Original Item: Only One Available. A 1946 Franz O. Schiffers health poster warning soldiers overseas of the consequences of venereal disease. The poster features a soldier wrapped in ropes that spell out VD in front of a map of Western France and the Southern United Kingdom with white text at the top GOING HOME? DON’T BE DELAYED BY. At the end of the war, the risk to soldiers became even greater, because any soldier with VD could not be sent home until they were cured, so, if they caught VD, they risked having to make very embarrassing explanations to their families, girlfriends, or wives, saying exactly why they could not be sent home along with the other men!
The poster appears to have never been folded and has definitely been well taken care of! The markings on the poster are “Schiffers” and can be found in the bottom left corner. In the bottom right corner the following markings can be seen:
AGL-5-46-70000-3896. What’s even rarer is the U.S. CIVIL CENSORSHIP GERMANY stamp, which is numbered 40413.
The poster measures at 22½ x 15 ½ inches.
This is an incredible poster offered in excellent condition. This is one of those subjects seldomly talked about. It would look great in any propaganda collection or even a Doctors office!
Guns, tanks, and bombs were the principal weapons of World War II, but there were other, more subtle forms of warfare as well. Words, posters, and films waged a constant battle for the hearts and minds of the American citizenry just as surely as military weapons engaged the enemy. Persuading the American public became a wartime industry, almost as important as the manufacturing of bullets and planes. The Government launched an aggressive propaganda campaign with clearly articulated goals and strategies to galvanize public support, and it recruited some of the nation's foremost intellectuals, artists, and filmmakers to wage the war on that front.
Masculine strength was a common visual theme in patriotic posters. Pictures of powerful men and mighty machines illustrated America's ability to channel its formidable strength into the war effort. American muscle was presented in a proud display of national confidence.
