Mexicans and Mexican Americans contributed in many ways to the United States' war effort during World War II. About 19% of all Mexican Americans signed up for the armed forces; nearly 17,000 Mexican Americans in Los Angeles worked in the area's…

This photograph, made for the Office of War Information, is part of a larger series documenting racial conflict surrounding the construction of the Sojourner Truth homes in Detroit, Michigan. White neighbors and tenants of the new federal housing…

Like many Allied propaganda images from the same period, this Nazi World War II poster focuses on the importance of the role played by civilians in the war effort. Workers in munitions factories and other war-production-related industries were viewed…

Christine Jorgensen, born George W. Jorgensen Jr., was an army clerical worker during World War II. After the war, she underwent sex reassignment surgery in Denmark. Jorgensen became well-known for this experience, and numerous media outlets…

During World War II, the U.S. government produced a number of propaganda posters aimed at mobilizing women workers to contribute to the war effort, offering images that challenged traditional ideas about the role of women and the nature of their work…

This World War II-era poster is from the "Jenny on the Job" series developed by the Office of War Information and aimed at women workers. The series offered safety tips and advice for thousands of women thrust into the industrial workforce during the…

This World War II-era poster is from the "Jenny on the Job" series developed by the U.S. Public Health Service and aimed at women workers. The series offered safety tips and advice for thousands of women thrust into the workforce during World War II,…

This 1930s-era Nazi poster translates as "Don't give, Sacrifice," to the Winterhilfswerk (Winter Aid), a Nazi party charity. The dire economic circumstances in Germany during the 1930s both facilitated the Nazis' rise to power and served as a focal…

In this rare color photograph taken for the Office of War Information, a "real life" Rosie drills on the side of a dive bomber plane. Nearly three million women worked in defense industries during World War II, including thousands of African…

Joe Louis, the famous heavyweight boxing champion, served in the Army from 1940 to 1942, appearing in exhibition matches as well as this recruitment poster. A few years earlier, Louis had defeated German heavyweight Max Schmeling, a symbol of the…