Last month, I decided that I needed a change of scenery.

It had been a while since I last traveled abroad, so I went online and booked a ticket to London.

It wasn’t my intention to take a complete break from everything; I continued working from there, but at the same time, I had the opportunity to discover things I hadn’t discovered during my previous visits to the city.

One of those discoveries was the Imperial War Museum, located close to Lambeth, an area I hadn’t explored in the past.

As a result, I had the chance to stroll around the area, which has been redeveloping lately—something you can also tell from some new construction sites there as well as some new residential buildings.

However, my intention here is not to discuss London (even though I would love to).

The Imperial War Museum (which I suggest you visit when you are around) has an impressive collection of war posters, among other things.

That’s what inspired me to write this piece.

Get ready for some serious ad frenzy.

Mastering propaganda

Posters are a form of propaganda.

But “propaganda” is usually a negatively connotated term.

When you hear the word, you usually think of someone who attempts to manipulate you toward a specific idea. And that’s often true. But propaganda, as a term, has a mixed meaning—often even a positive one.

Propaganda is “the spreading of ideas, information, or rumors for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person”.

As you understand, advertising (and consequently ad posters) is a form of propaganda. And advertising today is everywhere; TV commercials, social media ads, and online ads are all types of propaganda.

Now that I have done my duty to defend my profession, let’s talk about war posters.

Propaganda posters during war periods were used by governments to communicate a certain idea and incite emotions. As a result, they could be used for good or bad causes alike. Most frequently, they were used to evoke feelings of patriotism and civic duty, support a significant cause, or cause fear, guilt, and anger.

The use of posters took off during World War I. To get an idea of their impact during that period, around 2,000 posters created between 1914 and 1920 alone are available online today.

The posters’ impact as a means of communication was huge during those years. They were the primary tool for disseminating information during the Great War and were used to inspire, inform, persuade, and encourage public support for the war.

During World War II, more posters were created, but they weren’t the primary source of information at that time since other means of communication, like the radio, started dominating.

You might think that propaganda posters during war periods were obvious or not creative. But that’s not the case, as you will see.

War posters addressed issues ranging from common war issues like enlistment and volunteering to issues like the role of women and the importance of saving food.

Some might even look funny from today’s point of view, but it’s always a good idea to consider the conditions under which they were created.

Let’s dive deeper.

Enlistment

A big part of the war posters was a direct call to men to serve their country and enlist in the war force.

Great Britain, in particular, issued a considerable number of enlistment posters. That’s because, until 1916, joining the British army was totally voluntary. As a result, government authorities did their best to convince as many people as possible to join the military forces.

When Britain declared war on Germany in 1914, Field-Marshal Lord Kitchener, a national war hero, became Secretary of State for War. He immediately foresaw the need for a much bigger army than what was available at that time. The “Lord Kitchener Wants You” poster became legendary and an instant success, influencing and inspiring many subsequent imitations in other nations, too. It’s probably the most famous pointing finger in history.

Source: Imperial War Museum, 1914

The most successful imitation of Kitchener’s poster is its American version, with Uncle Sam, the personification of the federal US government, asking soldiers to join the war. The slogan “I Want You for US Army” is a classic one to this day.

Source: Library of Congress, 1917

The call to arms often targeted a particular audience. For example, the poster below was aimed at men living in Britain’s rural areas. Those areas usually had lower enlistment rates, especially during August and September, when the harvest had to be collected.

Source: Imperial War Museum, 1915

Evoking feelings of anger and unity against the common enemy by showing examples of their atrocities was a common propaganda tactic, too. In late 1914, German naval ships raided the towns of Scarborough, Hartlepool, and Whitby, killing 130 people and wounding almost 600. With the poster “Will You Stand This?” British authorities capitalized on the outrage caused by the incident.

Source: Imperial War Museum, 1915

Recruitment posters were not always direct. The following classic and now one of the most famous war posters, “Daddy, What Did You Do in the Great War?” tried indirectly to persuade men to enlist in the army by evoking feelings of guilt. This tactic didn’t prove to be successful. The poster not only didn’t circulate enough but also faced criticism and was even parodied.

Masculinity was also used to convince more men to join the war. The “Man the Guns, Join the Navy” poster, created by the US during WWII, depicts a shirtless man in excellent physical condition holding a huge bullet and participating in the war. The poster promotes the idea that a truly masculine man is not afraid to fight for his country.

The role of women

The role of women in the war posters varied. Women appeared as victims, seeking help and protection, but also as active participants in the war effort. At times, their sexualization was used to promote a specific cause, and others in an allegorical way, representing a country or an ideal.

One of the most characteristic examples of an allegorical use of women in war posters was the “Wake Up America” poster, showing a sleeping woman dressed in stars and stripes, a personification of the US and Liberty. After a couple of years of neutrality since WWI began, the US entered the war on April 6, 1917.

Since I mention allegorical uses of women in war posters, I can’t skip “The Motherland is Calling Us.” The Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 stunned the country and its leaders. The motherland had to be protected. This legendary poster personifies “Mother Russia” wearing red (it is believed to be the artist’s wife) and holding a piece of paper with the Red Army oath on it.

It’s impossible at this point not to mention the famous “Rosie the Riveter” posters. In 1943, Norman Rockwell painted a strong young woman with a riveting gun on her lap, eating a sandwich, and putting her feet on Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf.” That work was named “Rosie the Riveter” after a popular song of the same name, and it was published on the cover of Saturday Evening Post.

