Ben Shahn poster with an image of a hooded man protesting the Nazi destruction of Lidice

Identifier
irn545816
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 2015.572.11
Dates
1 Jan 1942 - 31 Dec 1942
Level of Description
Item
Languages
  • English
Source
EHRI Partner

Extent and Medium

overall: Height: 38.000 inches (96.52 cm) | Width: 28.500 inches (72.39 cm)

Creator(s)

Biographical History

Ben Shahn was born in Kovno,(Kaunus) Lithuania, on September 12, 1898. Shahn immigrated to Brooklyn, New York, in 1906. He first worked as a lithographer's apprentice until 1930 and was formally educated at NYU and the National Academy of Design in New York City. He was associated with the Social Realist movement and his work often joined striking visual images with compassionate and powerful political commentary. During World War II (1939-1945) he designed posters the Office of War Information. Shahn, age 71, died on March 14, 1969.

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 acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2015.

Acquisition

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection. The acquisition of this collection was made possible by the Crown Family.

Funding Note: The acquisition of this artifact was made possible by the Crown Family.

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 created by Ben Shahn for the US Office of War Information as a response to the Nazi-led annihilation and destruction of communities throughout the Czech Republic, including Lidice. It also protests the retaliatory measures taken for the attempted assassination by Czech resistance members of Reinhard Heydrich, director of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, under the Nazi occupation.

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions on access

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Rectangular paper poster with an image of a man in a blue suit with a hood tied over his head. His clenched fists are chained to a red brick wall. Across his body is English text designed to look like the pasted strips from a telegram.

People

Subjects

Genre

This description is derived directly from structured data provided to EHRI by a partner institution. This collection holding institution considers this description as an accurate reflection of the archival holdings to which it refers at the moment of data transfer.