Falsehood in War-time: Atrocity Stories, Faked Photographs, The Criminal Kaiser, and Germany’s Sole Responsibility for the War

The article gives the first Russian-language translation of four chapters from the book “Falsehood in War-time” (1929) by British politician and writer Arthur Ponsonby (1871–1946). The translation was made by Alexander B. Belousov, a Senior Researcher at the Institute of Philosophy and Law of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The chapter “Atrocity Stories” examines in detail the stories of German troops’ atrocities, which were circulated in leaflets, pamphlets, letters, and speeches during World War I almost every day. The British author provides documented evidence of how these stories were verified, resulting in the proof of their falsity. The chapter “Faked Photographs” reveals the use of fake photography captions with various examples. It is noted that faked pictures hold special value, as they have a greater impact than any mere statements that could be criticized or denied. It was difficult to detect falsity at that time. The faking of photographs amounted almost to an industry during the war, with Ponsonby noting that the French excelled the most in this practice. The chapter “The Criminal Kaiser” traces the political logic of personifying responsibility for the outbreak of war. Ponsonby believes that in the future this played a bad joke on the governments of European states, since the lack of punishment for actions led to deep disappointment among the people. The chapter “Germany’s Sole Responsibility for the War” shows that accusing the enemy of sole responsibility for the war is a common form in every nation and in every war. After World War I, doubts arose about adequacy of the accusations, once again proving their mythical nature. The translation is provided with factual comments, as well as Alexander Belousov’s article “Arthur Ponsonby and the Abolition of Propaganda”, which examines the issues raised by the British author, which are still relevant today. 

Keywords: World War I, propaganda, manipulation, public opinion, lies