Inspiration: 80+ Amazing WWII Allied Propaganda Posters
With World War II now more than sixty years ago, it’s easier to appreciate the propaganda posters of the era for their artistic merit. Allied posters of the age aimed to influence citizens to enlist in the military, buy war bonds, join the workforce, and sacrifice in ways that many people in the U.S., Australia, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere have a hard time imagining today. But the tactics employed in many of these posters and adverts were wildly successful in building national pride and support for the war effort, and today are cherished for their campy nostalgia and patriotic messages.
The posters below are the best of the best from the WWII era. Left out are many of the more offensive posters (of which there are plenty of examples). Looking through these can help give us a better understanding of what life during war-time was like a few generations ago.
Remember that propaganda posters were, in reality, sales tools. Their aim was to sell the citizenry as a whole on the war, and to get them to participate actively in the war effort in various ways. Study the motivational tools they use: pride, fear, patriotism, and a sense of duty.
Enlistment Posters
Enlistment posters aimed to entice young men to join the armed services. For the most part, they played on the desires of young men to be thought of as “men”, and on feelings of national pride.
Your Place is Here!
O’er the Ramparts We Watch
Of the Troops and For the Troops
Where Skill and Courage Count
He Volunteered for Submarine Service
We Clear the Way
Gee!! I Wish I Were a Man
Ready
Smack ‘Em Down!
Fly
Serve
Sub Spotted – Let ‘Em Have It!
The U.S. Marines Wants You
War Bonds and Rationing Posters
War bonds were necessary to fund the war, and so most of these posters went after feelings of national pride and responsibility. Some posters also played on fear and anxiety to encourage citizens to purchase war bonds, and implied that if you didn’t buy as many as possible, that you were unpatriotic.
Don’t Let That Shadow Touch Them
Save Freedom of Worship
Could You Tell Him You’re Tired of Buying War Bonds?
A Crop That Never Fails
Lend to Defend His Right to be Free
Keep These Hands Off!
Now All Together
Attack Attack Attack
Even a Little Can Help a Lot – NOW
Stamp ‘Em Out
Do With Less
To Have and to Hold!
Triumph Over Tyranny!
It’s Smart to Save!
Next!
The Sky’s the Limit
Hasten the Homecoming
Get a Thrill, Give a $5 Bill
Buy War Bonds
National Service and Pride Posters
These posters encouraged service, volunteerism, and national pride, often playing on one’s sense of patriotism and responsibility to entice more contributions.
More Firepower To ‘Em
Like Digging a Foxhole
Britain Shall Not Burn
Land, Sea, and Aire, We’re Over There
Send Airgraphs
Closed for the Duration
Loose Talk Can Cost Lives
Loose Talk Can Cause This
Quiet!
Loose Talk Can Cost Lives
OURS…To Fight For
This is the Enemy
Americans Will Always Fight for Liberty
Disaster
Keep America Rolling
Millions of Troops Are On the Move
When Your Ride Alone You Ride with Hitler!
Work- and Output-Related Posters
These posters encouraged factory workers and others to increase their output and production rates, generally by tying their efforts in directly with the war abroad.
Plant More Sugar Beets!
Keep That Lumber Coming!
Your Metal is on the Attack!
Fast and Steady Speeds My Lathe
Keep ‘Em Firing
More Production
Help Harvest
Posters Aimed at Women
Women played a huge part in WWII, both through military and civilian service. These posters played on a sense of duty and national pride to encourage women, especially young, single women, to get more involved.
We Can Do It!
Of Course I Can!
Be a Cadet Nurse
She’s a WOW
War Gardens for Victory
Become a Nurse
For Your Country’s Sake Today
Be A Marine
She’s a WOW
Volunteer for Victory
Woman’s Place in War
Join the WAC Now!
Woman’s Place in War
Wanted More Navy Nurses
Enlist in a Proud Profession
Victory Waits On Your Fingers
Woman’s Place in War
I’m Proud of My Two Soldiers
Be With Him at Every Mail Call
Good Soldier
I’m In This War Too!
Other Posters
Some propaganda posters don’t fit neatly into the categories above, often dealing with building a sense of hatred toward the Axis forces, or a sense of anxiety and fear.
Let’s Catch Hime With His “Panzers” Down!
He’s Watching You
No Medicine for Regret
This is Trench Foot
I Believe…
United We Are Strong
What do YOU say, AMERICA?
Smoking Stacks Attract Attacks
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nice collection of propaganda posters
I always liked the ANTI-war posters:
http://www.antiwarposters.com
You think you are so smart when you are actually dumb. If you and your movement had been around during WWII, we would be speaking German, the Jewish community and its culture would no longer exist, and the mustached dictator you love to compare with every conservative would be your only artistic inspiration…by law.
Check and mate
I think that was a little much.
What if her movement had been active in Germany aye? See the whole picture man.
You know this is a design website and we only appreciate the composition, not really the theme, nor its effects, right? RIGHT !?
Hey Petter, her movement WAS ACTIVE in Germany, aye? Have you ever heard of Sophie Scholl and what they did to her just for handing out leafelets? Get your head out of the sand, certain movments are not at all afraid of the peace movement, nor afraid to kill all of the movement members, so it takes young men and women to pick up the sword to literally come save the peace movement in EVERY generation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_Scholl
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0426578/
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/GERschollS.htm
I really like this kind of art! In Germany we`ve got more frightening posters with a very evil presence. Some posters got the same theme on the allies and the german side, like the posters for women. But i must admit the allies got more style those days. Thumbs up!
