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Posters produced by the British government, 1914-15 IWM (Art.IWM PST 5109 and Art.IWM PST 13654)
Task 3 Vocabulary
Match the words to their definitions.
1. morally justified
2. starvation
3. a blockade
4. neutral
Task 4 Essay
Read the students essay. Does the writer agree or disagree with the statement?
Discuss the statement In the First World War all sides were morally justified in their actions.
To many, the First World War was a moral war. Each side fought because they felt it was right to do
so, and that their opponent was the enemy of freedom or justice. Countries were prepared to do
terrible things and claim the moral high ground. How far were their actions
justified?
On the morning of the 16th December 1914, the German navy bombed the
tourist town of Scarborough in the north of Britain. One hundred and thirtyseven people were killed in the attack, many of them civilians. For the British
this was a terrible crime but for Germany, on the other hand, it was
completely justifiable. By attacking the coast the Germans hoped to bring out
British ships that were hiding in ports, and perhaps break their control of the
North Sea. If British ships were not going to come out to fight then Germany
believed it was justified to attack.
IWM (Q 33169)
From the start of the war, the British operated a blockade to starve the Germans
of the food and materials they might need to fight the war. They blocked ships carrying goods, even
food. Within weeks, Germany and Austria were hungry. There werent enough people working the
land, there were bad harvests in 1916, and food riots took place in winter. Some people only had
animal food to eat. Schools were closed because they couldnt be heated. More than four hundred
thousand Germans died from disease or starvation because of the blockade and it is believed to be
one of the key reasons for the allied victory. For the British, all of this was justified. Cutting off German
supplies would help the British win. How does this number of German deaths compare to the British
civilians killed in the bombing of Scarborough?
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The United Kingdoms international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. A registered charity: 209131 (England and Wales) SC037733 (Scotland).
from New York. The Germans warned the ship that they
would fire on the ship if it sailed. The Lusitania was just off the Irish coast when it was hit by a single
torpedo. One thousand two hundred people died on board, including one hundred and twenty-eight
Americans, many of them civilians. For Germany, this course of action was within the rules, as they
warned the ship before they fired. For the UK, however, this was considered a terrible crime and it
started a wave of anti-German feeling across the UK.
Despite being neutral, America had an important role to play in the war even before it joined in 1917.
American businesses made money by supplying all sides with the materials they needed to fight.
Britain spent a large amount of their war budget in America and Germany also relied on the USA for
supplies. The USA could turn a blind eye to the war in Europe, although both sides needed American
goods to kill each other.
In the First World War, all sides claimed to be right and each side could provide good arguments as to
why their actions were moral and justifiable. In war, perhaps, there is no morality and when countries
start to fight and kill each other, there can be no justification for their actions.
Arguments for
Arguments against
Task 7 Discussion
Talk about these questions with your partner.
1. Which crime do you think was worse, the
bombing of Scarborough or the British
blockade of Germany? Why?
2. Was Germany justified in sinking the
Lusitania? Why or why not?
3. Was America justified in selling weapons to
both Britain and Germany? Why?
4. Is war ever justified? Are there any benefits
from war?
4
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