US poster depicting the Statue of Liberty and flags of the Allied Nations
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 28.000 inches (71.12 cm) | Width: 20.000 inches (50.8 cm)
Creator(s)
- United States Office of War Information (Distributor)
- United States Government Printing Office (Printer)
- Steve Broder (Artist)
Biographical History
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 2015 by David and Lucinda Pollack.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of David and Lucinda Pollack
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
US and Allied Nations propaganda poster with an image of the Statue of Liberty and Allied flags. It was issued by the Office of War Information as a symbol of the unity of the Allied forces against their common enemies, the Axis powers. On January 1, 1942, the US, Great Britain, Soviet Union, and China signed the United Nations Declaration, joined the next day by 22 other nations. The signatory governments pledged to exert the maximum war effort and not to make a separate peace. The United Nations was founded 3 years later. The need to manage the war on the Home Front led to the establishment of the OWI in June 1942. This office controlled the design and distribution of war information to the American public in posters, photographs, radio shows, and films. They commissioned work from leading artists and the posers were distributed to retailers for display.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Offset color lithographic poster with an image of an etching of the head and raised arm with torch of the Statue of Liberty on the left. To the right are 4 columns of 30 national flags with the nation’s name under each in white on a black background: column 1: UNITED STATES / AUTRALIA / COSTA RICA / EL SALVADOR / HAITI / MEXICO ; column 2: GREAT BRITAIN / BELGIUM / CUBA / ETHIOPIA / HONDURAS / NETHERLANDS ; column 3: SOVIET RUSSIA / BRAZIL / CZECHOSLOVAKIA / GREECE / INDIA / NEW ZEALAND / NORWAY / PHILIPPINES / SOUTH AFRICA ; column 4: CHINA / CANADA / DOMINICAN REPUBLIC / GUATEMALA / LUZEMBOURG / NICARAGUA / PANAMA / POLAND / YUGOSLAVIA. The title is in large white uppercase letters across the top. It was folded into quarters for mailing convenience. See record 1988.42.43 for another copy of this poster.
People
- Broder, Steve, 1906-1992.
Subjects
- War posters, American.
- War posters--Specimens.
- Allied Powers (1919- )--Posters--Specimens.
- World War, 1939-1945--United States--Posters--Specimens.
Genre
- Posters
- Object