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.”

Nurses Are Needed Now!
Title: Nurses Are Needed Now!
Year: 1944
Artist: Stu L. Savage
Published: US Army

Become a Nurse
Title: Become a Nurse
Year: 1942
Artist: unknown
Published: Office of War Information

We Clear the Way
Title: We Clear the Way
Year: 1942
Artist: Jes Wilhelm Schlaikjer
Published: War Department

Back ‘Em Up With More Metal
Title: Back ‘Em Up With More Metal
Year: 1942
Artist: Harold Von Schmidt
Published: US Army

Kinda Give it Your Personal Attention, Will You?
Title: Kinda Give it Your Personal Attention, Will You?
Year: 1942
Artist: Herbert Roese
Published: War Production Board

Fish is a Fighting Food
Title: Fish is a Fighting Food
Year: 1943
Artist: Henry Koerner
Published: Office of War Information

A Strange Sort of Prayer
Title: A Strange Sort of Prayer
Year: 1945
Artist: John Falter
Published: US Navy