---
title: Die Wacht am Rhein (The Watch on the Rhine)
url: https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/die-wacht-am-rhein-the-watch-on-the-rhine-1918/
description: An American soldier in a steel helmet stands with rifle and bayonet on the Rhine's bank, the Stars and Stripes flying over a castle behind him and a German
section: Collection
---

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3. Die Wacht am Rhein (The Watch on the Rhine)

[![Die Wacht am Rhein, 1918 US poster: An American soldier in a steel helmet stands with rifle and bayonet on the Rhine's bank](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/die-wacht-am-rhein-the-watch-on-the-rhine-1918.jpg)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/die-wacht-am-rhein-the-watch-on-the-rhine-1918.jpg)

# Die Wacht am Rhein (The Watch on the Rhine)

An American soldier in a steel helmet stands with rifle and bayonet on the Rhine's bank, the Stars and Stripes flying over a castle behind him and a German helmet lying discarded at his feet. The caption takes the title of the German patriotic song 'Die Wacht am Rhein' and applies it to the American guard, turning a German national symbol into a claim of Allied victory.

## Propaganda techniques used in this poster

[Semantic hijacking](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/semantic-hijack/) [Transfer](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/)

## Text on the object

Original (German and English) · read from the image, not independently checked

```
Die·Wacht·am·Rhein
(The Watch on the Rhine)
```

English translation (machine translation by Claude, not verified by a fluent reader)

```
The Watch on the Rhine (the English line is printed on the sheet)
```

[← Czechoslovaks! Join Our Free Colors!](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/czechoslovaks-join-our-free-colors-1918/) [Don't Let Up. Keep On Saving Food. →](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/dont-let-up-keep-on-saving-food-1918/)

## More propaganda examples that use the same techniques

- [Punch, 'The Jamaica Question' (Tenniel), 23 December 1865](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/punch-jamaica-question-1865/) (United Kingdom · Dec 23, 1865 · Name-calling, Semantic hijacking). Content note: Full-page period caricature of a Black Jamaican man, a white planter and a clergyman, made in the context of the 1865 Morant Bay killings.
- [Re-construction, or 'a white man's government'](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/reconstruction-white-mans-government-currier-ives-1868/) (United States · 1868 · Semantic hijacking). Content note: 1868 pro-Grant print with a racial slur and dialect in its printed speech.
- [True democracy is safe! (Puck)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/puck-true-democracy-is-safe-palmer-1896/) (United States · Sep 30, 1896 · Semantic hijacking)
- [Mr. John Dillon, M.P., on recruiting in Ireland. Join an Irish regiment to-day](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/john-dillon-on-recruiting-in-ireland-1915/) (United Kingdom · 1915 · Testimonial, Semantic hijacking)
- [Auch die Geduld hat ein Ende (Even Patience Has an End), German-language leaflet for German soldiers](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/allied-leaflet-auch-die-geduld-hat-ein-ende-1918/) (Transnational · 1918 · Scapegoating, Semantic hijacking)
- [Battle for Fuel: Use Less Coal & Coke](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/battle-for-fuel-use-less-coal-coke-uk-1939/) (United Kingdom · 1939 · Semantic hijacking)
- [The Battle for Fuel: Use less water](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/uk-battle-for-fuel-use-less-water-1939/) (United Kingdom · 1939 · Semantic hijacking)
- [Anything less than your best is DESERTING - It's now or never on the production line](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/canada-anything-less-than-your-best-is-deserting-1940/) (Canada · 1940 · Semantic hijacking)