Analysing the posters

The conscription propaganda posters were quite different to the recruitment posters. After analysing these posters, the differences became obvious. The recruitment posters were trying to get as many soldiers possible to enlist. These posters usually put pressure on soldiers but sometimes put it on the family and friends of soldiers that didn’t enlist. It made the soldiers that didn’t fight feel guilty and unworthy. It also put a sense of shame on the fit men that didn’t go to war. Many of these recruitment posters showed pictures of men in war. Another way of trying to get men to enlist was by making the war seem like a form of manliness. They made posters that showed images of ‘real’ men, and it showed that you weren’t a ‘real’ man unless you went to war. Some posters also showed how if they didn’t go to war the war would come to them and they’d be invaded by Germans.  

Conscription propagandas were also used in the war. The conscription posters were to say that there should be a new law made that men had to go to war. There were 2 sides to this: yes or no. This party pushing for conscription was defeated as the majority voted ‘NO’. However they were not happy with the outcome and kept pushing. In the second bill, they lost by more and had no choice but to give up. This propaganda influenced the nation to make a decision about the war, and not just sit on the fence like many would have probably done so.