Overview
- Brief Narrative
- World War II war bond advertisement poster depicting a man with half of his body in bondage while the other half is free. The poster implies that buying war bonds supports the war effort as well as the American ideals of freedom and free enterprise, while the alternative is barren oppression under Nazi rule. Giving ten percent of your earnings references the practice of tithing, giving ten percent of one’s earnings to the church or charity. War bonds were offered by the United States government for purchase by the public, who would then keep the bond and be reimbursed for its return at a later date. To help the war effort, RCA Victor held war bond drive rallies that featured notable military figures and Victor record recording artists. They also introduced the Beat the Promise worker incentive program that encouraged employees to surpass production quotas. The campaign was very successful; RCA Victor’s production in 1941 was 14 times greater than in 1939, and production through the first six months of 1942 was 49 times greater than the same period in 1939. By the end of World War II, Americans had purchased over $185 billion in war bonds.
- Title
- Bonds or Bondage
- Date
-
publication/distribution:
1941 September-1945 September
- Geography
-
distribution:
United States
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Suzanne Herskovic Ponder
- Markings
- front, top, printed, red, black and white : BONDS OR BONDAGE
front, bottom, printed, white : EVERYBODY-EVERY PAY DAY 10% - Contributor
-
Publisher:
Radio Corporation of America
Physical Details
- Language
- English
- Classification
-
Posters
- Category
-
War propaganda
- Object Type
-
Posters, American (lcsh)
- Genre/Form
- Posters.
- Physical Description
- Poster printed on heavy weight, off white paper with an image of a man with his arms and legs extended out, half of his body free and half in chains. The man wears blue overalls and a blue cap. The left side of the poster is bright, with a waving American flag in the man’s hand and plowed farmland in the foreground. In the background are factories behind a skyline full of skyscrapers against a blue sky. The right side shows a wasteland with bare, dead trees in the foreground, and a small bombed out building and rising smoke in the background. The colors are dark and heavily shaded and the man’s arm and leg are attached to a ball and chain inscribed with a swastika. Large red, gray, and white text is along the top of the image. The paper has a loss on the front left corner. The back has dark black streaks throughout.
- Dimensions
- overall: Height: 28.250 inches (71.755 cm) | Width: 21.000 inches (53.34 cm)
- Materials
- overall : paper, ink
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- No restrictions on access
- Conditions on Use
- No restrictions on use
Keywords & Subjects
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The poster was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2018 by Suzanne Herskovic Ponder.
- Record last modified:
- 2023-05-24 13:20:19
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn619012
Download & Licensing
In-Person Research
- By Appointment
- Request 21 Days in Advance of Visit
- Plan a Research Visit
- Request to See This Object
Contact Us
Also in Suzanne Herskovic Ponder poster collection
The collection consists of nine British and American World War II posters.
Date: 1939-1945
British World War II public travel time recommendation poster
Object
Text only, lithographic wartime poster used in Great Britain to promote public travel between times that would not interfere with the commutes of workers essential for the war economy. After the fall of France, in June of 1940, Great Britain was left alone to withstand the full force of the German military. The country needed every citizen to do their part and assist in national defense. The poster was issued by the Ministry of Labour & National Service and the Ministry of War Transport for publication by Her Majesty’s Stationary Office (HMSO). The Ministry of War Transport was created to control shipping, public and private transportation policy, safety, and the resources of Great Britain during World War II. The Ministry of Labour was responsible for managing Great Britain’s economy, including human and material resources, and turned it into a war economy focused on production for the war effort. Workers were tied to jobs that were considered essential and employers were prevented from terminating workers without permission from the government. The HMSO was founded in the 1780s to provide documentary support and paper based supplies for the British government. The office was instructed to supervise the printing of 78 million ration books and instruction manuals on everything from cooking to air raids before the outbreak of World War II.
British World War II home front travel time advisory poster
Object
Small wartime poster used in Great Britain to promote public travel between times that would not interfere with the commutes of workers essential for the war economy. After the fall of France, in June of 1940, Great Britain was left alone to withstand the full force of the German military. The country needed every citizen to do their part and assist in national defense. The poster was issued by the Ministry of Labour & National Service and the Ministry of War Transport for publication by Her Majesty’s Stationary Office (HMSO). The Ministry of War Transport was created to control shipping, public and private transportation policy, safety, and the resources of Great Britain during World War II. The Ministry of Labour was responsible for managing Great Britain’s economy, including human and material resources, and turned it into a war economy focused on production for the war effort. Workers were tied to jobs that were considered essential and employers were prevented from terminating workers without permission from the government. The HMSO was founded in the 1780s to provide documentary support and paper based supplies for the British government. The office was instructed to supervise the printing of 78 million ration books and instruction manuals on everything from cooking to air raids before the outbreak of World War II.
