Great War Dbq

Throughout history, war has often proven to be a transformative event not only to the countries involved, but also to the soldiers and citizens who lived through and experienced the war. World War 1, also known as the Great War, was one of the most globally transformative events in human history. This war mainly pitted Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire against France, Britain, Russia, and Italy. War is not only tragic, but it transforms the public’s opinion about their enemies and of war in general. The true horrors of war are shown by the effect on the soldier’s minds. After war, many soldiers have intense flashbacks of the war as a result of suffering from what was called shell shock at the time. Now it is known as post-traumatic …show more content…
When Paul gets separated from his company, he finds himself behind an abandoned trench and hides until all of the shooting is over. When an enemy soldier stumbles into the trench, he follows his instincts and stabs him. Paul says to himself, “forgive me comrade, how could you be my enemy?” (Document B). Paul now realizes that this soldier is just like him and is not actually his enemy. He does not understand why they are fighting, because his victim seems vulnerable and less evil than he has previously thought. He too has a family, friends, as well as a job, just like Paul. Paul reflects to himself that, “if we threw away these rifles and this uniform you could be my brother just like Kat and Albert” (Document B). Paul realizes that his “enemy” and himself are not that different and believes that if he “threw away … this uniform”, and fought with the Germans like Paul, they would have likely been friends, even “brothers”. Similarly, in the propaganda poster of a man with a newspaper on the ground which is titled, “Huns kill women and children” (Document E), the enemy is portrayed as inhumane. This propaganda is simply a lie in order to make the enemies appear fiendish while the home country and its defenders are shown as heroic. Propaganda is often used in order to persuade the population of the idea that certain other countries or people are their enemy. The newspaper itself is also an example of propaganda, because it exemplifies demonization through the name calling that is used to make people view the Germans as evil and as a result of this be willing to risk their life fighting them. In both these documents, the other countries were first perceived as the enemy, which can be seen in propaganda all over the world. Paul has experienced this propaganda and has been taught that these