Weapons of Mass Dissemination: The Propaganda of War

September 12, 2003–March 21, 2004
The Wolfsonian–FIU @ 1001 Washington Avenue

During the first half of the twentieth century, the great political powers waged two world wars. The First World War, considered the first “total war,” engaged whole nations, not just professional armies. While the campaign to encourage new military recruits and maintain morale on the battlefront and home front was bolstered by public support, the all-out nature of both conflicts produced various and sophisticated methods of persuasion to inspire even greater backing. To mobilize this necessary extension of the war effort, governments and private organizations commissioned posters and other printed materials to support the traditional call to arms, such as enlistment drives, but also to promote wartime production, inform citizens about proper conduct, and assure people that the government was taking appropriate action. Propaganda not only characterizes modern warfare, it is employed as a critical weapon.

Weapons of Mass Dissemination highlighted the various strategies and techniques used to create wartime propaganda during the first half of the twentieth century, when newly low production costs permitted the rapid and expansive production of printed media, such as posters, postcards, and booklets. From the purely informational (a broadside instructing soldiers and civilian on proper blackout procedures) to the shocking and agitational (a poster incorporating photographs of victims of aerial bombing) the objects on view demonstrated the changing and enduring character of wartime propaganda.

Traveled to:
The Tang Museum, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York, June 25–October 30, 2003
The Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, Canada, November 11, 2005–April 30, 2006