US 5th war loan poster with 2 US sailors on a submarine
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 28.000 inches (71.12 cm) | Width: 20.000 inches (50.8 cm)
Creator(s)
- Georges Schreiber (Artist)
- United States Treasury Department War Finance Division (Author)
- United States Office of War Information (Distributor)
- United States Government Printing Office (Printer)
Biographical History
Georges Schreiber, (1904-1977) was an artist born in Brussels, Belgium. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts and worked as a freelance artist for German newspapers as a young man. In 1928, he immigrated to the United States where he found work as an illustrator for books and magazines, a lithographer, and a painter. In the 1930s, Schreiber travelled across America several times, painting images of American life. In 1936, he was employed as an artist by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). During World War II, Schreiber was commissioned by the United States Army and Navy to create images for war posters, and he designed several War Bond posters for the war effort. Schreiber’s work has been exhibited at the Carnegie Institute, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Art Institute of Chicago, Whitney Museum of American Art, Metropolitan Museum, and the Museum of Modern Art.
The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was created on June 13, 1942, to centralize and control the content and production of government information and propaganda about the war. It coordinated the release of war news for domestic use, and using posters along with radio broadcasts, worked to promote patriotism, warn about foreign spies, and recruit women into war work. The office also established an overseas branch, which launched a large-scale information and propaganda campaign abroad. The government appealed to the public through popular culture and more than a quarter of a billion dollars' worth of advertising was donated during the first three years of the National Defense Savings Program. Victory in Europe was declared on May 8, 1945, and in Japan on September 2, 1945. The OWI ceased operation in September.
Archival History
The poster was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1988 by David and Zelda Silberman.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of David and Zelda Silberman
Funding Note: The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
Scope and Content
Poster for the 5th War Loan campaign featuring two sailors on watch aboard a submarine at night. The poster includes the words: In memory, U.S.S. Dorado. The Dorado was a Gato-class submarine, the first US mass produced submarines of the war. The Dorado launched May 23, 1943, and was lost with all hands in the Caribbean on October 12. It was later discovered that the Dorado was bombed by a US airplane that mistook her for a German U-boat. The Dorado has never been found. The campaign for the 5th War Loan subscription took place from June 12 - July 8, 1944. There were 8 war loan drives from 1942 to 1945. By the end of the war, 85 million Americans had purchased 185.7 billion dollars of bonds.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Offset color lithograph poster with an image of two sailors in blue jackets with US Navy on the back, and black knit caps on the exterior of a submarine at night. The soldier on the left is operating a large signal light, aiming a bright yellow rectangle of light, while the marine on the lower deck looks through binoculars for the other ship's signal. In the center is the gray oval shape of the submarine, flying a red, white, and blue US flag, in dark water with white breakers. In the lower left is a 5th war loan stamp, with a Minuteman. In the upper left corner: IN MEMORY U.S.S. "DORADO." The text FIRE AWAY is in red within the signal light. The artist's name, date, and title are along the bottom.
People
- Schreiber, Georges, 1904-1977.
Subjects
- World War, 1939-1945--Economic aspects--United States--Posters--Specimens.
- World War, 1939-1945--United States--Posters--Specimens.
- World War, 1939-1945--Finance--United States--Posters--Specimens.
- War posters, American--Specimens.
- Savings bonds--United States--Posters--Specimens.
- War posters--Specimens.
Genre
- Object
- Posters