Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation
On s'embarque en secret. Soyez discrets! [We embark in secret. Be discreet!], 1942 Canada poster: A black liner towers over

On s'embarque en secret. Soyez discrets! [We embark in secret. Be discreet!]

A black liner towers over a column of soldiers walking up a gangway, with crowds on its decks, under the French slogan 'On s'embarque en secret' and the call 'Soyez discrets!'. The ship's scale against the small figures ties each civilian's silence to the safety of embarking troops; no enemy figure is shown.

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

Transfer
Date
1942
Period
Second World War
Made by
Commission de l'information de guerre (Wartime Information Board), Ottawa, Canada
Region
North America
Country
Canada
Medium
Poster
Issuer type
State
Regime
Mackenzie King Government
Leader
William Lyon Mackenzie King
Audience
Domestic public
Purpose
Warn or inform
Themes
War and the military, Security and surveillance
Event
World War II
Source
Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
Source
U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 44, World War II Foreign Posters, retrieved October 3, 2026
Rights
Public domain (Canadian Crown copyright, 50 years from publication, expired; no URAA restoration)
Commission de l'information de guerre (Wartime Information Board), Canada, c. 1942-1945. U.S. National Archives, RG 44.

Text on the object

Original (French) · read from the image, not independently checked

ON
S'EMBARQUE
EN
SECRET

Soyez DISCRETS!

CODE A G-14FL  •  PUBLIÉ PAR LA COMMISSION DE L'INFORMATION DE GUERRE, OTTAWA  •  IMPRIMÉ AU CANADA

English translation (machine translation by Claude, not verified by a fluent reader)

WE
EMBARK
IN
SECRET

Be DISCREET!

CODE A G-14FL  •  PUBLISHED BY THE WAR INFORMATION COMMISSION, OTTAWA  •  PRINTED IN CANADA

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