Religious Oppression poster, No. 171a, 1954 US poster: A photograph of two men in a New York room with white cloth hoods over

Religious Oppression poster, No. 171a (Thai poster distributed in Bangkok)

A photograph of two men in a New York room with white cloth hoods over their heads, on a yellow ground, captioned in Thai as Ukrainian Catholic priests masked to protect relatives behind the 'Iron Curtain' while telling the press of Communist oppression of Catholics in Soviet Russia. The tell is testimonial: anonymous witnesses are offered as proof, and the caption supplies all the context.

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

Fear appeal Testimonial Card stacking

Date: September 15, 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: Demonize
Themes: Religion, Security and surveillance
Event: Cold War
Source: Unidentified Source blurred: contractors, cutouts, buried disclosure
Source: U.S. National Archives (NARA), RG 306, Posters Distributed in Asia, Latin America and Middle East, retrieved October 4, 2026
Rights: Public domain (U.S. government work; NARA RG 306)
U.S. Information Agency / Department of State, September 15, 1954. National Archives, Record Group 306 (NAID 6949072, 306-PPB-171a).

Text on the object

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

ใน นคร นิวยอร์ก นักบวช แห่ง นิกาย คาธอลิค ใน ยูเกรน สวม
หน้ากากไว้ เพื่อ มิให้ รู้ว่า เป็นใคร มิฉะนั้น จะ เป็น ภัย เกิด ขึ้น แก่
สหาย และ ครอบ ครัว ของตน ที่ อยู่หลัง "ม่าน เหล็ก" นักบวช
ทั้งสอง นี้ กำ ลัง เล่าให้ พวก หนังสือพิมพ์ ฟัง ถึง พวก คอมมูนิสต์
กดขี่ ศาสนา คาธอลิค ในโซเวียต รัสเซีย

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

In New York City, priests of the Catholic church from Ukraine wear masks over their faces so that it will not be known who they are, otherwise danger would come to their friends and families who are behind the "Iron Curtain". These two priests are telling the press about the Communists' oppression of the Catholic religion in Soviet Russia.

Thai is printed with irregular word spacing, reproduced as it appears; reading by eye.