No war ever before, or ever since, mobilized the American People the way that the Second World War did. The entire nation united to fight the Axis. Along the way, the military and civilian leaders of the Axis—Hitler, Tojo, Yamamoto, and Mussolini, among others—appeared as demons in posters and ads.
Industries dramatically changed--many of them within just a few weeks or months. Automobile manufacturers produced no new automobile models for four years—and Americans dug in their heels and found a way to get by with the old models. Shortages of rubber, energy sources, food and metal of every sort meant “doing without”. Factories operated three shifts every day. Motivational posters by artists, famous, and the soon to be famous, kept people in these factories feeling part of the war effort. Some of the best are available here including World War II posters by Norman Rockwell, Tom Lovell, John Clymer, Peter Hurd, Jon Whitcomb, Ronald McLeod, Bradshaw Crandell, Howard Scott, Hayden Hayden, John Falter, C. C. Beall, Wesley Heyman, McClelland Barclay,
David Stone Martin, R. C. Kaufman, Alan Dale Bogorad and Haddon Sundblom are just a few of the artists represented in our collection.
Suddenly farmers were soldiers too! America was not only feeding our citizens and soldiers, we shipped massive amounts of food supplies to countries devastated by the war. In our own country, magazine ads touted meatless meals and budget stretching tips. The United States Government issued ration books and stamps for many staples. Many magazine ads for food ingredients included tips for stretching ingredients or suggested tips for alternatives. Backyard gardens helped supplement the food supply for countless families.
Women left their kitchens and walked into the factories, ready to be reborn as "Rosie the Riveter". Other women learned to drive tractors and operate farm equipment since workers were scarce. They worked long hours, dealt with food shortages and raised their families while their husbands, sons, brothers and fathers went off to fight the war—and many of those soldiers never returned.
To help finance the war, many Americans bought War Bonds and if they couldn't afford a War Bond they bought War stamps. Over 80 million Americans bought over $186 billion dollars worth of bonds during the war years. They were encouraged by hundreds of thousands of colorful war bond posters, magazine ads and celebrity tours by Hollywood actors. Sometimes, real live heroes returned for tours including the tour of the heroes of the Iwo Jima flag raisers.
Every business found some way to link their products to the war effort--frequently touted in their ads. We have a collection of some of the best of this era in that collection.
Finally, there was the tremendous sacrifice of the soldiers sent to foreign lands, some making the ultimate sacrifice. Most died remembered only by their families and friends, but others became ingrained in the American mind forever. Those names include Dorie Miller, the Five Sullivan Brothers, and the flag-raiser of Iwo Jima--PFC Ira Hayes, PFC Franklin Sousley, Sgt. Michael Strank, Navy Pharmacist Mate Second Class John Bradley, PFC Rene Gagnon and Cpl. Harlon Black.
When it was over, over sixty million military and civilian people had died. The map of the world had been redrawn and the stage had been set for the Cold War, colonized nations were striving for their independence and a new organization called the United Nations gave a glimmer of hope that this might be the last worldwide conflagration.
The War ended, people returned to some degree of normalcy and all of the new technologies were applied to commerce. America turned itself into a consumer economy using the very products and technologies that had helped win the war.
Here is a great collection of posters, ads, photos and prints documenting the enormity of the conflict and the effort of the people who responded to the needs of their country.
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