Pair of lobby cards for the film “The World at War” (1941)
Extent and Medium
.1: Height: 11.000 inches (27.94 cm) | Width: 14.000 inches (35.56 cm)
.2: Height: 11.000 inches (27.94 cm) | Width: 14.000 inches (35.56 cm)
Creator(s)
- Ken Sutak (Compiler)
- War Activities Committee of the Motion Pictures Industry (Distributor)
- United States Office of War Information (Production Company)
Biographical History
The Cinema Judaica Collection consists of more than 1,200 objects relating to films about World War II and the Holocaust as well as Jewish, Israeli, and biblical subjects, from 1923 to 2000, from the United States, Europe, Israel, Canada, Mexico, and Argentina. The collection was amassed by film memorabilia collector Ken Sutak, to document Holocaust-and Jewish-themed movies of the World War II era and the postwar years. The collection includes posters, lobby and photo cards, scene stills, pressbooks, trade ads, programs, magazines, books, VHS tapes, DVDS, and 78 rpm records. Sutak organized these materials into two groups, “Cinema Judaica: The War Years, 1939–1949” and “Cinema Judaica: The Epic Cycle, 1950–1972” and, in conjunction with the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Museum (now the Dr. Bernard Heller Museum in New York), organized exhibitions on these two themes in 2007 and 2008. Sutak subsequently authored companion books with the same titles.
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 lobby cards were donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2018 by Ken Sutak and Sherri Venokur.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Ken Sutak and Sherri Venokur
Scope and Content
Pair of lobby cards for the American film, “The World at War,” released by the United States Government in September 1942. Lobby cards are promotional materials placed in theater lobby windows to highlight specific movie scenes, rather than the broader themes often depicted on posters. This documentary film chronicles the decade leading up to the U.S. entry into World War II, and highlights the pre-war debate within the country between isolationists and interventionists. It includes clips of Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union, the aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and President Roosevelt’s famous “Infamy” speech following the attack. Comprised of newsreel footage and films captured from the Nazis, it was the first feature-length film produced by the U.S. Government and the first wartime propaganda film made by the Office of War Information (OWI). With cooperation of the major Hollywood distributors (20th Century-Fox, MGM, Paramount, RKO, and Warner Bros.), it was released to theaters free of charge. This object is one of more than 1,200 objects in the Cinema Judaica Collection of materials related to films about World War II and the Holocaust as well as Jewish, Israeli, and biblical themes.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
Restrictions on use. Copyright status is unknown.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
.1 Lobby card printed on rectangular, off-white paper. The card has a white exterior border on all four sides with a wide margin on the left side. On the right side of the card is a large, purple-toned photographic image of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt addressing the United States Congress. He is surrounded by several labeled media microphones and men in dark suits. Above and below the image are lines of black text with the production credits. The film title is in large, black, block letters in the lower left corner, with printing and copyright information printed in the two bottom corners. The lobby card has slight wear and discoloration along the edges. There are several small tears along the left and right edges. Depicted: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, others unidentified .2 Lobby card printed on rectangular, off-white paper. The card has a white exterior border on all four sides with a wide margin on the left side. On the right side of the card is a large, purple-toned photographic, birds’-eye view image of numerous soldiers in field uniforms, marching in a block formation. Above and below the image are lines of black text with the production credits. The film title is in large, black block letters in the lower left corner, with printing and copyright information printed to the two bottom corners. The lobby card has slight wear and discoloration along the edges, and there are several pinholes in the corners and along the edges. There is a small tear on the left edge, and red ink transfer from another image on the back.
People
- Stewart, Paul, 1908-1986.
- Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945.
Corporate Bodies
- United States. Office of War Information
Subjects
- War films.
- Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack on, 1941.
- Motion pictures--Distribution.
- World War, 1939-1945--Motion pictures and the war.
- Nonfiction films.
- History in motion pictures.
- Mass media--United States.
- Armed Forces in motion pictures.
- Imperialism in motion pictures.
- United States.
- Documentary films.
- International relations in motion pictures.
- World War, 1939-1945--Propaganda.
- World War, 1939-1945--Mass media and the war.
Genre
- Object
- Display Cards.
- Posters