Topic: Potent Pictures: Propaganda Posters
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Posters were one of the most prevalent means of communicating propaganda messages to American citizens during World War II. Because they were inexpensive to design and print, posters could reach a wide audience with specific messages. Government posters—typically printed in the millions—were by far the most common; they often featured the designs of established and well-known artists (including Norman Rockwell, whose Four Freedoms images quickly became four million war posters). However, corporations and private institutions also produced posters during the war. Whatever their source, many thousands of these posters have survived in archival repositories, leaving a colorful record of what one propagandist called the “war within a war.”

Women in the War
Title: Women in the War
Year: 1942
Artist: unknown
Published: War Manpower Commission

Together — We’ll Win!
Title: Together — We’ll Win!
Year: unknown
Artist: Fred L. Packer
Published: unknown

Do the Job He Left Behind
Title: Do the Job He Left Behind
Year: 1943
Artist: R. G. Harris
Published: US Employment Service

America Will Be as Strong as Her Women
Title: America Will Be as Strong as Her Women
Year: 1938
Artist: Cyrus Leroy Baldridge
Published: US Department of Labor

My Girl’s a WOW
Title: My Girl’s a WOW
Year: 1943
Artist: Adolph Treidler
Published: Ordnance Department, US Army

Soldiers Without Guns
Title: Soldiers Without Guns
Year: 1944
Artist: Adolph Treidler
Published: US Army