The Propaganda Front: Postcards from the Era of World Wars

“Big Bertha” sends large-caliber greetings from Berlin. A Socialist worker raises the red flag. Adoring crowds greet Hitler and Mussolini. Uncle Sam orders Americans to enlist. In the first half of the twentieth century, these images and many more circulated by the millions on postcards intended to change minds and inspire actions. Whether produced by government propaganda bureaus, opportunistic publishers, aid organizations, or resistance movements, postcards conveyed their messages with striking graphics, pithy slogans, and biting caricatures—all in a uniquely personal form. The more than 350 cards reproduced in full color in this book advocate for political causes and celebrate war efforts on all sides of the major conflicts of their time.

About the Authors

Anna Jozefacka is a postdoctoral Fellow at the Leonard A. Lauder Research Center for Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Lynda Klich is Assistant Professor, Department of Art & Art History and Macaulay Honors College, Hunter College, CUNY.

Juliana Kreinik is an independent historian of art and photography.

Benjamin Weiss is Director of Collections and Leonard A. Lauder Curator of Visual Culture at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.