British World War II poster with a pair of gripper pliers crushing a swastika
Object
Wartime poster designed by Frank Newbould featuring a pair of gripper pliers crushing a swastika. After the fall of France in June of 1940, Great Britain was left alone to withstand the full force of the German military and needed every citizen to do their part and assist in national defense. The gripper pliers symbolize how a unified industrial workforce could crush the Nazi threat. During the war, Britain’s economy transformed into a war economy focused on production for the war effort. Workers were tied to jobs that were considered essential, and employers were prevented from terminating workers without permission from the government. The poster was published by Her Majesty’s Stationary Office (HMSO). The HMSO was founded in the 1780s to provide documentary support and paper based supplies for the British government. The office was instructed to supervise the printing of 78 million ration books and instruction manuals on everything from cooking to air raids before the outbreak of the war. Frank Newbould was an artist who designed travel promotion posters for rail and shipping lines. In 1942, he joined the War Office, where he designed the “Your Britain: Fight for It Now” series of posters.
American World War II beat the promise poster with a large B
Object
Text only poster featuring a large capital B and its corresponding Morse code symbol that was part of RCA Victor’s “Beat the Promise” worker incentive poster series instituted in September 1941, shortly before the United States entered World War II. The promise refers to the company’s production quotas, which employees were encouraged to surpass. The poster series was part of a larger campaign by RCA Victor to increase production for the war effort. The campaign included rallies with war bond drives that featured notable military figures and Victor record recording artists. The campaign was very successful; RCA Victor’s production in 1941 was 14 times greater than in 1939, and production through the first six months of 1942 was 49 times greater than the same period in 1939.
American World War II beat the promise poster prompting workers to beat production quotas
Object
Large wartime poster with an anthropomorphized wine bottle, encouraging the reader to not be a bottleneck that was part of RCA Victor’s “Beat the Promise” worker incentive poster series instituted in September 1941, shortly before the United States entered World War II. A bottleneck is a person whose slow work effort reduces the production capacity of the entire chain or process in which they are involved.The poster was part of RCA Victor’s Beat the Promise worker incentive campaign instituted in September 1941, shortly before the United States entered World War II. The promise refers to the company’s production quotas, which employees were encouraged to surpass. The poster series was part of a larger campaign by RCA Victor to increase production for the war effort. The campaign included rallies with war bond drives that featured notable military figures and Victor record recording artists. The campaign was very successful; RCA Victor’s production in 1941 was 14 times greater than in 1939, and production through the first six months of 1942 was 49 times greater than the same period in 1939.
American World War II beat the promise poster encouraging workers to share ideas
Object
Wartime poster depicting a worker examining the mechanical insides of an oversized head that was part of RCA Victor’s “Beat the Promise” worker incentive poster series instituted in September 1941, shortly before the United States entered World War II. The poster encourages employees to share their ideas in an effort to boost production. The poster was part of RCA Victor’s Beat the Promise worker incentive campaign instituted in September 1941, shortly before the United States entered World War II. The promise refers to the company’s production quotas, which employees were encouraged to surpass. The poster series was part of a larger campaign by RCA Victor to increase production for the war effort. The campaign included rallies with war bond drives that featured notable military figures and Victor record recording artists. The campaign was very successful; RCA Victor’s production in 1941 was 14 times greater than in 1939, and production through the first six months of 1942 was 49 times greater than the same period in 1939.
American World War II poster indicating worker production will help crush the Axis powers
Object
Silk screen poster depicting a giant shoe about to step on caricatures of Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Hideki Tojo that was part of RCA Victor’s “Beat the Promise” worker incentive poster series instituted in September 1941, shortly before the United States entered World War II. The poster insinuates that enhanced manufacturing production would be instrumental in stomping out the threat of the Axis Powers. The promise refers to the company’s production quotas, which employees were encouraged to surpass. The poster series was part of a larger campaign by RCA Victor to increase production for the war effort. The campaign included rallies with war bond drives that featured notable military figures and Victor record recording artists. The campaign was very successful; RCA Victor’s production in 1941 was 14 times greater than in 1939 and production through the first six months of 1942 was 49 times greater than the same period in 1939.
British World War II home front travel time recommendation poster
Object
British wartime poster depicting a figure resembling Hermes, the ancient Greek god of travel. The poster encouraged members of the public that were not essential to the war economy to avoid rush hour travel and allow the workers to commute to and from their places of work in a timely manner. This poster was issued by the Thomas Tilling Group of Companies, a private company that owned and operated a fleet of buses used for public transport and tours. After the fall of France in June of 1940, Great Britain was left alone to withstand the full force of the German military. The country needed every citizen to do their part and assist in national defense. The Ministry of War Transport was created to control shipping, public and private transportation policy, safety, and the resources of Great Britain during World War II. The Ministry of Labour was responsible for managing Great Britain’s economy, including human and material resources, and turned it into a war economy focused on production for the war effort. Workers were tied to jobs that were considered essential and employers were prevented from terminating workers without permission from the government.
