Vintage Poster Archives
Extra War Bonds Nazi Helmet 1944 | Atherton WW2 Propaganda
Extra War Bonds Nazi Helmet 1944 | Atherton WW2 Propaganda
Couldn't load pickup availability
A broom marked "Extra War Bonds" sweeps away the debris of defeated enemies: a bullet-riddled Nazi helmet, torn flags, and a broken Japanese sword. John Carlton Atherton's 1944 design for the US Treasury Department reduces complex wartime politics to a household metaphor.
Commissioned for the 5th War Loan campaign during the critical summer of 1944, as Allied forces advanced across France following D-Day. The Treasury Department needed to sustain public investment in war bonds through the final push toward Berlin and Tokyo. Atherton's modernist approach places a simple broom as the instrument of victory, wielding the collective purchasing power of American families.
The composition works in bold blocks of red, yellow, and brown. The Nazi helmet bears visible bullet holes, the flags are torn and scattered, the Japanese katana lies broken. Atherton earned recognition for his ability to translate abstract political concepts into immediate visual impact, having won MoMA's National Defense Poster Competition in 1941.
This archival print depicts the original offset lithograph's stark colour palette and bold typography on museum-quality 200gsm Enhanced Matte Fine Art Paper.
