British World War II poster with a pair of gripper pliers crushing a swastika

Identifier
irn619007
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 2018.370.3
Level of Description
Item
Languages
  • English
Source
EHRI Partner

Extent and Medium

overall: Height: 19.875 inches (50.483 cm) | Width: 13.375 inches (33.973 cm)

Creator(s)

Archival History

The poster was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2018 by Suzanne Herskovic Ponder.

Acquisition

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Suzanne Herskovic Ponder

Scope and Content

Wartime poster designed by Frank Newbould featuring a pair of gripper pliers crushing a swastika. After the fall of France in June of 1940, Great Britain was left alone to withstand the full force of the German military and needed every citizen to do their part and assist in national defense. The gripper pliers symbolize how a unified industrial workforce could crush the Nazi threat. During the war, Britain’s economy transformed into a war economy focused on production for the war effort. Workers were tied to jobs that were considered essential, and employers were prevented from terminating workers without permission from the government. The poster was published by Her Majesty’s Stationary Office (HMSO). The HMSO was founded in the 1780s to provide documentary support and paper based supplies for the British government. The office was instructed to supervise the printing of 78 million ration books and instruction manuals on everything from cooking to air raids before the outbreak of the war. Frank Newbould was an artist who designed travel promotion posters for rail and shipping lines. In 1942, he joined the War Office, where he designed the “Your Britain: Fight for It Now” series of posters.

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions on access

Conditions Governing Reproduction

Restrictions on use. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum does not own copyright to this material. No information about the copyright was included on the Deed of Gift.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Poster printed on medium weight white paper with an image of a pair of black gripper pliers crushing a red swastika. The swastika has several cracks and breaks in its surface, and the top arm is falling off as the pliers’ C shaped jaws apply pressure. Above the image are three lines of large blue text. The lower right corner has a line of small black text and the artist’s signature is on the lower left. The center has a horizontal crease and there are several creases and pinholes at the corners. The back has small dirt stains throughout.

People

Corporate Bodies

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.