Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation
Sh-h-h! Silence means security!, 1944 US poster: Security poster with a colour photograph of a smiling pilot in a cockpit

Sh-h-h! Silence means security!

Security poster with a colour photograph of a smiling pilot in a cockpit making a circled-fingers hand sign, beside a painted nose-art cartoon of a monkey covering its mouth, with 'Sh-h-h!' lettered alongside and rows of victory markings on the fuselage. Slogan beneath: 'Silence means security!'. The technique is transfer: an airman's image lends the request for silence his standing.

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

TransferTestimonial
Date
1944
Period
Second World War
Made by
War Department, Adjutant General's Office
Region
North America
Country
United States
Medium
Poster
Issuer type
Military
Regime
Roosevelt Administration
Leader
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Audience
Domestic public
Purpose
Warn or inform
Themes
War and the military, Security and surveillance
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)
War Department, Adjutant General's Office. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-150 (NAID 513596).

Text on the object

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

Sh-h-h!
SILENCE MEANS SECURITY!
[imprint: W.D., A.G.O. "Monkey" Security Poster. Additional copies may be requisitioned as prescribed in AR 310-200, May 1, 1943, as changed by Changes 2, 15 September 1943.]
[imprint: U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1944--O--583196]

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