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War bonds (sometimes referred to as Victory bonds, particularly in propaganda) are debt securities issued by a government to finance military operations and other expenditure in times of war without raising taxes to an unpopular level. They are also a means to control inflation by removing money from circulation in a stimulated wartime economy. War bonds are either retail bonds marketed directly to the public or wholesale bonds traded on a stock market. Exhortations to buy war bonds have often been accompanied by appeals to patriotism and conscience. Retail war bonds, like other retail bonds, tend to have a yield which is below that offered by the market and are often made available in a wide range of denominations to make them affordable for all citizens.


Before World War I

Governments throughout history have needed to borrow money to fight wars. Traditionally they dealt with a small group of rich financiers such as
Jakob Fugger Jakob Fugger ''of the Lily'' (german: Jakob Fugger von der Lilie; 6 March 1459 – 30 December 1525), also known as Jakob Fugger ''the Rich'' or sometimes Jakob II, was a major German merchant, mining entrepreneur, and banker. He was a descendant ...
and Nathan Rothschild, but no particular distinction was made between debt incurred in war or peace. An early use of the term "war bond" was for the $ raised by the US Congress in an Act of 14 March 1812, to fund the War of 1812, but this was not aimed at the general public. Until July 2015, perhaps the oldest bonds still outstanding as a result of war were the British
Consols Consols (originally short for consolidated annuities, but subsequently taken to mean consolidated stock) were government debt issues in the form of perpetual bonds, redeemable at the option of the government. They were issued by the Bank of Engla ...
, some of which were the result of the refinancing of incurring debts during the Napoleonic Wars, but these were redeemed following the passing of the Finance Act 2015.


World War I


Austria and Hungary

The government of
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1 ...
knew from the early days of the First World War that it could not count on advances from its principal banking institutions to meet the growing costs of the war. Instead, it implemented a war finance policy modeled upon that of Germany: Bogart, p. 240 in November 1914, the first funded loan was issued. As in Germany, the Austro-Hungarian loans followed a prearranged plan and were issued at half yearly intervals every November and May. The first Austrian bonds paid 5% interest and had a five-year term. The smallest bond denomination available was 100
kronen Kronen Brauerei, also known as Private Brewery Dortmund Kronen, was one of the oldest breweries in Westphalia and has its headquarters at the Old Market in Dortmund. The company was able to look back on more than 550 years of brewing traditi ...
. Bogart, p. 239 Hungary issued loans separately from Austria in 1919, after the war and after it had separated from Austria, in the form of stocks that permitted the subscriber to demand repayment after a year's notice. Interest was fixed at 6%, and the smallest denomination was 50 korona. Subscriptions to the first Austrian bond issue amounted to $; those of the first Hungarian issue amounted to $. The limited financial resources of children were tapped through campaigns in schools. The initial minimum Austrian bond denomination of 100 kronen still exceeded the means of most children,Healy, p. 244 so the third bond issue, in 1915, introduced a scheme whereby children could donate a small amount and take out a bank loan to cover the rest of the 100 kronen. The initiative was immensely successful, eliciting funds and encouraging loyalty to the state and its future among Austro-Hungarian youth. Over kronen was collected in the first three "child bond" issues.


Canada

Canada's involvement in the First World War began in 1914, with Canadian war bonds called "Victory Bonds" after 1917. The first domestic war loan was raised in November 1915, but not until the fourth campaign of November 1917 was the term Victory Loan applied. The First Victory Loan was a 5.5% issue of 5, 10 and 20 year gold bonds in denominations as small as $50. It was quickly oversubscribed, collecting $ or about $50 per capita. The Second and Third Victory Loans were floated in 1918 and 1919, bringing another $. For those who could not afford to buy Victory Bonds, the government also issued War Savings Certificates. The government awarded communities who bought large amounts of bonds Victory Loan Honour Flags.


Germany

Unlike France and Britain, at the outbreak of the First World War Germany found itself largely excluded from international financial markets. Chickering (2004), p. 104 This became most apparent after an attempt to float a major loan on Wall Street failed in 1914. As such, Germany was largely limited to domestic borrowing, which was induced by a series of war credit bills passing the Reichstag. This took place in many forms; however, the most publicised were the public war bond () drives. Nine bond drives were conducted over the length of the war and, as in Austria-Hungary, the loans were issued at six-month intervals. The drives themselves would often last several weeks, during which there was extensive use of propaganda via all possible media. Chickering (2007), p. 196 Most bonds had a rate of return of 5% and were redeemable over a ten-year period, in semi-annual payments. Like war bonds in other countries, the German war bonds drives were designed to be extravagant displays of patriotism and the bonds were sold through banks, post offices and other financial institutions. As in other countries, the majority investors were not individuals but institutions and large corporations. Chickering (2007), p. 198 Industries, university endowments, local banks and even city governments were the prime investors in the war bonds. In part because of intense public pressure and in part due to patriotic commitment the bond drives proved extremely successful, raising approximately marks in funds. Chickering (2004), p. 105 Although extremely successful the war bond drives only covered two-thirds of war-related expenditures. Meanwhile, the interest payable on the bonds represented a growing expense which required further resources to pay it.


