Indie moet vrij!
This striking 1944 propaganda poster by British artist Patrick Keely was commissioned by the Dutch government-in-exile in London. It features an octopus-like Japan spreading its tentacles over Southeast Asia, an allegory of aggressive expansion, mirroring the style of earlier satirical maps. Printed by James Haworth & Brothers, it warned the people of both occupied Holland and the Dutch East Indies of Japanese imperial threats.
Year
1944
Design
Patrick Cokayne Keely
Object Detail
Printed Poster
Type
Posters
Collection
David Rumsey Historical Map Collection
Did you know?
Patrick Keely’s octopus illustration draws inspiration from earlier satirical maps, like Fred W. Rose’s Russian Octopus (late 1800s) and Maurice Neumont’s Prussian Octopus (WWI), both symbols of imperial menace. Ironically, by the time this poster was made in 1944, Japan's military grip was weakening. American forces were steadily reclaiming territories in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, making the poster’s fearsome imagery more symbolic than reflective of the actual war situation.
