The Home Front
The Effect of War on Civilian Life
The term home front expressed the important reality that the outcome of war hinged on how effectively each nation mobilized its economy and activated its noncombatant citizens to support the war. As the war continued beyond
Christmas 1914 and as war weariness and a decline in economic capability set in, the response of all belligerents was to limit individual freedoms and give control of society increasingly over to military leaders. Initially, ministers
and generals shrank from compulsive measures, even conscription of recruits, but they quickly changed their minds. Each belligerent government eventually militarized civilian war production by subordinating private enterprises to
governmental control and imposing severe discipline on the labor process. The war created a high demand for raw materials and manufactured goods. Governments felt compelled to abandon long-cherished ideals of laissez-faire capitalist market economy and to institute tight controls over economic life. Planning boards reorganized entire industries, set production quotas and priorities, and determined what would be produced and consumed. Wage and price controls, extended work hours, and in some instances restricted the movement of workers were also established my government officials. Nations also extended military service because of the high demand for soldiers and high number of casualties. By tapping into the available male population, the demand for workers at home increased and unemployment vanished virtually overnight.
Christmas 1914 and as war weariness and a decline in economic capability set in, the response of all belligerents was to limit individual freedoms and give control of society increasingly over to military leaders. Initially, ministers
and generals shrank from compulsive measures, even conscription of recruits, but they quickly changed their minds. Each belligerent government eventually militarized civilian war production by subordinating private enterprises to
governmental control and imposing severe discipline on the labor process. The war created a high demand for raw materials and manufactured goods. Governments felt compelled to abandon long-cherished ideals of laissez-faire capitalist market economy and to institute tight controls over economic life. Planning boards reorganized entire industries, set production quotas and priorities, and determined what would be produced and consumed. Wage and price controls, extended work hours, and in some instances restricted the movement of workers were also established my government officials. Nations also extended military service because of the high demand for soldiers and high number of casualties. By tapping into the available male population, the demand for workers at home increased and unemployment vanished virtually overnight.
Women at War
Because bloody battlefields caused an insatiable appetite soldiers the military was constantly tapping into the available male population. Joining the army took men out of the work force leaving gaps in the workforce that wartime leaders used women to fill. The combination of patriotism and high wages drew women into formerly "male" jobs. Some women took over the management of farms and businesses left by their husbands, while others found jobs as postal workers
and police officers. Behind battle lines women held jobs as nurses, physicians, and communication clerks. Potentially the most crucial work performed by women during the war was the making of shells. Several million women, and sometimes
children, put in long hours in munitions factories. This work exposed women to dangers such as working with volatile materials and TNT explosives. Many women perished from this work, but government censorship makes it impossible to get an accurate number. At the least, the employment of upper-class women spawned a degree of deliverance from parental control and gave women a sense of mission. The impact on working-class women, however, was minor as they were already accustomed to earning wages. In the end, substantial female employment was a transitory phenomenon. After the war women also started to gain more rights.
and police officers. Behind battle lines women held jobs as nurses, physicians, and communication clerks. Potentially the most crucial work performed by women during the war was the making of shells. Several million women, and sometimes
children, put in long hours in munitions factories. This work exposed women to dangers such as working with volatile materials and TNT explosives. Many women perished from this work, but government censorship makes it impossible to get an accurate number. At the least, the employment of upper-class women spawned a degree of deliverance from parental control and gave women a sense of mission. The impact on working-class women, however, was minor as they were already accustomed to earning wages. In the end, substantial female employment was a transitory phenomenon. After the war women also started to gain more rights.
Flora Sandes
Flora Sandes is an Englishwoman that was able to find a place among the ranks of the Serbian army during the First World War. Sandes was initially an ambulance driver on the Eastern Front but managed to enlist with the Serbs.
Supposedly, Sandes was accepted by the Serbs as the personification of British war aid. By 1916 the Serbs had already promoted her to sergeant-major. She stayed on after the war with the Serbian army eventually becoming a major. She
also published a book on her experiences as a soldier in the Serbian Army in 1916, with a view to raising funds for her brothers in arms.
Supposedly, Sandes was accepted by the Serbs as the personification of British war aid. By 1916 the Serbs had already promoted her to sergeant-major. She stayed on after the war with the Serbian army eventually becoming a major. She
also published a book on her experiences as a soldier in the Serbian Army in 1916, with a view to raising funds for her brothers in arms.
Propaganda
To maintain the spirit of the home front and to counter threats to national unity, governments resorted to the restriction of civil liberties, censorship of bad news and vilification of the enemy through propaganda. The propaganda offices of the belligerent nations tried to convince the public that military defeat would mean the destruction of everything worth living for. To that end they did their utmost to discredit and dehumanize the enemy. Posters, pamphlets, and "scientific" studies depicted the enemy as subhuman savages who engaged in vile atrocities. Most atrocity stories originated in the fertile imagination of propaganda officers, and their falsehood eventually engendered public skepticism and cynicism. Ironically, public disbelief of wartime propaganda led to an inability to believe in the abominations perpetrated during subsequent wars.