Political Tools of the 20th century - Nathan Connor

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This user gallery has been created by an independent third party and may not represent the views of the institutions whose collections include the featured works or of Google Arts & Culture.

This gallery will explore art that served as a political or social tool in the first half of the 20th century.  In the form of posters, I will analyze various pieces of propaganda and investigate the purpose of each piece and what conditions in society existed that motivated their creation.

In this piece, A US solder is shown tossing a grenade over barbed wire on a battlefield. The text reads "Let 'Em Have It. Buy Extra Bonds". This piece of propaganda is trying to tie the glory of this soldier with the idea of buying bonds back home. It wants to convince everyday citizens back home to buy more bonds by associating their purchase with defeating our enemies in war. It's an effective way of appealing to viewers emotion so that feel they're aren't doing enough for the war effort.
Join the Army. Defend your Homeland, Stanislaw Sawiczewski, 1920, From the collection of: The National Museum in Warsaw
This piece of propaganda is from Poland circa 1920 and features a Polish soldier standing firm with his chest held high. His position in the center, above everyone else in the background, draws the attention of the viewer. This poster wants to show how proud and honorable this man is because he fights to defend his country. It goes further to say in the Polish text at the bottom "Join the Army. Defend your Homeland". This image was to convince more soldiers to fight for Poland in a time they were desperately needed. They too could become great soldiers like this man.
This piece features a US soldier with his army rations and the caption "Do With Less - So They'll Have Enough! Rationing Gives You Your Fair Share". This is referring to the notion that the US was short on supplies during wartime and soldiers needed all the rations they could get to keep fighting. By connecting the idea of saving supplies with helping soldiers, it gave more a purpose behind the cause. In the illustration, the soldier is smiling to represent his happiness over rations.
This poster features a menacing looking hand with a big swastika ring piecing together the military "plans" of his enemy. At the top a big caption reads "Bits of Careless Talk are Pieced Together by the Enemy". The purpose of this poster is to remind soldiers and citizens that spies exist and could be anywhere. Carelessly mentioning classified information could jeopardize military operations if enemy spies got a hold of it. In the image, the hand is portrayed as looming and evil to depict the notion that spies are listening and ready to act aggressively towards the allies.
This next illustration is from 1943 and shows a large group of military men embarking a train to their destination. The large amount of men depicted is a way of making the travel seem hectic. The caption supports this idea and says, "Millions of Troops are on the move... Is your trip necessary?" The purpose of this poster was to remind non-military personnel that mass transportation is being used up by the soldiers. It is also to make the viewer question the importance of their own trip and whether it is worth it.
From 1944, this poster shows a US soldier from the Pacific theatre of World War 2. The caption mentions that the soldiers will fight to stop the Japanese as long as the citizens do their own part. It even goes to list the specific steps people can take to support the war from home as best they can. The man's expression portrays a sense of confidence to reassure the people our soldiers can handle this.
This poster shows a disappointed man recovering from what can only be a workplace accident. The sense of shame is present to remind the audience that he let us down. The purpose of this poster is to tell people that America can only be the best if we "Make Haste Safely". During heavy production a careless injury on the job will negatively effect production. This shameful man is made to represent all those that were unsafe and hasty in order to stop others.
This piece shows a man excited at his great yield of crops this harvest and how proud he is to help the fight. It wants to associate his success with helping the war effort. The connection is that getting "Your Farm in the Fight" will help you and your country. It helps farmers feel more involved in the war and that their actions are having positive consequences on the outcome.
This poster is a more extreme example of propaganda. It is making the association of not buying war bonds with nazism. The children are clearly American but seemed startled by a shadow in the shape of a swastika surrounding them. The purpose behind this is to pressure citizens into buying war bonds by causing fear. It also creates the notion that you're also helping the enemy as well.
Another great example of propaganda features this tired and solemn looking man. From the start, this poster aims to play on the emotions of the audience by creating an uneasy feeling of guilt. They might feel as though they caused this mans troubles by not buying any war bonds. It also insinuates that buying war bonds can stop this form happening to our soldiers. The background is dark and has only 1 dead tree to help represent the sorrow of this poster.
Credits: All media
This user gallery has been created by an independent third party and may not represent the views of the institutions whose collections include the featured works or of Google Arts & Culture.
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