However, most people associate “Rosie the Riveter” with J. Howard Miller’s “We Can Do It” poster (also created in 1943), which aimed to boost the morale of female workers during WWII. The truth, though, is that it wasn’t popular at that time. It was rediscovered and had colossal success much later, when the feminist movement used it as a symbol of female empowerment.

While men were fighting on the war front for their country in WWII, women were encouraged to join the workforce. The “Women of Britain, Come Into the Factories” poster was a direct call to women to take on factory jobs and play their part in the war.

Factories were not the only places that needed personnel during WWII. Nurses were much needed, too. The “Become a Nurse: Your Country Needs You” poster, created in 1942, shows a young American woman receiving her nursing cap from Uncle Sam. In this way, the poster encourages women to serve their country by working as nurses.

Women’s role in the war effort became even more acknowledged during WWII. However, there was still a certain level of ambivalence about mothers who entered the workforce, and many men were afraid that if women started working in what they considered “men’s jobs,” that would lead to more competition and lower wages. To address those concerns, the wartime propaganda presented attractive young women doing “men’s jobs” while clearly acknowledging their contribution to the war efforts.

Raising money

Enlisting or participating in the war effort could also be done in other ways. For example, many posters aimed at raising money to finance the war. Those who didn’t directly participate in the war were asked to purchase bonds or take war loans.

Uncle Sam was used multiple times as a character to persuade the American audience. In the 1918 “Help Uncle Sam Stamp Out the Kaiser” poster, Americans are asked to fund the war against Kaiser’s autocracy (who at the time was Wilhelm II). Here, the enemy is clearly stated and targeted, urging Americans to take action against him.

The following WWII poster was also powerful. It depicted three fearful young children playing with their toys (which, if you notice closely, are all also parts of the war) while a big swastika shadow interrupted their game. The poster attempted to convince Americans to perform their patriotic duty by buying war bonds.

Last but not least, it may sound out of context today, but during WWII, directly saying that “Bonds Buy Bombs” while showing a pilot making the victory sign and the call to “Lend a Hand” was an effective way of asking Americans to contribute to the war.

Saving food & not wasting resources

Food shortages were a severe problem during the wars. Citizens were encouraged to consume in moderation and cultivate their own food whenever possible. Not wasting resources that could be vital for the war was one of the biggest challenges.

Posters like the one below directly asked British citizens to eat less bread during WWI. In general, consuming wheat or white bread substitutes was essential because the wheat crop needed to be used for bread directed at those fighting the war. Sometimes, the problem was so severe that if you ate white flour, you could be considered a nation’s enemy.

In WWII, the British Ministry of Food had a campaign explicitly aimed at reducing food waste and encouraging moderation in consumption. Food supplies were limited, so changing people’s attitudes towards consumption was vital. In the poster below, the slogan “A clear plate means a clear conscience” addresses the moral code of British citizens in the face of the war challenges.

Eating moderately wasn’t enough. Not consuming was the goal, as I mentioned before. So, people were also encouraged to cultivate their own food using every piece of available land. The British government wanted to show that if you can grow most of the things you need by yourself, you shouldn’t consume more.

The British National Savings Committee even created a fictional character named Squander Bug to discourage useless consumption and spending. This cartoon represented a threat that encouraged people to waste their money on consumer goods instead of saving certificates that could finance the war. It was an alternative strategy to most posters that told people what they should or should not do.

Talking carefully & staying safe

War means fear. And you could sense that through the posters from those periods. For example, careless talk was a big concern during WWII. There was a widespread fear that talking about sensitive issues was irresponsible because you could be overheard by spies. Staying safe while not talking too much was the ultimate goal.

The following poster illustrates the concerns over sensitive information getting out to the Nazis during WWII. The use of Hitler was a way of convincing the people about who the enemy was and creating a sense of alertness and guilt by combining it with the slogan “Careless Talk Costs Lives.”

Moreover, the use of guilt as a means of alertness and persuasion was universal when it involved the discussion of sensitive information. The “…because somebody talked” poster, showing a sad dog resting its head on a sailor’s Navy uniform, warned US citizens that discussing confidential information, like military movements, could have severe consequences.

Like the “Careless Talk” campaign in the UK, the “Loose Lips Might Sink Ships” poster campaign was among the most famous in the US during WWII. The idiom was used to advise American citizens to avoid careless talk that could sabotage the war effort.

There was widespread fear in every single move during those years. In 1919, when the following poster was created, Britain expected the bombing of several urban areas by Nazi Germany. As a result, evacuations started, and around 1.5 million children moved away from their cities. But since no bombing happened in the first year, half of them returned home. The poster aimed to convince mothers to keep their children away from big cities like London, with Hitler appearing again as a ghost that tries to lure them back.

Conclusion

Means of communication, like posters in this case, always provide an inside look at the prevailing atmosphere of each historical period.

I hope that by writing this piece and sharing these 27 posters, I have given you the context in which WWI and WWII occurred, not only on the war front but mainly inside Western societies. 

As long as you are willing to embrace it, traveling can be a means of exploring, gaining new knowledge, or letting go of old beliefs, presenting a chance for personal development.

If you like history and find yourself in London, pay a visit to the Imperial War Museum and relive some of the 20th century’s most pivotal moments for humanity.