World War II Newsmaps, 1942-1946

Title: World War II Newsmaps, 1942-1946

ID: MAPS Newsmap

Primary Creator: United States. Army Service Forces. Army Information Branch

Extent: 2.0 cubic feet. More info below.

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

The World War II Newsmaps consist of poster-size newsmaps published weekly by the U.S. Army Information Branch from 1942 until 1946. Each newsmap includes maps depicting the previous week's advances and activities on the war-front in Europe, Africa, and Asia; brief news items and photographs; and exhortations. The newsmaps include both world maps and maps of local areas. Some of the newsmaps provided cues for recognizing tanks, ships, and planes; information about enemy organization, equipment, and uniform insignia; highlights of service achievement; or graphics intended to inspire and motivate military personnel. After mid-1945, the newsmaps became more like promotional posters.

Most of the newsmaps are 36 x 48 inches; the collection also includes 20 smaller maps (approximately 18 x 24 inches) published in 1943 as the overseas version.

The University of North Texas Digital Library provides online access to these materials through the World War Two Newsmaps digital collection.

More Extent Information: 224 sheets; 5 map folders

Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note: The maps were received by the Oregon State College Library, as a depository library, at the time of publication; they were transferred to the Special Collections & Archives Research Center in 2013.

Related Materials: The Special Collections and Archives Research Center's holdings include many collections documenting the extensive role of Oregon State College in World War II. Of particular note are the records of the Army Specialized Training Program Records (RG 059), College of Science Records (RG 024), College of Engineering Records (RG 062), Oregon State College History of World War II Project Records (MSS OSCWW2), Eugene Starr Papers (MSS Starr), and the Oregon State Yank Collection (MSS Yank). The Center's holdings also include collections documenting the wartime activities of individuals and organizations; these include the Alpha Lambda Delta Records (MSS AlphaLambdaDelta), Delta Zeta Sorority Chi Chapter Scrapbook (MSS DeltaZeta), and the Wesley Ross Memoir of World War II (MSS RossW). Other World War II era posters are part of the OSU Memorabilia Collection (MSS MC) file "MC-War Food Posters."

Preferred Citation: World War II Newsmaps (MAPS Newsmaps), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

United States. Army Service Forces. Army Information Branch

War posters.
World War, 1939-1945--Maps.
World War, 1939-1945--Posters.
World War, 1939-1945--Propaganda.

Maps (documents)
Posters.