Reviewed by Tim Luckhurst<\/p>\n
It was his genius in war, not propaganda, that ensured King Alexander III of Macedon (356-323 BC) would be remembered as Alexander the Great. But Alexander appreciated the power of reputation. He had himself depicted on coins as the son of Zeus and his image was replicated on statues, buildings and pottery. If Boris Johnson\u2019s study of Classics twenty-three centuries later included focus on Alexander\u2019s use of propaganda, Mr Johnson\u2019s approach certainly lacks the ancient Macedonian\u2019s precision. <\/p>\n
Among the images in David Welch\u2019s superb collection are two of Britain\u2019s former Prime Minister during the Covid pandemic. In the first Mr Johnson appears behind a lectern bearing the emphatic message \u2018Stay Home. Protect the NHS. Save Lives\u2019. In the second he promotes baffling advice to \u2018Stay Alert. Control the Virus. Save Lives\u2019. Welch describes trying to ease lockdown rules without abolishing them as \u2018a classic example of getting the message wrong\u2019.<\/p>\n
There are few examples of such abject failure in this immensely useful collection. In his eloquent and gloriously economical introduction, Welch advises us to \u2018think of propaganda in broad terms\u2019 and advises that \u2018wherever public opinion is deemed important, there we will find an attempt to influence it\u2019. What follows is a meticulously chosen selection of propaganda images ranging from engravings in John Foxe\u2019s sixteenth century Book of Martyrs<\/em> to Volodymyr Zelensky\u2019s inspired use of digital technology.<\/p>\n Nobody has made a bigger contribution to the understanding of propaganda than David Welch. This wonderful little book showcases his profound understanding of the subject in a chronological sequence of images from art, newspapers, postcards, posters, film and the internet.<\/p>\n Here is Napoleon Bonaparte\u2019s imperial France, the world\u2019s first modern propaganda state and Bonaparte\u2019s power portrayed in Jean-Baptiste Bor\u00e9ly\u2019s painting of his emperor. Here too is ISIS\u2019s, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria\u2019s, mural on a wall in East Mosul depicting an ISIS fighter standing strong despite relentless bombardment. Welch describes the scale and sophistication of ISIS\u2019s multi-faceted propaganda effort.<\/p>\n David Welch\u2019s images depict atrocity propaganda that helped to promote xenophobia and brutal patriotism during the First World War. A poster of Benito Mussolini in uniform recalls how Il Duce worked to recruit Italy\u2019s resentful war veterans. Welch shows how Adolf Hitler used posters, radio and film to demand that Germany awake and pursue its destiny. Posters such as the depiction of Hitler in uniform above the slogan \u2018Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein F\u00fchrer!\u2019 were expertly accompanied by Joseph Goebbels\u2019 exploitation of radio, the mass medium of the 1930s.<\/p>\n Goebbels persuaded manufacturers to produce the VE 3031 radio set at a price so low every working family could afford one. Welch illustrates the Reich propaganda minister\u2019s success with a 1936 poster depicting a crowd listening to a giant radio. The slogan declares \u2018All Germany listens to the F\u00fchrer on the People\u2019s Receiver\u2019.<\/p>\n This concise, enthralling and immensely useful collection includes a depiction of that most shocking example of \u2018propaganda of the deed\u2019, the 9\/11 al-Qaeda attack on New York\u2019s World Trade Centre. It also considers Donald Trump\u2019s deployment of the term \u2018fake news\u2019 and asks whether citizen access to new media can free us from the reach of oppressive regimes.<\/p>\n Welch demonstrates what he has often proven: propaganda is not just lying. He shows us that it encompasses untruths, half-truths and truths taken out of context and depicts ways in which it can help us to protect ourselves. To think of it pejoratively is to ignore its legitimate and functional uses and the plain truth that governments must explain policy and will seek to explain the efficacy of their decisions.<\/p>\n This is a tremendous book and beautifully designed. It condenses immense wisdom into a small, perfectly curated collection of images each accompanied by incisive explanation and illuminating analysis. Bravo, Professor Welch.<\/p>\n The Story of Propaganda in 50 Images<\/a><\/em>, by David Welch (London: British Library, 2022; 144pp.; \u00a316.99)<\/p>\n Professor Tim Luckhurst<\/a> is Principal of South College, Durham University, and the author of Reporting the Second World War: The Press and the People 1939\u20131945<\/em>, to be published by Bloomsbury in 2023.<\/p>\n Image Credit: Your Country Needs You<\/a>,\u00a0\u00a9IWM Art.IWM PST 5970, Licence: IWM Non-Commercial Licence<\/a>.<\/p>\n