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Rosie the Riveter: Working Women and World War II

Office of War Information

John Newton Howitt. I'm proud ... my husband wants me to do my part See your U.S. Employment Service. 1941. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

The Office of War Information (OWI) was created on June 13 1942 by Executive Order 9182. The primary purpose of this World War II-era agency was to formulate and execute, "...information programs to promote, in the United States and abroad, understanding of the status and progress of the war effort and of war policies, activities, and aims of the U.S. government" (National Archives, Records of the Office of War Information).

Elmer Davis, the director of OWI, was authorized "to formulate and carry out, through the use of press, radio, motion picture, and other facilities, information programs designed to facilitate the development of an informed and intelligent understanding, at home and abroad, of the status and progress of the war effort, and of the war policies, activities, and aims of the government." OWI was terminated by an executive order of August 31, 1945.

To find materials published by or about the United States Office of War Information, you can search the following name and subject headings in the Library of Congress Online Catalog:

The records of the OWI can be accessed via the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA):