30 iconic posters from World War II
Some of the posters fueled patriotism, faith in the nation, and a belief in the righteousness of the war effort to protect national values and virtues.
30 iconic posters from World War II
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Propaganda can be a powerful weapon, capable of arousing passions, unifying communities, stirring up fear, or changing minds no bullet or bomb can do. During World War II, Allied and Axis forces used propaganda posters to spread their messages around the world.
Stacker searched Getty Archives to find 30 iconic posters from World War II that highlight their power and enduring style. They hail from the United States, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Vichy France. Some of the posters fueled patriotism, faith in the nation, and a belief in the righteousness of the war effort to protect national values and virtues.
Many aimed to boost morale and deliver a message of shared sacrifice. Duty meant scraping together money to invest in a United States war bond or digging a victory garden to feed the family. Every citizen had a job to do.
War could be glorified, with posters showing might and muscle as well as confidence and courage. Soldiers were handsome and fearless, guns were sturdy, and legions of airplanes overhead were formidable. But many were dark reminders of battlefield losses, sinister images of a lurking enemy, or the perils of careless talk or a slit of light breaching a blackout. Some reached out to particular audiences such as women, encouraging them to step out and test out new roles. Those invitations to change would mark the dawn of modern feminism. More than a few had messages that are familiar and popular today, whether they are calls to conserve fuel, travel lightly, or grow food locally on rooftops and in empty lots.
Propaganda posters from all sides were an extraordinary art form that used basic colors and simple words to reach the broadest audience.
The icons survive. Uncle Sam and Rosie the Riveter are still employed today. The works remain stirring and powerful, even as we may hope the brutality and cruelty of such a war remain a thing of the past.
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'Buy More War Bonds and Stampsâ
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In this poster, circa 1942, a powerful fist punches through the image of a swastika, urging Americans to âBuy More War Bonds and Stamps.â The United States issued war bonds and stamps to help finance the war effort.
âWeâre Building Things Up!â
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This 1932 election poster for Germanyâs Nazi Party declares âWeâre Building Things Upâ with a muscular man posing against a set of stone blocks etched with the words âWork,â âFreedom,â and âBread.â He looks down upon two older, weaker rivals offering unemployment, corruption, lies, and more.
âI Want Youâ
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One of the most lasting and iconic symbols of U.S. patriotism is Uncle Sam, clad in red, white, and blue with piercing eyes and a pointing finger in this recruitment poster. James Montgomery Flagg, a magazine illustrator, used himself as the model. First produced in World War I, the poster was adapted for use in World War II.
âKeep Calm and Carry Onâ
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The slogan âKeep Calm and Carry Onâ was printed on posters by the British government to be distributed in the event of a German invasion. As that did not happen, the poster was never officially used in public, and following the war, copies were believed destroyed in the National Salvage Campaign recycling effort. Decades later, a handful of the posters were found. Today the saying is the basis of popular memes from humorous to political.
âCome into the Factoriesâ
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The âCome into the Factoriesâ poster encouraged women in Britain to fill critical jobs such as manufacturing as the men went off to fight. Efforts to draw women into the war effort were often aimed at those who had never worked outside the home.
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âAdolf Hitler ist der Sieg!â
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This German poster of the Nazi leader posed behind a chair declares, âAdolf Hitler is Victory.â The portrait was created by German artist Rudolf Gerhard Zill.
Japanese air force poster
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Japanese war propaganda posters sought to glorify the nationâs military might. This poster of the Imperial Air Force shows countless airplanes flying over a globe decorated with Japanâs historic sun symbols.
âAvenge Pearl Harborâ
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This dramatic call to arms asks Americans to take action following the Japanese attack on the U.S. Navy on Dec. 7, 1941. With Uncle Sam raising his fist at warplanes overhead, the appeal marked a key moment in the war, when Americans became motivated to spurn isolationism and join the cause.
âDefend Your Countryâ
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Uncle Sam is rolling up his sleeves, flexing his muscles and clenching his fist in this U.S. Army âDefend Your Countryâ recruitment poster. Simple and bright, it presents a sense of confidence and strength.
âWe Can Do Itâ
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Rosie the Riveter declaring âWe Can Do Itâ is one of the most recognizable U.S. icons to emerge from World War II. Yet the poster was only displayed for two weeks in Westinghouse factories. It was decades later when modern-day feminism emerged that the image enjoyed widespread popularity, showing that women could perform jobs traditionally held by men.
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âIs YOUR Trip Necessary?â
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The âIs YOUR Trip Necessary?â poster of the bright-eyed, eager faces of troops gathered in front of a train was used by the U.S. governmentâs Office of Defense Transportation to remind civilians that the railroad was needed in the war effort. By 1943, the government restricted leisure use of automobiles and busses to conserve fuel and rubber, leaving just trains for traveling long distances. Commercial artist Montgomery Melbourne, who made the image, is credited with designing advertising images for Kool cigarettes, Morton Salt, and Wrigleyâs Spearmint Gum.
âKeep Us Flying!â
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âKeep Us Flying! Buy War Bonds" by an unidentified artist portrays Lt. Robert W. Dietz, a Tuskegee Airman. Black men who registered for the draft served in segregated units like the Tuskegee Airmen of the U.S. Army Air Corps. It was highly decorated for bravery and distinguished service.
âThis is Nazi Brutalityâ
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The U.S. poster âThis is Nazi Brutality,â showing a hooded prisoner in chains, tells the story of the Czech village of Lidice, where all the men were shot and the women and children sent to camps in retaliation for the assassination of SS officer Reinhard Heydrich. Initial German intelligence indicated the villagers had helped the resistance, but eventually, there was no evidence they were involved. The poster was created by Lithuanian-born American artist Ben Shahn, known for his portrayals of social and political topics.
âBlackout!â
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This German poster reads, â'Der Feind sieht dein LichtâVerdunkeln!â or âThe Enemy sees your LightâBlackout!â The dark and threatening imagery shows a skeleton flinging a bomb from an airplane, with lit windows in a building below. Allied forces bombed Germany from 1941 to 1945, and German citizens were asked to cover their windows at night to make targets difficult for bombers to find. The poster was designed by German propaganda artist Otto Sander-Herweg.
âMeeting over Berlinâ
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Celebrating the alliance of the Soviet Union and Great Britain, pilots from each nation shake hands from their cockpits as they drop bombs over Berlin in this âMeeting over Berlinâ propaganda poster that declares âThis handshake will not be healthy for the Germans.â
The poster was created by Kukryniksy, the name used by three artistsâPorfirii Nikitich Krylov, Mikhail Vasilâevich Kupriianov, and Nikolai Aleksandrovich Sokolovâwho collaborated for many years on cartoons, book illustrations, and poster designs. Their work was widely published and honored by the Soviet government.
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âUNITED we are strongâ
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Glorifying the power of Allied forces, flags from each of the Allied nations are wrapped around the powerful cannons in the poster âUNITED we are strong. UNITED we will win.â Artist Henry Koerner fled Nazi persecution of the Jews and immigrated to the United States from Vienna in 1938. He returned to Europe as a U.S. soldier and learned that his family had been deported and died.
âBecome a Nurseâ
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The poster âBecome a Nurseâ was produced by the U.S. Public Health Service, encouraging women to become military nurses. The nation had a shortage of nurses during the war, and in 1943, Congress established the Cadet Nurse Corps. Almost 120,000 women trained with the Corps and served in military hospitals and other facilities.
âThey Give Bloodâ
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This German and Vichy French propaganda poster urged citizens to join the Service du Travail ObliÂgaÂtoire (STO) or Compulsory Work Service. It depicts lines of workers filing into factories under the image of a helmeted soldier and the words: âThey give blood, give your work to save Europe from Bolshevism." The STO required workers in collaborationist France to provide two years of service, and they were put to work in Germany, France, Austria, Poland, and Czechoslovakia.
âDoing all you can, brother?â
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A handsome blond, blue-eyed soldier, his head wrapped in a bloody bandage, asks, âDoing all you can, brother?â in this U.S. government poster advertising war bonds. During World War II, Americans bought more than $185 billion worth of war bonds that came in denominations as small as $25, were sold at a discount, and matured in 10 years. Commercial illustrator Robert Sloan was commissioned by the government to create the poster and given a Citation for Distinguished Service for the work.