A great post, no doubt, but it would have been very interesting to have seen some German artwork. Perhaps even Japanese stuff.
Here you go:
http://www.allposters.de/-st/Propaganda-Klassiker-Poster_c18502_.htm
Lovely set, thanks for sharing!
The Norman Rockwell ones are amazing!
Oh man, very nice. It’s just too bad for me. I can’t do this post anymore.
I was actually doing a post like this as well with mostly the same images, oh well. Anyways, really nice round-up!
Nice post, however I do like the soviet propaganda much more. They have more characterism.
Nice posters but I must say I really enjoy the Chinese communist propaganda posters more. I’d love to see a nice collection of those.
Man! didn’t see a single black guy!
Yeah, great list and all.. but why not include some from the other side?
Very nice compilation. Thanks a lot.
And i agree with the others, it would be great to see propaganda stuff from other countries because they do differ a whole lot in the overall style.
I am from Germany, so i know the German material pretty well. It is mostly dark, evil, duty-bound, monumental. I also know some soviet propaganda. It is much more illustrated, often vector-like two-color images.
War propaganda can tell so much about a peoples culture. The US images shown here are so much “Coca-Cola”. It’s amazing how closely they reflect exactly the image the United States had in Germany after WWII (a very positive one).
Please, please could you make a sequel out of this.
Doesn`t the war look so glorious on these posters compared to the ugly, sinister reality in the trenches? Sick.
Cool collection, i love the one with children.
Great collection. I have always been a fan of these types of posters. Thank you.
Nice collection… Had to laugh at the “Gee! I wish I was a man I’d join the navy” poster though. How times have changed.
Great post
This is a great study in marketing and also how as we look at these posters today, the story they tell is extremely slanted toward one way. (for obvious reasons)
It’s easy to get caught up in propaganda, which in our times is through popular media. Whether it be nationalistic propaganda, propaganda that says you need to be thinner, that you need to buy the newest computer, etc. Always question the face value and understand the bottom line.
Either way, these posters are a great collection both in historical and artistic ways.
This is quite the find thanks so much for posting it for us. I get a particular kick when I think about the amount of time it took to do a poster like that back then. And talk about an effective marketing tool for that time period. WOW… could you imagine the US running a war bond campaign nowadays? I don’t think even the coolest of posters would help now.
Is there a chance that there will be a follow up to this piece showcasing the other side’s propaganda pieces? Was there a German version to the WOW girl or Rosy the Riveter?
One of the German versions of the WOW was the “Deutsche Mutter” (German mother), who’s main purpose was to get pregnant. They called it “dem Führer ein Kind schenken” (giving birth to a child as a gift to the “Führer”).
Women who had three or more Kids got the “Mutterkreuz” (mother’s cross), a medal of honor for women with many children, very much like the medals the fighting soldiers received for great courage. I still have the “Mutterkreuz” of my grandmother somewhere in the basement.
There also were institutions called “Lebensborn” (fountainhead of life). They were nothing else but breeding camps where mothers and children were supervised and controlled by the NSDAP (the Nazi party).
If you think these posters are manipulative, you should really take a look at the Nazi stuff.
Greetings from Berlin
Love this collection.
Another aliad poster
http://www.allworldwars.com/Russian%20WWII%20Propaganda%20Posters.html
Some of my more favorite Nazi propaganda posters:
Schach den Kriegshetzern JEDE STIMME DEM FÜHRER!
(Chess the warmongers, agree with the leader)
So wie wir kämpfen, Arbeite du für den Sieg
(As we fight, you shall work for our victory)
baut Jugendherbergen und heime
(In relation to the image, Build (Hitler) Youth hostels and camps, shows a girl holding a donation can with a swastica displayed on it)
Love the novelty posters. WWII has always been a very interesting time period for me to research in.
my favorite is: When you ride alone, you ride with hitler!
Great collection! Agree with the last post. SuperMindwashers!
wow what a great compilation. I love this vintage stuff. very inspirational! the fun part for me is to but this stuff up and make it look as old as it really is with my distressed brushes: http://www.photoshopisland.com/content/72-distressed-paper-photoshop-brushes-volume-1 I know that’s a little self promotional but you don;t have to buy them you can just download the free demo set if you like.
Great collection! Always loved old posters.
Great collection!
very nice!!! I love the painting style~~
…very nice. Many of the posters used came from my Flickr stream-
http://www.flickr.com/photos/x-ray_delta_one/
I would like to use your first paragraph as a statement for my Flickr set on ‘Propaganda’. I will give you credit and a link to this article.
Okay?
- X-Ray Delta One
A couple points:
The first poster (“Your place is here!”) is not an Allied recruiting poster– it’s a Nazi recruiting poster, designed to convince British POWs to join the SS Britisches Freikorps (British Free Corps) aka The Legion of St. George. It was a German unit intended to be made up entirely of British citizens. The experiment was a failure, resulting in only 27 volunteers at the height of its existence, and I don’t believe any of them ever saw combat.
Also “Gee, I wish I were a Man!” and “The U.S. Marines Want You” both predate WWII. “I wish I were a Man” is from the First World War, and the Marines one is probably from the mid-to-late 20s or early 30s.
Otherwise, it’s a nice assortment with a few I haven’t seen before. Kudos!
Personally, I like Russian propaganda and posters more.
And some posters included in this article are FAR AWAY from to be called
“the best of the best” after you look at these collections:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bpx/sets/72057594117941491/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bpx/sets/72057594121519817/