"I was told I was fighting a war that would end all wars..."-Alfred Anderson
One thing that always intrigued me about the World Wars was the way militaries were able to persuade individuals to go to war just by the use of propaganda. The Great Powers knew how to convince millions of people that their "national identities were profoundly and personally meaningful". Men even rushed to recruiting offices to enlist before the war could end. It makes me wonder whether I would be persuaded to do such things if I saw the type of propaganda these men saw. Do I love my country to such an extreme? I do not know the answer because as anyone can see, these men ultimately suffered for it in the end. What is fascinating is how posters were such a major impact on why individuals joined the military.
WW1
The British Parliament Recruiting Committee used this poster to illustrate a man's responsibility to go to war. Instead of honoring a man, they used shame as a blackmail to make people go to war. 
While most of the posters targeted men, some propaganda posters were targeting women. While many men would view this posters as their responsibility to protect their women, it was also seen as the women's responsibility to have their husbands enlist.Below are other posters used to get the British and U.S. citizens to join:
This illustration in particular showed the selfishness of the Germans. Here, Belgium civilians are being used as a shield for Germany. Germany believed that Belgium troops would not shoot at their own townsfolk.
WW2
During this time, posters advertising women workers were starting to appear more:
There are many more propaganda posters that were advertised. They each had different themes such as honoring military work or dehumanizing the enemy. It always peaked my interest when analyzing the meaning behind each one. Now, in modern time, advertisements are now displayed on televisions.
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The emotional blackmail of using children to shame their elders into
fighting was, in fact, employed by most of the belligerents. Women were
also assigned the responsibility for ordering men into war. - See more
at:
https://www.bl.uk/world-war-one/articles/patriotism-and-nationalism#sthash.lHEHyH6U.dpuf
One
tactic at a state’s disposal was the use of iconic figures to
strengthen a particular point about national identity in order to
promote patriotism. These might be real people presented in a
mythologised form as national heroes, - See more at:
https://www.bl.uk/world-war-one/articles/patriotism-and-nationalism#sthash.lHEHyH6U.dpuf
One
tactic at a state’s disposal was the use of iconic figures to
strengthen a particular point about national identity in order to
promote patriotism. These might be real people presented in a
mythologised form as national heroes, - See more at:
https://www.bl.uk/world-war-one/articles/patriotism-and-nationalism#sthash.lHEHyH6U.dpuf
One
tactic at a state’s disposal was the use of iconic figures to
strengthen a particular point about national identity in order to
promote patriotism. These might be real people presented in a
mythologised form as national heroes, - See more at:
https://www.bl.uk/world-war-one/articles/patriotism-and-nationalism#sthash.lHEHyH6U.dpuf
One
tactic at a state’s disposal was the use of iconic figures to
strengthen a particular point about national identity in order to
promote patriotism. These might be real people presented in a
mythologised form as national heroes, - See more at:
https://www.bl.uk/world-war-one/articles/patriotism-and-nationalism#sthash.lHEHyH6U.dpuf
One
tactic at a state’s disposal was the use of iconic figures to
strengthen a particular point about national identity in order to
promote patriotism. These might be real people presented in a
mythologised form as national heroes, - See more at:
https://www.bl.uk/world-war-one/articles/patriotism-and-nationalism#sthash.lHEHyH6U.dpuf
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