Content note: Painted enemy soldier's face with dark skin and heavy features, drawn in the stereotyped style of wartime enemy imagery, rising out of smoke over a burning town. This object is shown as it was published. Why
Home Front Fires Are Enemy Victories: Prevent Fires
A painted helmeted face with an X on the helmet looms in smoke above a burning factory and houses; the headline reads 'Home front fires are ENEMY victories', with 'ENEMY' in large brush lettering, and 'Prevent fires' at the foot. The tell is fear-appeal: fire losses are framed as wins for the enemy, personified by a face rising from the smoke.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1944
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- Office of War Information; artist Schlaikjer
- 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
- 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, Record Group 44, World War II Posters, retrieved October 4, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (U.S. government work)
Office of War Information. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-1000 (NAID 514526).
Text on the object
HOME FRONT FIRES ARE ENEMY VICTORIES [signature:] SCHLAIKJER 1944 PREVENT FIRES [imprint:] U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1944--O--614736
