8. Indian and African Soldiers in British, French and German Propaganda during the First World War

Abstract

This chapter compares British, French and German propaganda featuring African and Indian soldiers; the propaganda that was produced for European audiences and for colonial audiences. For all three of the major powers fighting on the Western Front, colonial soldiers sustained popular support for the war and imperial policy. The chapter demonstrates that newspapers, with very little direction from home authorities, took the lead in employing colonial soldiers in a broad propaganda campaign affirming British and French imperial rule. It weighs the effectiveness of propaganda meant for colonial audiences, and focuses on the prominence of racial stereotypes in propaganda about colonial soldiers produced for audiences on both sides of no-man's-land. Especially in Germany, wartime propaganda intensified racist attitudes and set the stage for policies during the Third Reich that promoted racial inequality. Keywords: African soldiers; British propaganda; First World War; French propaganda; German Propaganda; Indian soldiers