This is a propaganda poster from 1917. Both liberty bonds and propaganda play a part in my first book in this series, which explores the conflict of a schoolteacher and a German-American handyman who fall in love while anti-German hysteria divides the population of their small Iowa town.
I knew a little about the German prejudice during WWI from a couple other novels I'd read, but it wasn't until I began researching it for this book, that I realized how rampant it really was. German-Americans changed their last names, German-sounding streets or cities were also changed, even sauerkraut became "liberty cabbage." German-Americans were forced to buy liberty bonds, were tarred and feathered, were made to kiss the flag and subjected to numerous other injustices. It was both interesting and sad to read accounts of what many Germans here in the U.S. faced during the war.
How much do you know about WWI? Is it a time period that you find interesting or would like to learn more about? Like me, are you counting down the days until Downton Abbey starts again? :)