Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation
'Vi Hålla Haven Fria' [We Keep the Seas Free], 1942 US poster: A photograph of a US battleship's turret and guns firing

'Vi Hålla Haven Fria' [We Keep the Seas Free] (Ensuring Freedom of the Seas [Swedish])

A photograph of a US battleship's turret and guns firing, in silhouette against smoke with crew in the foreground, sits above a Swedish text block, a US flag and a portrait of President Roosevelt, inside a blue border of stars. The headline puts the virtue phrase 'free seas' over a warship firing (glittering generalities), the flag and portrait lend authority (transfer), and the text gives only US ship counts and costs (card-stacking).

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

TransferCard stackingGlittering generalities
Date
1942
Period
Second World War
Made by
Office of War Information (NARA RG 44 series; issuer not printed on the sheet)
Region
North America
Country
United States
Medium
Poster
Issuer type
State
Regime
Roosevelt Administration
Leader
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Audience
Foreign public
Purpose
Persuade or win support
Theme
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 Foreign Posters, retrieved October 3, 2026
Rights
Public domain (U.S. government work, NARA RG 44 OWI series)
Office of War Information, 1942-1945. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44 (NAID 44268453, 44-PF-R-5h).

Text on the object

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

VI HÅLLA HAVEN FRIA

Denna bild visar sextontums-kanonerna på det nyligen sjösatta amerikanska slagskeppet “North Carolina” vars granater på ett ton kunna sändas iväg ända upp till ett avstånd på 42 km. Detta fartyg, som kostat 260 miljoner kronor, är utan like i världen när det gäller beväpning och eldkraft. Med 343 krigsfartyg redan i tjänst och 345 under byggnad är Amerika rustat att möta varje angripare, som vågar komma världens sjövägar för nära.

PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT

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

WE KEEP THE SEAS FREE

This picture shows the sixteen-inch guns of the recently launched American battleship “North Carolina”, whose one-ton shells can be sent as far as a distance of 42 km. This vessel, which cost 260 million kronor, is without equal in the world in armament and firepower. With 343 warships already in service and 345 under construction, America is equipped to meet any aggressor who dares to come too near the world’s sea lanes.

PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT

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