Cultural Exchange in a Time of Global Conflict

Gefecht der Schutztruppe in D.S.W._Seite_1.jpg

Skirmish of the colonial protective force in German Southwest Africa (mounted infantry of the protection force)

The picture shows German officers and a native soldier of the Schutztruppe in German Southwest Africa, modern-day Namibia. The force is apparently defending a fortification. The officers and the…

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Themes: Race; Propaganda; Postcard; Imperial Strategy
Tags: Colonial soldiers, Colonial Troops, Colonialism, colonies, Germany, Imperial identity, imperial strategy, mobilisation, Mobility, painting, postcard

Die Verkündigung des Heiligen Krieges.jpg

The Great War 1914/1915. Declaration of the Holy War

The picture shows a group of troopers and foot soldiers celebrating together; two men beat drums, while others wave their rifles. The flag of the Ottoman Empire is visible. A building is discernible…

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Themes: Religion; Propaganda; Postcard; Imperial Strategy
Tags: Colonialism, cultural propaganda, imperial strategy, Jihad, mobilisation, Mobility, Muslim, orientalism, Ottoman Empire, painting, pan-Islamism, postcard

Algeria – Zouave on sentry duty

The postcard depicts a Zouave soldier in full uniform, resting on his rifle and gazing into the distance. The soldier’s facial expression conveys confidence, reliability, and strength, assuring the…

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Themes: Race; Postcard; Photograph; Imperial Strategy
Tags: Algeria, Colonial soldiers, Colonial Troops, colonies, France, imperial strategy, mobilisation, postcard

Daheimgebliebene und Kriegsgefangene bei der Heuernte.jpg

People who stayed at home and prisoners of war harvesting the hay

The picture shows a number of people helping to store the hay in a barn. On the right, an elderly man supervises. On the left, a man, presumably a French prisoner of war, holds a scythe and watches…

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Themes: Propaganda; Postcard; Captivity
Tags: Labour, painting, Personal Encounters, postcard, POW, The Other

Württemberg war exhibition. Stuttgart – May to September: France’s coloured auxiliary peoples

The picture shows a wooden shelter surrounded by various men of colour, who wear different types of uniforms. Two of the men hold rifles, while others are sitting around a wooden object. The whole…

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Themes: Race; Propaganda; Postcard; Imperial Strategy
Tags: Colonialism, cultural propaganda, imperial strategy, Mobility, Photograph, postcard, The Other

'The Empire's Flag'

The propaganda postcard ‘The Empire’s Flag’ was sent to many British colonies and protectorates in 1916 and 1917. On the obverse, it bears an image of the Union Jack and, on the reverse, a poem…

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Themes: Race; Propaganda; Postcard; Poem; Mobility; Language; Imperial Strategy
Tags: Arabic, Chinese, Colonial soldiers, Colonial Troops, English, Great-Britain, Imperial identity, imperial strategy, Language, loyalty, Malay, postcard, Urdu, Wellington House

He said something!

Propaganda postcard promoting Dutch neutrality whilst being under foreign pressure to join the war, drawn by the Dutch painter Theo Molkenboer.

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Themes: Propaganda; Postcard; Neutrality
Tags: Dutch, Neutrality, postcard, Propaganda, The Netherlands

All or nothing

Propaganda postcard promoting Dutch neutrality, drawn by the Dutch painter Theo Molkenboer.

