Strengthen Our Ranks

Issued in 1945, this poster carries the Royal Dutch East Indies Army's (Koninklijk Nederlandsch Indisch Leger, KNIL) recruitment plea to "strengthen our ranks" (versterkt onze gelederen). Drawn by Wim Oepts, who had escaped the Nazis, and printed in Britain, it reflects the polished, professional character of Dutch wartime propaganda. A lone soldier guards a stretch of coast, a Dutch lion on his helmet and the black neck cloth of the KNIL uniform falling behind him. On the background lies a calm, stereotypically Indonesian landscape, suggesting the KNIL had restored order, a stark contrast to the harshness of the war itself.