Bolo Pacha

Propaganda was first used on a large scale as a military weapon during World War I, and it was a powerful weapon indeed for all of the countries involved in this conflict. In Bolo Pacha, author Shelby F. Westbrook tells the story of one man, Paul Marie Bolo, who played a central role in a plot to assume control of French newspapers in order to influence the course of events in Germany's favor- a plot perpetrated by several prominent international bankers and politicians of the day.

By the time World War I began in 1914, Germany was well prepared for its conflict with France. Using the same tactics they employed to defeat France in the Franco-Prussian War, the Germans had established a bureau for espionage and another for propaganda. It was difficult to separate the spy from the propagandist. Both had the same purpose-to defeat the enemy.

Paul Marie Bolo was neither. He was a profiteer. A Frenchmen of limited means and morality, but with great ambition, Bolo sought to enrich himself by playing a major behind-the-scenes role in Germany's insatiable quest for power through propaganda.