Abstract:

As the researcher, I attempt to describe the poster art of the four main

superpowers during the Second World War , namely America, Britain, Soviet Russia and

Germany. While discussing about the poster art and propaganda through the same by these

major powers, I have covered the themes on which poster art was frequent. These themes

predominantly relegated to the sphere of national security, intimidating the enemy, uplifting

the condition of women etc. I have also traced the development of poster art in Germany

along with the growth of a cult that was loyal to the Fuhrer. The sole reason due to which

poster propaganda of Germany remained the important pillar of their dogged determination

was the growth of this cult. Lastly I have concluded by showing the underlying causes of the

poster propaganda of these superpowers and providing a list of illustrations of some of the

posters.

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Introduction:

Influencing opinions and behaviour of a group of persons and in some cases a

community for achieving military and political dividend with the strategic use of visual or

audio communication is the definition of Propaganda. Since, the beginning of civilization

cave paintings depicting groups of men fighting, suggested that war time art was prevalent in

those time also.1

War time art is therefore used to provoke meanings, convey messages

and intimidate the enemies. It contains no aesthetic detail but contained struggle and facts. In

Laura Brandon’s book, ‘Art and War” she unites that art was the most important medium to

reach out to the common masses. Propaganda through art and posters were primarily released

for motivating and instilling a sense of responsibility for war effort the civilians and the

1
Christopher C. Thomas, ‘A Thousand Words: Themes and Trends in Home Front Poster Propaganda of the
Second World War’, (Texas: A&M University), 2007

2
soldiers. Various scholars have demonstrated by using privacy and secondary sources that

there remains a blurred distinction between art and war. Since expression of culture through

the artistic element is always the primary feature of art, art that developed at the time of

Second World War mainly the posters focused an economic hardship and sought to renew the

spirit of nationalism thereby also establishing a national culture. As posters were not at all

inexpensive, they were accessible to all and capable of disseminating political messages to

the public.2

Art specially poster art remained the most effective tool during the

second world war for disseminating fear, motivation, ideology, responsibilities towards the

motherland at the same time.

Jennifer. M. Wilcott had comprehensively analysed posters of the four super

powers, namely America, Britain, Russia and Germany during World War II having different

themes like patriotism, national security, war production, internal alliances and intimidating

the enemy.3

The following discussion of the paper unravels the causes, underlined

meanings and propaganda used by the four superpowers to inculcate a sense of war time

spirit among the civilians.

Poster Propaganda by America:

Several posters released on several occasion had different

implications during World War 2. In America, after the attack on Pearl Harbour, a sense of

urgency surrounding the American industry and the shift to consumer goods- masculine men

2
ibid
3
Jennifer M. Wilcott, ‘Wartime Art : A Study of Political Propaganda and Individual Expression in American
Commercial Combat Art during World War II’, Buffalo State University.

3
operating machines became very prominent. There was a growing need for factories. The

War Department and War Production Boards released posters promoting workers, managers,

for recruitment in factories of artillery. The production of posters from ‘National Association

of Manufacturers’ aimed to promote industry, which was the key component for defence of

the country. These posters sought to insert spirit of guilt, fear and revenge among people, so

that civilians of USA would participate in these jobs. The posters of ‘We can do it’(fig.1) for

the first time broke the stereotype that women should remain in domestic sphere. USA

government focused on the propaganda of recruiting women in the home front. Mareen

Honey- a scholar has been a pioneer in this field. According to her, as American men were

shipped off overseas, women required jobs for sustaining themselves. The Second World War

produced the necessary changes in womens’ ability to enter the work force. Posters like

‘Longing won’t bring him back sooner, Get a Job’ (fig.2) were used to inspire young women

so that they could sustain themselves during the War.

Poster Propaganda by Britain:

Britain comprised of four regions, namely England, Scotland, Wales and

Northern Ireland having distinct identities that has remained a cause of discord throughout

history. These 4 countries came together to form the United Kingdom. But they retained their

own distinct identities.

Crisis began in 1937, when Neville Chamberlain became the Prime Minister.

Hitler wanted to create the living space or ‘Lebensraum’ for Germans at that point of time, to

which Chamberlain followed a policy appeasement.4 With Hitler invading Poland and the

4
Auriol Weigold, Churchill , Roosevelt and India, Routledge Taylor and Francis Group,2008

4
outbreak of the Second World War, the United Kingdom was challenged by an outside force

that threatened to invade the UK. At that point of time, the goal of the Ministry of

Information was to unify the people of UK in total war effort.

