World War II Collection
Scope and Contents
The WWII Collection brings together posters with Soviet anti-Nazi cartoons, artifacts and ephemera related to the war effort. The bulk of the collection is comprised of posters created in the U.S. between 1939 and 1946, but includes posters from Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands and New Zealand. Not all of the artists or producing organizations have been identified for all of the items in this collection.
Dates
- 1939 - 1946
Creator
- Arias Bernal, Antonio, 1914-1960 (Person)
Language of Materials
Most of the items use the English language, but there are also items in Dutch, French, German and Russian.
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restriction.
Conditions Governing Use
Please consult staff to determine ability to reuse materials from collection.
Biographical / Historical
World War II (WWII) was a global war that spanned 1939-1945 and involved more than 100 million people from over 30 nations. The United States entered the war in 1941 following the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. By the first of January 1942, the United States, Great Britain, the Soviet Union and China along with 22 smaller or exiled governments issued the Declaration by United Nations that affirmed the Atlantic Charter and the goals of the Allied nations in Europe and the Pacific.
World War II posters helped to mobilize people in the United States and other nations. The inexpensive and accessible format enabled messages to be widely disseminated. Government agencies, businesses, and private organizations used the fine and commercial arts in conjunction with simple slogans to link the military front with the home front and call upon men and women to enlist, buy bonds, conserve, boost production and/or refrain from discussing war preparations. In June 1942, the Office of War Information (OWI) was created to control the content and imagery of U.S. government messages.
The OWI developed six themes:
1. The Nature of the Enemy
2. The Nature of our Allies
3. The Need to Work
4. The Need to Fight
5. The Need to Sacrifice
6. The Americans—what we are fighting for: the four freedoms, the principles of the Atlantic Charter, democracy, and an end to discrimination against races and religions.1
The Ministry of Information in Great Britain and VOKS, the Wartime Information Board in Canada and the Soviet Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries operated along similar lines as the OWI.
1 Alan Cranston to Norman Ferguson, 17 November 1942, folder: California trip, box 1078, entry E222, NC 148, RG 208, National Archives at College Park (NACP).
Extent
10 Linear Feet (in 5 boxes and 82 oversize folders, including 675 posters, 42 artworks, 1 artifact, 2 scrapbooks)
Abstract
The WWII Collection brings together posters, cartoons and ephemera related to the war effort. The bulk of the collection is comprised of posters created in the U.S. between 1939 and 1946, but also includes several posters from Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands and New Zealand. These range from recruitment calls from the various branches of the military to home front initiatives by the Civilian Production Administration, the Office of War Information and the U.S. Department of the Treasury. A considerable number of posters were created by renowned artists such as Thomas Hart Benton, James Montgomery Flagg, Norman Rockwell, Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel) and Ben Shahn. The ephemera items consist of a range of artifacts, handbills, pamphlets and scrapbooks. The folio of 42 prints “Anti-Nazi cartoons,” was produced as a limited edition by Moscow, VOKS, 1943.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into three Series:
Series 1: Posters, 1939-1946
Series 2: Soviet Cartoon Folio,1943
Series 3: Artifacts and Ephemera, 1940-1944
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Materials found in collection; no documentation concerning the provenance of these materials exists, except for posters 2019.19-2019.45 that were donated by Rev. Martin L. Deppe in 2019.
- American National Red Cross
- British Information Services
- Canada. Wartime Information Board
- Liberty bonds Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Savings bonds Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- United States. Army
- United States. Army. Women's Army Auxiliary Corps
- United States. Army. Women's Army Corps
- United States. Department of Agriculture
- United States. Department of the Treasury
- United States. Marine Corps
- United States. Navy
- United States. Office for Emergency Management
- United States. Office of Civilian Defense
- United States. Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs
- United States. Public Health Service
- United States. War Production Board
- World War, 1939-1945--Economic aspects--United States Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- World War, 1939-1945--Food supply--United States Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- World War, 1939-1945--Manpower--United States Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- World War, 1939-1945--Posters Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- World War, 1939-1945--Recruiting, enlistment, etc Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- World War, 1939-1945--War work--Great Britain Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- World War, 1939-1945--War work--Red Cross Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- World War, 1939-1945--Women--United States Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- World War, 1939-1945—Propaganda Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Creator
- Arias Bernal, Antonio, 1914-1960 (Person)
- Barclay, McClelland (Person)
- Benton, Thomas Hart, 1889-1975 (Person)
- Dohano, Steven (Person)
- Essargee (Person)
- Falter, John Philip, 1910- (Person)
- Flagg, James Montgomery, 1877-1960 (Person)
- Geisel, Theodor Seuss, 1904-1991 (Person)
- Great Britain. His Majesty's Stationery Office (Organization)
- Margo (Person)
- Robbins, Kula (Person)
- Rockwell, Norman, 1894-1978 (Person)
- Shahn, Ben, 1898-1969 (Person)
- United States. Office of War Information (Organization)
- Vsesoi︠u︡znoe obshchestvo kulʹturnoĭ svi︠a︡zi s zagranit︠s︡eĭ (Soviet Union) (Organization)
- Woodburn, Thomas (Person)
- Title
- Guide to the World War II Collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Michelle McCoy
- Date
- 2017, 2019
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Revision Statements
- 2021: Collection items re-inventoried in 2017 with additions added in 2019. Updated and ingested into ArchivesSpace by Michelle McCoy,
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections Unit at Harold Washington Library Center Repository
Harold Washington Library Center, 9th Floor
Chicago Public Library
400 S. State Street
Chicago IL 60605 United States
(312) 747-4875
specoll@chipublib.org