Item:
ONSV22WON173

Original U.S. WWII “Back The Attack! Buy Bonds Here” Paratrooper 3rd War Loan Poster - 22” x 28”

Item Description

Original Item: Only One Available. The national Third War Loan Drive ran from September 8 through October 2, 1943. This was one of eight short-term bond drives called "war loans" which were conducted in addition to ongoing bond sales. The government encouraged private companies and organizations to donate advertising for bond drives.

The poster depicts a scene of US Army Paratroopers conducting a night jump with a star lit ski in the background. The message displayed is a clear one and reads as follows:

BACK THE ATTACK!
The
3rd
WAR LOAN
is on!
BUY BONDS HERE

The poster is in excellent, unrestored condition. There is minor wear and age toning present, but it does not appear to have been displayed much. There are fold marks still present, but these are original to the printing and distribution process.

This is a lovely poster and it comes more than ready for display.

By the summer of 1940, the victories of NSDAP Germany against Poland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and Luxembourg brought urgency to the government, which was discreetly preparing for possible United States involvement in World War II. Of principal concern were issues surrounding war financing. Many of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's advisers favored a system of tax increases and enforced savings program as advocated by British economist John Maynard Keynes. In theory, this would permit increased spending while decreasing the risk of inflation. Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau, Jr. however preferred a voluntary loan system and began planning a national defense bond program in the fall of 1940. The intent was to unite the attractiveness of the baby bonds that had been implemented in the interwar period with the patriotic element of the Liberty Bonds from the First World War.

Henry Morgenthau Jr. sought the aid of Peter Odegard, a political scientist specialized in propaganda, in drawing up the goals for the bond program. On the advice of Odegard the Treasury began marketing the previously successful baby bonds as "defense bonds". Three new series of bond notes, Series E, F and G, would be introduced, of which Series E would be targeted at individuals as "defense bonds". Like the baby bonds, they were sold for as little as $18.75 and matured in ten years, at which time the United States government paid the bondholder $25. Large denominations of between $50 and $1000 were also made available, all of which, unlike the Liberty Bonds of the First World War, were non-negotiable bonds. For those who found it difficult to purchase an entire bond at once, 10-cent savings stamps could be purchased and collected in Treasury-approved stamp albums until the recipient had accumulated enough stamps for a bond purchase. The name of the bonds was eventually changed to War Bonds after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, which resulted in the United States entering the war.

The War Finance Committee was placed in charge of supervising the sale of all bonds, and the War Advertising Council promoted voluntary compliance with bond buying. Popular contemporary art was used to help promote the bonds such as Any Bonds Today?, a 1942 Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon. More than a quarter of a billion dollars' worth of advertising was donated during the first three years of the National Defense Savings Program. The government appealed to the public through popular culture. Norman Rockwell's painting series, the Four Freedoms, toured in a war bond effort that raised $132 million. Bond rallies were held throughout the country with famous celebrities, usually Hollywood film stars, to enhance the bond advertising effectiveness. Many motion pictures during the time, especially war dramas (a form of propaganda itself), included a graphic shown during the closing credits advising patrons to "Buy War Bonds and Stamps", which were sometimes sold in the lobby of the theater. The Music Publishers Protective Association encouraged its members to include patriotic messages on the front of their sheet music like "Buy U.S. Bonds and Stamps". Over the course of the war 85 million Americans purchased bonds totalling approximately $185 billion.

Named after the 1942 Hollywood Victory Caravan, a 1945 Paramount-produced film promoted bond sales after the end of World War II. The short subject included Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Alan Ladd, William Demarest, Franlin Pangborn, Barbara Stanwyck, Humphrey Bogart, and others.

Aside from movies and music, there were countless other programs held throughout the states to encourage the purchasing of war bonds. One such promotion that was held, at the least, in Nebraska and Montana, allowed for citizens to "get AH's goat," a play on the phrase "to get someone's goat" meaning to make someone angry or annoyed. The goat would be held up for "auction" with the money going directly towards war bonds. According to one source, the auctioning of "AH's goat" in Nebraska in 1942 raised $90,000 in War Bond sales.

The National Service Board for Religious Objectors offered civilian bonds in the United States during World War II, primarily to members of the historic peace churches as an alternative for those who could not conscientiously buy something meant to support the war. These were U.S. Government Bonds not labelled as defense bonds. In all, 33,006 subscriptions were sold for a total value of $6.74 million, mostly to Mennonites, Brethren, and Quakers

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