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Themes: Propaganda; Postcard
Tags: Dutch, Neutrality, postcard, Propaganda, The Netherlands

Frenchmen, Belgians, Senegalese Tirailleurs, Zouaves, and Turkos captured near to Ypres

The picture displays a group of prisoners of war (possibly recently captured) close to Ypres, one of the most embattled cities on the Western Front. The soldiers seem to belong to different branches…

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Themes: Race; Propaganda; Postcard; Imperial Strategy; Captivity
Tags: anti-French, Colonial soldiers, Colonial Troops, imperial strategy, Photograph, postcard, POW, Propaganda

'Camp Weinberg near Zossen' and 'Zossen 1914-17'

The first picture shows the inauguration of the Tatar memorial stone in the Tatar section of the cemetery in Zehrensdorf. Prisoners from both propaganda camps attended the ceremony, as well as Ottoman…

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Themes: Religion; Propaganda; Photograph; Imperial Strategy; Captivity
Tags: Colonial soldiers, Colonial Troops, Halfmoon Camp, imperial strategy, Jihad, mobilisation, orientalism, pan-Islamism, Photograph, postcard, POW, pow-camp, Propaganda, religion

In Holland staat een huis, JA - JA!!!.jpg

In Holland stands a house, YES - YES!!!

This postcard is based on an old Dutch song for children ‘In Holland stands a house’. Soldiers of all belligerent nations are pictured dancing around the Dutch Peace Palace, a symbol of the…

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Themes: Propaganda; Postcard; Neutrality
Tags: Neutrality, Pacifism, Peace, postcard, The Netherlands

’Culture brothers’ in the prison camp

The postcard is suggestive of the wide range of people fighting for the Allied armies. The mix of people - their uniforms, their skin tone, their facial expressions, and their postures - in front of a…

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Themes: Race; Postcard; Mobility; Imperial Strategy; Captivity
Tags: imperial strategy, orientalism, painting, postcard, POW, pow-camp, Propaganda, Racism, The Other

Aus einem unserer mohammedanischen Gefangenenlager.jpg

From one of our Muslim prison camps. Dolce far niente in the sunshine

The photo shows a group of North African prisoners of war, two prisoners of unknown origin, and an officer, all in front of barracks. The prisoners are arranged in a way that shows them to be…

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Themes: Religion; Race; Propaganda; Postcard; Photograph; Imperial Strategy; Captivity
Tags: anti-colonialism, anti-French, Colonial soldiers, Colonial Troops, German Revolutionary Program, Halfmoon Camp, Jihad, Muslims, Personal Encounters, Photograph, postcard, Propaganda, The Other

The Heroic Women

A series of postcards signed by Em. Dupuis (probably the French illustrator Emile Dupuis) portraying women from different Allied regions.

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Themes: Postcard; Gender
Tags: Allies, France, Gender, postcard, Propaganda, Race

Halfmoon Camp in Wünsdorf-Zossen. Three-legged race

The postcard shows a group of prisoners of war and their guards in the propaganda camp in Wünsdorf. They are shown supposedly in their leisure time; some of them doing a three-legged race, others are…

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Themes: Race; Propaganda; Postcard; Photograph; Captivity
Tags: colonial intellectual, Colonial soldiers, Colonial Troops, German Revolutionary Program, Halfmoon Camp, imperial strategy, Jihad, Muslims, Personal Encounters, Photograph, postcard, POW, pow-camp

It won't be possible!

Propaganda postcard commenting on the British naval blockade, drawn by the Dutch painter Theo Molkenboer.

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Themes: Propaganda; Postcard
Tags: Dutch, Neutrality, postcard, Propaganda, The Netherlands

French prisoners of war

This photograph captures a rare encounter between colonial prisoners of war and the German public. A group of prisoners of war are escorted by German soldiers through the streets of Zossen-Wünsdorf,…

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Themes: Race; Propaganda; Postcard; Photograph; Imperial Strategy; Captivity
Tags: Colonial soldiers, Colonial Troops, German Revolutionary Program, Halfmoon Camp, India, Mobility, Photograph, postcard, POW, The Other, western front

German prisoners in Algiers

A postcard picturing German prisoners in Algiers. On the reverse are words printed in poor Dutch: 'One can see from the look of them that they have not suffered from their treatment' ('Men kan hat hem…

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Themes: Propaganda; Postcard; Neutrality; Language; Imperial Strategy; Captivity
Tags: Algeria, Camp, France, Germany, postcard, POWs, Propaganda, Soldiers