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Censorship in Practice (1914-16)

These documents show the manner in which newspaper articles were censored during the war. Note the elision of anything that could be considered critical of the war. Entire articles were banished.

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I. “Letter from a Volunteer at the Front” (November 1914)

“For eight days now, the cannons have been thundering in front of us, the fresh volunteers, against the Russian positions. Because of the cold, which in spite of three shirts and waistbands shakes our bodies, because of the forced marches, because of the bacon and bread that stands in for warm meals, because of long sentries at night, in which the ice cold wind brings tears to our eyes, we are being forced to think about ourselves and to be candid about our situation and our burdens. The old reserves, who already have been through heavy attacks, throw us friendly and encouraging looks.”


II. Notices from a Meeting of the City Council of October 31, 1916 (November 4, 1916)

“The Lord Mayor is empowered, in the name of the City Council, to become a member of the Youth Allegiance League [Jugend-Treubund] of the Central Powers and its Allies.

“The municipal Garden Department has been given the task, together with the Forestry Department, to send the firs and bushes, etc. that the city has donated as decorations to the army cemetery in Lens.

“In the future, the allocation materials are to be provided by municipal offices without charge.”


III. Notices from a Meeting of the City Council of October 31, 1916 (November 6, 1916)

“The Lord Mayor is empowered, in the name of the City Council, to become a member of the Youth Allegiance League [Jugend-Treubund] of the Central Powers and its Allies.

“In the future, the allocation materials are to be provided by municipal offices without charge.”



Source: I: Anne Lipp, Meinungslenkung im Krieg: Kriegserfahrungen deutscher Soldaten und ihre Deutung 1914-1918 [Controlling Opinion in War: War Experiences of German Soldiers and their Interpretation]. Göttingen, 2003, 18, n. 35. II: Freiburger Tagblatt [The Freiburg Daily], No. 258, November 4, 1916. III. Freiburger Zeitung [The Freiburg Newspaper], No. 303, November 6, 1916.

Translation: Jeffrey Verhey and Roger Chickering

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