One thing that really interests me about World War II isn't the amazing firepower, or technological breakthroughs, or even the never-ending question of whether or not Adolf Hitler was gay. Those are all fun things, yes (especially since 'Homo Hitler' is a great use of alliteration), but what really interests me is how and what people believed and thought at that time. If one could probe into the mind of Joe Everyman in 1943 and see what he really believed, and really thought about things, it would be very interesting to see how it compares to the way we look at things now. One major issue is the topic of race, and how it was used as a rallying cry throughout the war. Many would argue that much of the war was a struggle to show who had the superior race, but that is very abstract, and I encourage you to read the hundreds of books on the topic (John Dower's War Without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War would be one example). Even soldiers had a lot more to worry about than just fighting battles. For more info on this, Please read Paul Fussell's Wartime: Understanding and Behavior in the Second World War and books like it.
Anyway, what I am getting at is I basically want you to look at these interesting propaganda posters from World War II. Take your own opinions from them, but I invite you to really look at the message they are trying to convey and the intended audience they are seeking to convey that message to. If nothing else, some may give you a bit of a chuckle. I put the posters that have to do with what I am talking about above first, then they are followed by some fun ones I have found. (Searching for, and finding these posters is surprisingly enjoying and a lot of them either make you burst out laughing, leave you scratching your head, or will actually make you think (which is scary, I know)). Anyway, enjoy!
