The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was created on June 13, 1942, to centralize and control the content and production of government information and propaganda about the war. It coordinated the release of war news for domestic use, and using posters along with radio broadcasts, worked to promote patriotism, warn about foreign spies, and recruit women into war work. The office also established an overseas branch, which launched a large-scale information and propaganda campaign abroad. The government appealed to the public through popular culture and more than a quarter of a billion dollars' worth of advertising was donated during the first three years of the National Defense Savings Program. Victory in Europe was declared on May 8, 1945, and in Japan on September 2, 1945. The OWI ceased operation in September.
Poster with a duotone photographic image of civilian men, women, and children, and some soldiers crowded into a railroad car. There are 2 lines of text across the top and within a red panel across the bottom.
overall: Height: 28.000 inches (71.12 cm) | Width: 20.125 inches (51.118 cm)
No restrictions on use
No restrictions on access
The poster was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1988 by David and Zelda Silberman.
Poster from the Don’t Travel series depicting civilians and soldiers traveling on a crowded railcar produced by the Office of Defense Transportation. This office was involved in improving transportation performance and supporting war rationing efforts. Travel was organized into three categories: necessary for military travel and emergencies; permissible for vacation and shopping; and nonessential for social visits and excursions. By late in the war, more than 300,000 railroad workers were in the armed forces and there was a shortage of manpower for the railroads. The ODT stopped the operation of special event trains and limited of extra trains on heavily traveled routes.
US Don’t Travel poster depicting civilians and soldiers on a crowded train