Come South poster, map split at 17th parallel (Vietnamese poster distributed in Saigon)
A two-colour map of Vietnam divided at the 17th parallel. In the grey northern half, houses burn under a star flag while figures run south; in the green southern half, farmers work rice fields with a buffalo and a man stands with open arms beside a striped flag. The headline urges going south to avoid Communism. The tell is a fear appeal with card-stacking: only disorder is shown in the north and only calm in the south.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- August 5, 1954
- Period
- Cold War
- Made by
- U.S. Information Agency (predecessor: State Department International Information and Educational Exchange Program), Propaganda Posters Distributed in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East series
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Eisenhower Administration
- Leader
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
- Audience
- Foreign public
- Purpose
- Mobilize or secure compliance
- Themes
- Migration, War and the military
- Event
- Cold War
- Source
- Unidentified Source blurred: contractors, cutouts, buried disclosure
- Source
- U.S. National Archives (NARA), Record Group 306, Posters in Asia, Latin America, Middle East, retrieved October 4, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (U.S. government work; NARA RG 306)
U.S. Information Agency / Department of State, August 5, 1954. National Archives, Record Group 306 (NAID 6949142, 306-PPB-225).
Text on the object
HÃY VÀO NAM ĐỂ TRÁNH CỘNG-SẢN VĨ-TUYẾN 17 ĐỒNG-BÀO NAM-VIỆT DANG TAY CHỜ ĐÓN ĐỒNG-BÀO BẮC-VIỆT
Go south to avoid Communism. 17th Parallel. South Vietnamese compatriots open their arms to await North Vietnamese compatriots.
No imprint or credit line is printed on the sheet.
