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“A letter from a child to the emperor” (9 June 1915)

By • On • In 1915, German Newspapers, Timeline

A German newspaper published a letter from the daughter of a dentist to the emperor. It was written in January 1915 to achieve a specific aim. The little girl lived in Switzerland with her family and she had seen the emperor during a state visit. She asked him for help because her little cousin, who was on holidays in Mühlhausen (Alsace), was not allowed to travel back because of the war and strict rules. The family wanted to keep her with them in Switzerland until the war ended. The girl thought the emperor could arrange this as everybody had to obey him. Another cousin of the two girls would fight for the emperor at the Russian front. The girl also offered to do him a favor and wished him a belated happy birthday, health and imminent peace. After that letter was made public the cousin was allowed to return to Switzerland.

BJ-1915-06-09-A letter from a child to the emperor

(„Ein Kinderbrief an den Kaiser“, Berliner Journal, 9 June 1915)

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Canadian Reinforcements (10 June 1915)

By • On • In 1915, War

Canadian ReinforcementsAccording to this announcement, Canada would soon have two complete military divisions, comprising 60,000 men at the front. In addition, there were two divisions training in Canada that would soon be sent to the front as well. One hundred doctors would also be sent to Britain or France in response to a request made by the War Office for additional medical aid. Once the new Canadian divisions were sent to the front, Canada would have about 300 doctors and 450 nurses in hospitals in England or France.

 

 

“Canadian Reinforcements,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, June 10, 1915.

 

 

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Shell Manufacturing Proposed in Guelph (19 June 1915)

By • On • In 1915, Economics

While the Ayr Board of Trade considered instituting local munitions manufacturing, several proposals were made in Guelph. The Berlin Daily Telegraph reported that a number of men who had secured large shell orders from the Canadian government had sought to produce munitions at locations in Guelph. Although nothing had yet come of such efforts, negotiations were reportedly ongoing to convert one of Guelph’s largest machine shop into a shell factory.

(“Guelph May Secure Shell-Making Plant,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, 19 June 1915.)

GuelphShellPlant

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“Bryan to the Germans” (23 June 1915)

By • On • In 1915, German Newspapers, Politics, Timeline

This was an appeal from William Jennings Bryan to the German-Americans to maintain the peace between the United States of America and Germany by persuading the German government not to take any steps which could lead to war. He emphasized that one could not compare the relationship and conversations between the United States and Germany and the United States and Great Britain. Both countries would judge the current President Wilson unfairly.

BJ-1915-06-23-Bryan to the Germans

(„Bryan an die Deutschen“, Berliner Journal, 23 June 1915)

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War Pictures Barred From Ontario Movies (24 June 1915)

By • On • In 1915, Home Front, Timeline

Ontario moviesCensorship is a natural part of any war, and during the First World War, efforts were made to sanitize war images, whether they were real or not. This article is a good example of this phenomenon. The Ontario Provincial Board of Censors, in communication with the Militia Department, decided that any images of war, real or fake, that showed “ghastly scenes of actual bloodshed,” would not be permitted. Marching troops with colours flying and bands playing were allowed, but any ghastly images or scenes had to be removed.

The removal of these types of images occurred throughout the war; even newsreels and films that were sent to Canada by Britain for propaganda purposes had scenes removed. These included the removal of scenes of Entente soldiers suffering after the Battle of the Somme in the British film Battle of the Somme and in 1918 the less graphic film Heart of the World had some of its battle images removed in fear that it could cause rioting as tensions caused by conscription were rising. Short articles such as this one are but one part of a much larger censorship movement.

 

“War Pictures Barred from Ontario Movies,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, June 24, 1915.

Jeffery A. Keshen, Propaganda and Censorship During Canada’s Great War (Edmonton: University of Alberta Press, 1996).

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“I Did Not Want This War,” Says Kaiser (29 June 1915)

By • On • In 1915, German-Canadian Identity, War

"I did not want this war"A dispatch from Berlin, sent through Amsterdam, claimed that the German Kaiser went to the Western Front to a neighbourhood where many Germans had lost their lives. According to the dispatch, the Kaiser got off his horse and knelt on the ground and offered a prayer. As he rose, he proclaimed, “Oh God, I did not want this war.”

 

“”I Did Not Want This War,” Says Kaiser,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, June 29, 1915.

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Recruiting Posters (29 June 1915)

By • On • In 1915, Home Front

The Berlin Daily Telegraph received propaganda posters from Britain and proudly displayed them in the windows of their office. The poster campaign in Britain was reportedly remarkably large (3-4 million posters distributed) and unprecedented.
Charles E. Lauriat, Jr., who worked for a Boston publisher, was interviewed after his return from Britain. He said that the posters were highly effective in boosting patriotism and encouraging enlistment. He claimed that, “the Monday after the Lusitania disaster, it was impossible to get within fifty yards of the door of the recruiting station.” According to Lauriat, the patriotic excitement which was aided by the poster campaign was what would set the British apart from the Germans on the battlefield.

(“Recruiting Posters from Motherland,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, 29 June 1915.; “Posters as Recruit Getters,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, 8 July 1915.
Visual: ww1propaganda.com)

Recruiting1Recruiting3Recruiting2

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Germany Realizing Their Submarines Will Not Conquer The Sea? (30 June 1915)

By • On • In 1915, War

1According to this article, Germany was beginning to realize that they would not be able to conquer the sea using submarine warfare. These claims were based on the fact that German newspapers were no longer boasting about the military and naval power of Germany. Combined with the growth of the British navy, German critics were realizing that submarines would not dominate maritime warfare as they had planned.

 

“German Critics Beginning to Realize that their Submarines are not likely to Conquer the Sea,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, June 30, 1915.

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“Radical socialists for peace” (30 June 1915)

By • On • In 1915, German Newspapers, Timeline

In the following passage, the opinions of German politicians towards the war and the will of the nation was presented. The socialist Heinemann argued that no German would want peace until the nation’s enemies were ready to let Germany develop its economic and cultural powers. Dr. Braun reported that the socialists wanted the German nation to stand together against their enemies, but that the Germans did not want conquests or annexations, as some politicians seemed to want. The Prussian Interior Minister said that the only aim should be ending this war in a way that there would be no repetition of it.

BJ-1915-06-30-Radical socialists for peace

(„Radikale Sozialisten für Frieden“, Berliner Journal, 30 June 1915)

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Standard of Milk Must Be Improved (1 July 1915)

By • On • In 1915, Home Front, Politics

Although not necessarily related to the war, in the summer of 1915 the people of Waterloo County were noticing a reduction in the quality of the milk sold in their towns. This article from the Waterloo Chronicle on July 1 pointed out this fact and printed a list of test results showing the quality of the milk sold by a number of vendors in town. The problem was not limited to Waterloo, however. On August 12, the Elmira town council passed a motion that would re-regulate the sale of milk within their township in response to similar complaints.

Waterloo Chronicle, July 1, 1915.

Elmira Signet, August 12, 1915.

 

Milk (Test Results)