American YMCA War Prisoners' Aid Poster

Creator

Preview

Creation Date

1916

Description

This publicity poster was part of a campaign to raise $150,000 from college students in the United States in support of the War Prisoners' Aid effort. These funds would pay for WPA secretaries, huts, games, medicine, warm clothing, booklets, text books, and extra food for the 5.5 million young men in one hundred prison camps scattered across Europe. The poster shows a college student sitting in an easy chair, smoking a pipe, and reading a newspaper while a German sentry guards thousands of Allied prisoners in the snow. The poster also features student life in Europe on the left side, fighting in the army, and student life in America, enjoying life to the fullest.