Propaganda Poster Analysis

This is an Australian propaganda poster made in 1943 by Hal Quinlan. Quinlan was an Illustrator and a cartoonist for magazines and newspapers during the time of the war. It was made close to the end of WW2 just after the war’s turning point in 1942 where it was crucial for the Allies not to make a mistake in their plans.
In this poster two cartoon soldiers can be seen in a public toilet. It can be assumed as the one writing on the walls is George as this poster is saying not to put information around in public which is what the soldier was doing. The other soldier is reading the information so it can be assumed that he is a spy for the Axis side because he would be collecting information to help the Axis. This poster is trying to spread to
Propaganda was used by the government to spread messages to influence and appeal the audience’s opinions and emotions for the government’s personal gain. Propaganda was spread through posters like this one, through radio and other types of media. This poster was made to spread the idea of censorship to all Australians to not say any important information. Censorship was used at the time to manage the opinions of the public, but also boost their morale, as it was important for all Australians to have hope and be able to help in the war as best they can. It was also used to stop anti-war ideas and especially stop the spread of information, as that could have jeopardized the contribution of Australia in the war. Spreading the message of censorship also had a negative effect on the people however as they didn’t trust others, believing that they were spies, anyone that was believed to have connections with or seem to support Germans, Japanese and Italian were put into Internment Camps. By 1942, people had learnt of the government’s handling of information such as the number of deaths during a campaign and opposed it leading to Australians not trusting the