“The Great War” in Posters

Summer 2014 marks 100 years since the start of World War I, also known as The Great War. Sparked by the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria on June 28, 1914, the conflict escalated on July 28 when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Other nations soon followed Austria-Hungary and Serbia into war: Germany, Russia, the Ottoman Empire, Luxembourg, France, Belgium and the United Kingdom were all involved by August 4.

British, French, French-Canadian, & Australian Posters

USA Posters

The United States declared neutrality in early August 1914, and did not declare war on Germany until April 1917. Before the U.S. officially entered the war, private groups of concerned citizens and businessmen took it upon themselves to prepare America for the upcoming conflict. The foundation of the Mayor’s Committee on National Defense led to the establishment of similar organizations across the country. Their work was a combination of raising awareness and retooling American industry to handle the needs of war. 

The scale of the First World War–and the development of new technologies–changed the very nature and representation of war and military service. Recruitment posters went from depicting a bucolic pastime, as in Michael P. Whelan’s Men Wanted for the Army, to patriotic messages geared largely toward an individual’s pride.