The most effective way to unify people at the time of war, was through poster

art. For instance, the ‘Keep calm and Carry on’ (fig.3) poster, printed in 1939 became the

icon of Britishness, representing the British identity for the very first time. In his book, John

M. Mackenzie, ‘Propaganda & Empire: The Manipulation of British Public Opinion, 1880-

1960’ analysed posters printed by the UK government. Usually, the posters contained a sly

sense of humour, featuring cartoons, jokes, etc, in an effort to make war time seem a bit

lighter. For example, The ‘Careless talk Costs Lives’ displayed the caricatures of the enemy

forces eavesdropping on British conversations. The posters were pragmatic, advocating

reduction of wastes and stretching resources. Posters like ‘walk short distances’, ‘Dig for

Plenty’ (fig.4) were examples.

Some posters also promoted historical pride and patriotism, by reminding the

citizens of the country’s successes and portrayed prominent leaders like Winston Churchill as

in the posters of ‘We beat ‘em before, we’ll beat ‘em again’(fig.5). Some of them promoted

unity among the citizens. The best example of this kind of a poster featured mens’ forces

ethnic backgrounds dressed in military uniform carrying a sword together.

The British Ministry of Information used to convince the citizens that they

must sacrifice for the country during the war than face consequences of losing to the Fascist

Germans. The poster by Railway Executive Committee, ‘Is your journey really necessary’

targeted the upper class citizens so that they did not waster valuable resources on frivolous

vacations or leisure activities.

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 The poster ‘Mr. Hitler wants to know’(fig.6) portrayed Adolf Hitler having an

ear out of proportion depicted that he wanted to overhear wartime secrets.

The poster of ‘Be like Dad, Keep Mum’ hints on gender roles of that period.

Literally, mum means keeping quiet but this poster also hinted at the fact that it was a man’s

duty to keep his wife quiet.5

The Conservative Party and Ministry of Information thus under Winston

Churchill released posters as a form of propaganda to garner support and foster unity among

the people during War time.

Poster Propaganda by Soviet Union:

The posters of Soviet Russia, mainly focussed on October and November,

Revolution , Communism, and the Second World War.6

Russian posters like the “Autocratic System” by Alenei Radakov represented

the estate system containing 6 estates from the top- Royalty- We reign, Church – we pray for

you, Judiciary - we judge you, Military- we protect you, Peasantry – We feed you and lastly

the working class was told “ and you must work”. This poster is a classic example of haves

and have nots.

Another poster of the “International : proletarians of All the countries

unite”(fig.7) was commissioned by the publishing house of the All Russian Central

5
Elizabeth Tate Goins ‘ Promoting Unity Through Propaganda: How British Government Utilized Posters During
The Second World War’ Western Kentucky University, 2011.
http://digitalcommons.wkuedu/stu_hon_theses/340 Retrieved on: 8th October
6
Lisa Khrischenbraum, ‘Our Cities, Our Hearths, Our Families Local Loyalties and Private life in World War II
Propaganda’ Slavic Review, 59,no 4, 2000 : pp 825-847

6
Committee of Soviet workers, peasants, red army soldiers and Cossack deputies. The image

depicted monarchism as a ghastly beast lying on the plate of capitalism. The crown of the

beast is also the symbol of the orthodox church, implying the idea that the Church acts as a

manipulative institution. The plate crushes the workers on it, while some become successful

in defeating it.

After the Bolsheviks victory in the civil war of 1917 and formation of the

Soviet Government they had a precise plan of actions, ideology and turning the world war

goals. The achieved it through poster art and visuals. The image ‘Thanks to Dear Stalin for a

happy childhood’- portraying Stalin in a white suit , resembled purity and the young

generation and hinted at the fact that he is admired by the young generation.

To maintain a smooth functioning of artillery and equipment, the Soviet

regime nurtured the idea of collective labour and motivated people to work harder.

The poster “All for the front! All for the victory” (fig.8) remained the essence

of the Soviet message that everything has to be devoted to the cause of the war. The tent in

the poster suggests that a range of missiles. Machine guns, rifles, tanks are to be made. The

red colour of the poster enhances the aggressiveness of Soviet Russia.

Another poster, “In the face of Hitlerism” depicting Hitler in the absence of a

military uniform having the skin of an animal showed his monstrous nature.

To maintain the nationalist spirit posters were used as a means of propaganda.

The main objective of the image “Avenge” was to provoke anger and hatred towards the

invaders by using a physically weak woman and child. Another poster, “For the Motherland,

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For Stalin” depicted a soldier standing in front of tanks and planes. The sole purpose of this

poster was to urge soldiers and motivate them to destroy the enemy that had invaded Russia.7

Poster Propaganda by Germany:

Propaganda through poster constituted one of the finest and most efficient

tool for the German chancellor Hitler and the Nazi Party against the allied power during the

Second World War. Simple slogans and themes were used for Nazi propaganda. German

freedom and victory clearly showed tow common motifs in early Nazi propaganda reffering

to Hitler as a superhuman being who would show miracles.

