The destruction of nature due to the First World War. Representations and reflections on conservationism and protectionism in the illustrated magazines of Buenos Aires (1914-1919)

Abstract

The First World War was an event of total and global characteristics. The destruction caused by new weapons affected nature in a way never seen before. Images and accounts of environmental destruction circulated around the globe, finding an eager audience in Buenos Aires that was keen to consume and engage with those narratives. In this work, we aim to analyze, from the social and cultural history of war and environmental history, the representations of nature’s destruction published in illustrated magazines in Buenos Aires during the war. We argue that those images and narratives about the suffering of the non-human world became part of local debates on forest conservation and animal protection, which had been gaining momentum since the pre-war period.