorded by Stanely Kirkby in 1915, is one such song, with lyrics written from the perspective of a child lamenting their father who has gone off to war.
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“Brave Women Who Wait”
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For the war effort to be successful, it was not only men who needed to be recruited. The women on the home front also had to show their commitment, so they were also the target of propaganda campaigns. Brave Women Who Wait reminds the general population that while the men may be dying on the battlefields, the women were also making sacrifices at home.
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Today the German monster threatens the world
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This cartoon begins with a caption that reads, ‘the German monster threatens the world with bloodshed, slavery and death’. An animated King Kong-like monster wreaks havoc on the world, destroying villages, women and children. At the end of the clip, an intertitle says ‘your help is needed and needed now’, accompanied by an illustration of a soldier to encourage young men to enlist in the armed forces.
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The landing of the Australian troops in Egypt
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This commercial sound recording includes what might be the first recorded version of 'Advance Australia Fair', the song that became Australia's national anthem. In music and drama, this production recreates the 1914 arrival of the Australian troops in Egypt, before their departure for Gallipoli. It may have been aimed at giving those on the home front a sense of the soldiers’ lives. The recording is very celebratory and full of pride at the role Australia was playing in the Great War.
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“Play the Greater Game”
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This 1915 Australian Government recruitment film uses slogans such as 'Play the Greater Game' to urge men to join the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). Later propaganda films were less subtle in their efforts, and used persuasion, fear, guilt, confrontation, accusation, or scenes of heroic action on the battlefields to influence eligible men to enlist. The films omitted any reference to the harsh realities of military life or the threat of death or injury for Australian troops abroad.
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The turkey, the eagle, the lion and the dove
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'The War Zoo' is the original title of this animated cartoon by the renowned Australian caricaturist Harry Julius. The miserable fez-wearing turkey represents the battered Turkish forces. The ferocious German eagle is approached by the ‘dove of peace’ and the British lion, ‘still the king of all’. Cartoons like this one, screened about 1915, were a direct and light-hearted form of war news and propaganda for the public at home.