âOf Course I Can!â
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A bright-eyed young woman in a kitchen apron clutches jars of preserves and vegetables as she declares, âOf Course I Can. I'm as patriotic as can beâAnd ration points won't worry me!â Her cheerful face was part of the governmentâs War Food Administration campaign that encouraged Americans to can food to cope with shortages and rationing. Artist Dick Williams was a commercial illustrator whose work appeared in newspaper and magazine advertising.
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âDonât Let That Shadow Touch Themâ
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The ominous shadow of a Nazi swastika darkens this poster of three children playing with a doll, a toy airplane, and a makeshift American flag. The depiction of their innocence was used in the exhortation to help fund the war effort by purchasing war bonds, with the words âDonât Let That Shadow Touch Them.â Creator Lawrence Beall Smith served as a combat artist who traveled on U.S. military aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean and witnessed the D-Day landings in Normandy, France, in 1944.
âEcco i Liberatoriâ
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In this Italian poster, Americaâs Statue of Liberty, with the face of a grinning skull, presides over destroyed buildings in flames. The phrase âEcco i Liberatori!â or âHere are the liberators!â was a comment on the barbarity of U.S. forces by the Italian government.
âWaffen-SSâ
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This German recruitment poster portrays a helmeted soldier in profile, staring into the distance, with the words âWaffen-SSâ and âEintritt Nach Vollendetem 17 Lebensjahr,â meaning recruits must be at least 17 years old. The Waffen-SS was the military arm of the feared SS elite security force in Nazi Germany and included Adolf Hitlerâs bodyguards and battalions that ran concentration camps.
âBuy War Bondsâ
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Looking more like a watercolor painting than propaganda, the âBuy War Bondsâ poster shows a flag-bearing Uncle Sam in the clouds, directing troops brandishing bayonets. The godly image conveys a sense of the divine virtue of the Allied effort against Axis forces.
âSheâs a WOWâ
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American illustrator Adolph Treidler created several posters during World War II celebrating Women Ordnance Workers, or WOWs, who made military materials such as weapons and munitions. The motivational poster shows a beautiful woman tackling a traditionally male job with the line âSheâs a WOW.â
âWhen You Ride Alone You Ride With Hitler!â
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The âWhen You Ride Alone You Ride With Hitler!â poster calls upon Americans to carpool and conserve fuel for military use. It was created by American artist Weimer Pursell who designed well-known advertising for Coca-Cola, American Airlines, Winchester Rifles, and the 1933 Chicago World's Fair.
âHeâs Watching Youâ
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The menacing eyes of a helmeted enemy soldier dominate this U.S. government poster that reads âHeâs Watching You,â cautioning Americans that spies could lurk anywhere. A survey of the public by the governmentâs Office of Facts and Figures in 1942 determined that many viewers misinterpreted the poster, with some mistaking the German helmet for the Liberty Bell. The Office of War Information was created later that year to oversee poster production and control messaging.
âFOOD IS A WEAPONâ
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The U.S. Office of War Information poster declaring âFood is a Weaponâ was part of a campaign to trim food waste amid shortages and rationing. The admonition to âEat It Allâ also reminded Americans of the need to stay healthy and strong as the war raged.
âPlant a Victory Gardenâ
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âPlant a Victory Gardenâ shows a soldier and a gardener chatting over a white picket fence with the words âI see weâre fighting the war together.â Americans grew their own vegetables and fruits in victory gardens as commercial crops and transportation were taken up by the war effort, and food rationing was imposed. The victory garden campaign was employed to remind Americans they could pitch in and show patriotism in their own yard. First lady Eleanor Roosevelt planted a victory garden on the lawn of the White House.
âFreedom Shall Prevailâ
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The âFreedom Shall Prevailâ poster shows uniformed soldiers from Allied countries, their flags forming a âVâ for victory. The poster reminds viewers of the far-flung members of the Allied front, such as New Zealand, Southern Rhodesia, and South Africa. It was a creation of William Little, an artist commissioned by Great Britain's Ministry of Information during World War II.
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