Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii, December 7th 1941. Japan's 1st Air Fleet launched a surprise attack on the US Pacific Fleet, killing 2403 Americans, and wounding another 1178.
This brutal attack shocked and angered Americans in a way that only the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001 have since equalled.
The Americans and Japanese had been in negotiations concerning Japan's move into Indochina during the summer of 1941. These negotiations were broken off by the Japanese just 30 minutes before the attack on Pearl Harbor began, leaving the USA with no time to prepare for such a devastating attack. News of the broken down negotiations tragically arrived in Hawaii some hours after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
Following the attack, and America's entry into the already established World War II, anti-Japanese propaganda was used to tap into the feelings of anger against Japan in America. Many of the images and words used would seem shocking today, using stylised cartoons of a "typical" Japanese, and language bordering very close to racism. However, this was the world at war in the 1940s, and propaganda against opposing nations was a no holds barred affair.
This "Avenge Pearl Harbor" design was a rallying cry to Americans - the government needed not only troops, but hugely increased productivity at home in order to prosecute the war. A concerted campaign of such posters pushed the messages home using stark images and text.
