Soldier newspapers are a massive, yet little used primary source of the First World War. They were read and written by the almost universally literate men at or near the front in the French, British, and German armies. Although they were shaped by both official censorship as well as powerful self-censorship, these newspapers were popular. Importantly, they were purchased by a soldier audience seeking both reassurance and justification. Each army found itself in a different context. Although each set of newspapers depicts elements of a universal experience for all soldiers, they also unsurprisingly indicate the distinct national experiences of each army.
Explanation:
Introduction↑
The newspapers created by and for soldiers, at or near the front, in the First World War (WWI), represent the single greatest shared print discourse of the war.The many millions of soldiers’ letters, while often using the language of this shared discourse, were nevertheless private and almost always intended for a non-military audience. Soldier newspapers, however, were written for – and shared among – a massive, yet distinct community of (almost solely) men seeking daily justification and motivation for – and an understanding of – their often extreme circumstances. These were "club newsletters," in a manner of speaking. Both the authors and the readers were members of the same club, away from home, every one of them familiar with the threat of mortal danger. Like letters, newspapers were the victim of both official and self-censorship, and like letters they must always be read with a critical eye. But they were enormously popular and were read (or read aloud and listened to) by millions. Therefore, they cannot be dismissed as mere propaganda. They function as lenses through which one sees elements of the daily life of soldiers, catches glimpses of humour, and beholds visions of women (both loyally on the home front and not so "loyally" behind the lines). But interestingly, for the most part in these pages there are no depictions of the enemy, at least not the portrayals endorsed by home front propaganda. Finally, the similarities and differences between the newspapers of the German, French and British armies illustrate the many ways in which the soldiers of each nation participated in the same war, but with intriguing disparities accounted for by the very different circumstances each army confronted
