History

Famous Wartime Propaganda Posters

Name: Famous Wartime Propaganda Posters
Creator: Community curated
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Uncle Sam, Rosie the Riveter, Keep Calm and Carry On — which propaganda poster had the greatest cultural impact?

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Source:Community curated

Updated:3/7/2026

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Poster↕	Country↕	Era↕	Artist / Creator↕	Known For↕
I Want YOU for U.S. Army (Uncle Sam)	United States	WWI (1917)	James Montgomery Flagg	Most iconic recruiting poster ever, pointing finger Uncle Sam, 4 million copies printed, still parodied globally
We Can Do It! (Rosie the Riveter)	United States	WWII (1943)	J. Howard Miller	Symbol of women's empowerment, factory worker flexing bicep, barely seen during WWII — became feminist icon decades later
Keep Calm and Carry On	United Kingdom	WWII (1939)	UK Ministry of Information	Never widely distributed during the war, rediscovered in 2000 at a bookshop, spawned millions of parodies
Loose Lips Sink Ships	United States	WWII (1942)	Seymour Goff (Ess-ar-gee)	Anti-espionage slogan warning soldiers not to share secrets, became a cultural idiom, OPSEC before OPSEC existed
The Motherland Calls! (Родина-мать зовёт!)	Soviet Union	WWII (1941)	Irakli Toidze	Woman with oath of enlistment rallying Soviet troops, inspired the massive Volgograd statue, emotional urgency
Britons — Lord Kitchener Wants You	United Kingdom	WWI (1914)	Alfred Leete	Original pointing-finger recruiting poster that inspired Uncle Sam, Lord Kitchener's stern gaze, 'Your Country Needs YOU'
Beat Back the Hun with Liberty Bonds	United States	WWI (1918)	Frederick Strothmann	Demonized German soldiers as barbaric Huns, blood-soaked bayonet imagery, war bond fundraising through fear
Dig for Victory	United Kingdom	WWII (1941)	Mary Tunstall (attributed)	Encouraged civilians to grow their own food during rationing, allotment gardening surge, self-sufficiency message
Buy War Bonds (Iwo Jima flag-raising)	United States	WWII (1945)	Based on Joe Rosenthal photo	Flag-raising photo turned into war bond poster, 7th War Loan Drive raised $26 billion, became symbol of WWII sacrifice
The Enemy Is Listening	United Kingdom	WWII (1940s)	Cyril Kenneth Bird (Fougasse)	Careless Talk Costs Lives campaign, Hitler and Goering caricatures eavesdropping, humorous but deadly serious
Avenge Pearl Harbor	United States	WWII (1942)	Various artists	Rallied Americans after December 7 attack, turned isolationism into war fever overnight, multiple powerful versions
Workers of the World Unite (Soviet constructivism)	Soviet Union	1920s-1930s	El Lissitzky, Alexander Rodchenko	Constructivist bold geometry, red and black palette, hammer and sickle, defined revolutionary graphic design
Produce for Victory (Food Production)	United States	WWII (1943)	Various (USDA)	Victory garden campaign, 20 million Americans grew food at home, patriotic farming, canning and preserving movement
Make Do and Mend	United Kingdom	WWII (1943)	UK Board of Trade	Rationing-era resourcefulness, repair clothes instead of buying new, Mrs. Sew-and-Sew mascot, anti-waste ethos
Women of Britain Say — GO!	United Kingdom	WWI (1915)	E.J. Kealey	Women watching men march to war, emotional manipulation recruiting tool, guilt-tripping through family duty