Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation
Back Them Up!, 1942 UK poster: A painting shows a Stirling bomber over a burning port, with bombs falling and searchlights

Back Them Up! (Stirling bombers raid Lübeck)

A painting shows a Stirling bomber over a burning port, with bombs falling and searchlights crossing the sky, captioned as a raid on 'the Nazi Baltic port of Lübeck'. The slogan 'Back Them Up!' attaches the aircrew's action to the civilian viewer's own effort, which is the tell for transfer; the scene shows docks and factories, with no people.

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

Transfer
Date
1942
Period
Second World War
Made by
His Majesty's Stationery Office, printed by Fosh & Cross Ltd., London; artist Roy Nockolds (signed, dated 1942)
Region
Western and Central Europe
Country
United Kingdom
Medium
Poster
Issuer type
State
Regime
Churchill Government
Leader
Winston Churchill
Audience
Domestic public
Purpose
Mobilize or secure compliance
Themes
War and the military, Home front
Event
World War II
Regime
Churchill wartime government
Leader
Winston Churchill
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 Foreign Posters, retrieved October 3, 2026
Rights
Public domain (UK Crown copyright, 50 years from publication, expired before 1996; no URAA restoration)
His Majesty's Stationery Office, printed by Fosh & Cross Ltd., London; artist Roy Nockolds (signed, dated 1942). U.S. National Archives, WWII Foreign Posters (NAID 44266060, 44-PF-23).

Text on the object

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

Heavy "Stirling" bombers raid the Nazi Baltic port of Lübeck and leave the docks ablaze

BACK THEM UP!

PRINTED FOR H.M. STATIONERY OFFICE BY FOSH & CROSS LTD., LONDON (51-2488)

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