Christmas propaganda posters

Content note. One British-held sheet here, "German Christmas in Jugoslavia", pairs a Christmas headline with a photograph of five hanged men. It is shown as held, with no date, place or source for the photograph on the sheet. Showing an item is not endorsing it.

What are Christmas propaganda posters?

Christmas propaganda posters are wartime posters, leaflets and cards that use the holiday to ask for something: buy war bonds, mail parcels early, avoid accidents, stay at work, or see the other side's leaders as the cause of the war. The collection holds 21 such items from 1914 to 1951, from the United States, Canada, Austria-Hungary, Germany, the United Kingdom and a Communist leaflet from the Korean War. Most were made in the United States in 1943 and 1944.

Treasury poster, 1943: a Christmas tree hung with savings bonds and war savings stamps beside wrapped gifts, under the line The Present with a Future

War bonds as Christmas gifts

The U.S. Treasury's War Finance Division, with the Office of War Information, asked the public to give bonds in place of presents. "Give War Bonds for Christmas" appears in two text-led versions framed by holly, and "The Present with a Future" hangs bonds on a tree. A 1944 sheet joins the cracked Liberty Bell to Christmas bells under "For Liberty and Peace on Earth Give War Bonds". The tag in each is Transfer: the warmth of giving is attached to a purchase. A Canadian War Savings Stamp booklet leaf of December 1944 does the same with stamps as "patriotic Christmas gifts".

Army and Navy Postal Services poster, 1945: a cartoon Santa Claus in a steel helmet holds a parcel addressed to a private

Santa Claus in uniform

Santa appears in a steel helmet on a 1945 postal poster and on an Office of War Information cartoon by Charles Alston. A 1944 Navy safety poster has him hand a baby marked 1945 a book of safety rules, set against the line about spending Christmas in a hospital (Fear appeal). In 1918 an unattributed sheet places Santa behind Uncle Sam and a soldier, with "Peace" as the nation's Christmas gift. Alston's "A Pledge and a Prayer" (1943) shows a Black soldier looking at a star, and NARA notes it was apparently meant for the Black press.

Mail early, and troops at Christmas

The Army Postal Service posters of 1943 and 1944 give a mailing window of 15 September to 15 October and rules for weight, size and address. The 1943 sheet uses a sample name, "Pvt. Frank Doe", in the manner of Plain folks. A 1914 Austro-Hungarian postcard shows five soldiers around a candlelit tree in the snow. A 1917 Red Cross poster asks for ten million new members by Christmas (Bandwagon).

Christmas as an accusation

Leaflet from the Korean War, about December 1951: cocktail drinkers at a poolside above soldiers in a snowy trench

A leaflet held by the Truman Library, catalogued about December 1951 and attributed to Communist forces, sets "Mr. Moneybags is in Florida this Christmas" against "Where are you? In Korea!" (Scapegoating, Card stacking). Its issuer is not named on the sheet. The British-held "German Christmas in Jugoslavia" uses a sarcastic headline over an execution image (Outrage bait). In Berlin in 1935 a photograph shows Winterhilfswerk Christmas parcels packed under a swastika flag.

What the collection does not hold

Not here: Christmas truce items from 1914, which are mostly letters and photographs and not posters.
Not here: Japanese, Soviet and Italian Christmas or New Year posters of the war years, and German bond or parcel posters of 1939 to 1945.
Not here: Christmas cards issued by governments or forces, apart from the 1914 postcard.

Sources and further reading

Sources

U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (Record Group 44 and related series); Harry S.

U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (Record Group 44 and related series); Harry S. Truman Library; Library of Congress. Each item in the grid carries its own source, date basis and rights note.