Wilfred Owen exuberantly describes an attack in which he helplessly watches poison gas devour his comrade in the poem Dulce Et Decorum Est. First introduced in 1915 by the Germans, gas attacks caused an estimated 1,180,913 casualties in World War I alone ("Weapons of War - Poison Gas”). The implementation of this deadly weapon, along with multiple other strategic attacks, is the reason why people knew the Great War as “the war to end all wars”. This catchphrase, commonly attributed to then U.S. president Woodrow Wilson, is ironic because the Great War essentially started wars in the 20th century, having an exceptionally large influence on World War II. Germany played specific parts in both of these major catastrophes. The hostility and arrogance
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Propaganda was in widespread use across countries. Posters often demonized the enemies and glorified soldiers of their own country, even if this was not necessarily true. For this reason, people back home believed that soldiers fighting were true heroes, even if they were not. In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, the protagonist Paul Bäumer is a German World War I soldier who, in a particular scene, has returned home on break. A red-cross woman recognizes Bäumer in his uniform and gets excited about being able to serve him coffee because she thinks he is a hero. Bäumer, however, knows better, thinking “She calls me ‘Comrade’, but I will have none of it” (Remarque 156). Bäumer knows that he is not the hero the woman thinks he is, and that if she knew the truth about war, she would not hold the same opinion about him. Propaganda posters for rations and supplies were also depicted in patriotic ways. These posters were often manipulative and made people think that they were not a true citizen of their country if they did not promote the war effort. Additionally, censorship of the media skewed the homefront’s perspective of war from reality. Governments redacted mediums such as film, literature, artwork and the press to make sure that nothing about the inside happenings of the war were released to the general public. When soldiers returned home, they were in “shell shock”, or what people know today as post traumatic stress disorder, due to the continuous bombardment of shells on the front (The 20th Century Year by Year 56). Now, an estimated 7.8% of Americans have previously suffered or currently suffer from PTSD, and about 30% of war veterans experience PTSD ("How Common Is PTSD?"). In the last stanza of Dulce Et Decorum Est, Wilfred Owen sarcastically sends a message to all
Propaganda was in widespread use across countries. Posters often demonized the enemies and glorified soldiers of their own country, even if this was not necessarily true. For this reason, people back home believed that soldiers fighting were true heroes, even if they were not. In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, the protagonist Paul Bäumer is a German World War I soldier who, in a particular scene, has returned home on break. A red-cross woman recognizes Bäumer in his uniform and gets excited about being able to serve him coffee because she thinks he is a hero. Bäumer, however, knows better, thinking “She calls me ‘Comrade’, but I will have none of it” (Remarque 156). Bäumer knows that he is not the hero the woman thinks he is, and that if she knew the truth about war, she would not hold the same opinion about him. Propaganda posters for rations and supplies were also depicted in patriotic ways. These posters were often manipulative and made people think that they were not a true citizen of their country if they did not promote the war effort. Additionally, censorship of the media skewed the homefront’s perspective of war from reality. Governments redacted mediums such as film, literature, artwork and the press to make sure that nothing about the inside happenings of the war were released to the general public. When soldiers returned home, they were in “shell shock”, or what people know today as post traumatic stress disorder, due to the continuous bombardment of shells on the front (The 20th Century Year by Year 56). Now, an estimated 7.8% of Americans have previously suffered or currently suffer from PTSD, and about 30% of war veterans experience PTSD ("How Common Is PTSD?"). In the last stanza of Dulce Et Decorum Est, Wilfred Owen sarcastically sends a message to all