With the rise of Hitler and the growth of a cult, propaganda through

poster became easier. The Nazi Party had campaigned against their chief rivals the

communists, social democrats. Antisemitic propaganda reinforced the concept of Nazi

ideology as a master race that indirectly affecting the Holocaust.8

Nazi propaganda and the Propaganda Ministry attacked the British on a

regular basis, the Jews and Russians. To embed the seeds of antisemitism more efficiently the

Jews were portrayed as animals, shadowy monsters interested in money making and usurping

power with a will to enslave German people.

The pro-mi used propaganda to garner support among the population and

troops hammering stereotypical images of the Russian Communist Party, Stalin etc. On other

7
ibid
8
Michael, J. Stout ‘ The Effectiveness of Nazi Propaganda During World War II’. Eastern Michigan University

8
hand true Nazi believers and worshippers sought to cleanse the Soviet Union of ‘Jewish

Bolshevism’. In this content the pro-mi released a poster which portrayed a monstrous

looking Stalin with his sharp teeth trying to bite down on a German Helmet emphasizing on

the results of the 1941-42 results of Soviet. With the Nazi seizure of Stalingrad another poster

was released written on which was, ‘ One battle! One Victory” .

Moreover, after the War and surrender of Germany, people lost its faith in

the leadership. Yet what was commendable about the German propaganda and the

mastermind behind them- Goebbles- was how he adapted and changed the style of

propaganda. The portrayal of the savagery in the Eastern front, Jews as monsters,(fig.9) the

Red Army had one key link in all of them- and that was the myth of Hitler. Thus the overall

picture of poster propaganda boiled down to three common elements- Propaganda and the

people, propaganda and the troops and the myth of the Fuhrer.

The creation of a Fuhrer cult coupled with soldiers and civilians loyal to Hitler

resulted in the dogged German spirit of providing resistance to the allies during the War.

Indoctrinated German youths and fanatical bodyguard units willing to serve Hitler resulted in

the effectiveness of poster propaganda in Germany. 9

Conclusion:

The propaganda posters of the four important super powers cover the themes

of national security, intimidating the enemy, patriotism and women empowerment at the time

of War. But what remained the most distinguishable feature of all the four categories of

poster art was the German poster propaganda that revolved around a cult of Hitler and the

worshippers of ‘Fuhrer’. As a result, almost all the posters by the Propaganda Ministry had

9
ibid

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this as a key link in every poster. Thus it can be concluded that poster propaganda remained

an effective tool for campaign during the Second World War.

List of Illustrations:

fig.1 : We Can Do It

Courtesy: Google Images

fig.2 : Longing won’t Bring Him Back, Get a War Job

Courtesy: Google Images

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fig.3: Keep Calm and Carry on

Courtesy: Google Images

fig.4 : Dig for Plenty

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 Courtesy: Google Images

fig.5 : We Beat ‘Em Before we’ll Beat ‘em

Again

Courtesy: Google Images

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 fig.6: Mr. Hitler wants to Know

Courtesy: Google Images

fig.7 : international

Courtesy: Google Images

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fig.8: All for the front! All for the victory

Courtesy: Google Images

fig.9 : Der Jude

Courtesy: USHMM Artifact Gallery

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Bibliography:

1. Thomas C, Christopher. A Thousand Words: Themes and trends in

Home Front Poster Propaganda of the Second World War. Texas

A&M University, 2007.

2. Witowski H, Terrence. “World War II Poster Campaigns; Preaching

Frugality to American Consumers.” Journal of Advertising (Tailor and

Francis Ltd), 32, no 1,2003.

3. Krischenbraum A, Lisa. “Our Cities, Our Hearths, Our Families Local

Loyalties and Private Life in World War II Propaganda.” Slavic

Review 59, no 4, 2000.

4. Wilcott M, Jennifer. Wartime Art- A Study of Political Propaganda

and Individual Expression in American Commercial and Combat Art

During World War II. Buffalo State University.

5. Goins, Elizabeth Tate. Promoting Unity Through Propaganda: How

British Government Utilized Posters During The Second World War

Western Kentucky University, 2011.

http://digitalcommons.wkuedu/stu_hon_theses/340

6. Stout J, Michael. The Effectiveness of Nazi Propaganda During World

War II. Eastern Michigan University.

7. Weigold, Auriol. Churchill, Roosevelt and India. Routledge Taylor and

Francis Group.2008.

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