He's Watching You

A menacing, disembodied German helmet and eyes loom over the phrase 'He's watching you,' with no context, unit, or evidence given for the claim of surveillance. The enemy's presence is asserted as an omnipresent, unlocated threat so any lapse in secrecy feels personally consequential.

This 1942 U.S. home-front security poster, by artist Glenn Grohe, shows a menacing, disembodied German helmet and eyes over the phrase 'He's watching you'. It belongs to the Office of War Information's careless-talk campaign and asks the public to guard what it says. No context, unit or evidence is given for the claim of surveillance. Fear appeal, scapegoating and transfer are tagged: the threat sits on a generic enemy symbol and feels present anywhere.

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

Fear appeal Scapegoating Transfer

Date: 1942
Period: Second World War
Made by: U.S. government home-front security campaign; artist Glenn Grohe

Full record

Region, Country, Medium, Issuer type, Regime, Leader, Audience, Purpose, Themes, Event, Source, Rights

Region: North America
Country: United States
Medium: Poster
Issuer type: State
Regime: Roosevelt Administration
Leader: Franklin D. Roosevelt
Audience: Domestic public
Purpose: Warn or inform
Themes: Security and surveillance, Home front, War and the military
Event: World War II
Regime: Roosevelt administration
Leader: Franklin D. Roosevelt
Source: Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
Source: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), via Wikimedia Commons, retrieved September 25, 2026
Rights: Public domain (U.S. government work)
Glenn Grohe, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (1941-1945).