The Final Throw of the Dice. General Ludendorff: Morale, «Patriotic Instruction» and Imperial German Propaganda 1917-18

• David Welch ^[1]
  1. [1] University of Kent

     University of Kent

     City of Canterbury, Reino Unido

     
• Localización: Ler história, ISSN-e 2183-7791, ISSN 0870-6182, Nº. 66, 2014, págs. 99-121
• Idioma: inglés
• Títulos paralelos:
  • O último lançar dos dados. General Ludendorff: moral, «instrução patriótica » e propaganda imperial alemã 1917-18
  • La campagne de la dernière chance. Le général Ludendorff: morale, «instruction patriotique» et propagande impériale allemande (1917-1918)
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo
• Resumen

  • In order to counter reports of a widening gulf between state authority and popular feeling about the war, General Ludendorff launched a major propaganda campaign in July 1917 called Vaterländische Unterricht (patriotic instructions). Four major themes were identified: 1] The Causes of the War. 2] Confidence in Final Victory. 3] The Necessity and Importance of Leadership and 4] The Enemy. It was Ludendorff’s «last throw of the propaganda dice» and he assumed overall responsibility for both its conception and its implementation. However by September 1917, reports coming in to the OHL suggested that the «patriotic instruction» programme was failing to counter people’s negative perceptions of the war as the public viewed it increasingly as «cheap propaganda».