United Kingdom

In August 1914, the gold reserves of the Bank of England, and effectively of all banking institutions in Great Britain, amounted to £. The banks feared the declaration of war would trigger a run on the banks, so the Chancellor
David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during ...
extended the August
bank holiday A bank holiday is a national public holiday in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and the Crown Dependencies. The term refers to all public holidays in the United Kingdom, be they set out in statute, declared by royal proclamation or held ...
for three days to allow time for the passing of the
Currency and Bank Notes Act 1914 A currency, "in circulation", from la, currens, -entis, literally meaning "running" or "traversing" is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general def ...
, by which Britain left the gold standard. Under this Act the Treasury issued £ (equivalent to £ in 2013) of paper banknotes, without the backing of gold, with which the banks could repay their obligations. Leading banker
Walter Leaf Sir Walter Leaf (26 November 1852, Upper Norwood – 8 March 1927, Torquay) was an English banker, classical scholar and psychical researcher. He published a benchmark edition of Homer's Iliad and was a director of Westminster Bank for many ...
described these Treasury notes as "essentially a War Loan free of interest, for an unlimited period, and as such was a highly profitable expedient from the point of view of the Government". The first interest-bearing War Loan was issued in November 1914 at an interest rate of 3.5%, to be redeemed at
par value Par value, in finance and accounting, means stated value or face value. From this come the expressions at par (at the par value), over par (over par value) and under par (under par value). Bonds A bond selling at par is priced at 100% of face va ...
in 1925–28. It raised £; £ at face value as it was issued at a 5% discount. It was revealed in 2017 that public subscriptions amounted to £91m, and the balance had been subscribed by the Bank of England, under the names of then governor,
John Gordon Nairne Sir John Gordon Nairne, 1st Baronet (4 January 1861 – 9 February 1945) was a director of the Bank of England and a BBC governor. He was born in Castle Douglas, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. He was the son of Andrew Nairne and Isabella H. Mac ...
, and his deputy Ernest Harvey. It was followed by £ of a second War Loan in June 1915, at 4.5%. £ of this was accounted for by conversion of the 3.5% issue, and a further £ by holders of 2.5% and 2.75%
Consols Consols (originally short for consolidated annuities, but subsequently taken to mean consolidated stock) were government debt issues in the form of perpetual bonds, redeemable at the option of the government. They were issued by the Bank of Engla ...
, who were also allowed to transfer to the higher interest rate. The government also pledged that if they issued War Loans at even higher interest, holders of the 4.5% bonds might also convert to the new rate. In his memoirs Lloyd George stated his regret that his successor
Reginald McKenna Reginald McKenna (6 July 1863 – 6 September 1943) was a British banker and Liberal politician. His first Cabinet post under Henry Campbell-Bannerman was as President of the Board of Education, after which he served as First Lord of the Admira ...
increased the interest rate at a time when investors had few alternatives. Not only did it directly increase the nation's annual interest payments by £ but it meant interest rates were higher throughout the economy during the post-war depression. Compared to France, the British government relied more on short-term financing in the form of treasury bills and exchequer bonds during World War I. Treasury bills provided the bulk of British government funds in 1916, and were available for terms of 3, 6, 9 and 12 months at an interest rate of 5%. Although these were not formally designated as war bonds, advertising was explicit about their purpose. This April 1916 advertisement for 5% Exchequer bonds was typical of the time: "Lend Your Money to Your Country. The soldier does not grudge offering his life to his country. He offers it freely, for his life may be the price of Victory. But Victory cannot be won without money as well as men, and your money is needed. Unlike the soldier, the investor runs no risk. If you invest in Exchequer Bonds your money, capital and interest alike, is secured on the Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom, the premier security of the world." Policy changed when Asquith's government fell in December 1916 and Bonar Law became Chancellor in the new
coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...
. The third War Loan was launched in January 1917 at a 5% discount to face value and paying 5% interest (or 4% tax-free for 25 years), a rate Lloyd George described as "penal". Holders of existing War Loans, Treasury Bills and War Expenditure Certificates could convert to the 5% issue. Of the £ raised by the 5% War Loan, only £ was new money; the rest was conversions of £ of 4.5% Loan, £ of Exchequer Bonds and £ of Treasury Bills. Labour politician Tom Johnston would later write of the 1917 War Loan "No foreign conqueror could have devised a more complete robbery and enslavement of the British Nation". On 30 June 1932
Neville Chamberlain Arthur Neville Chamberlain (; 18 March 18699 November 1940) was a British politician of the Conservative Party who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. He is best known for his foreign policy of appeaseme ...
announced that the Government would exercise its right to call in the 5% War Loan, offering a choice of taking cash or continuing the loan at 3.5%. Although they were obliged to give 90 days' notice of such a change, a 1% tax-free cash bonus was offered to holders who acted by 31 July. This conversion saved the government about £ net per year. On 3 December 2014 the UK Government announced it would redeem the outstanding war loans on 9 March 2015.


United States

In 1917 and 1918, the United States government issued Liberty Bonds to raise money for its involvement in World War I. An aggressive campaign was created by
Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
William Gibbs McAdoo to popularize the bonds, grounded largely as patriotic appeals. Kimble, p.15 The Treasury Department worked closely with the
Committee on Public Information The Committee on Public Information (1917–1919), also known as the CPI or the Creel Committee, was an independent agency of the government of the United States under the Wilson administration created to influence public opinion to support the ...
in developing Liberty Bond campaigns. Kimble, p.16 The resulting propaganda messages often borrowed heavily from military colloquial speech. The government used famous artists to make posters, and used movie and stage stars to host bond rallies.
Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-billed a ...
, Ethel Barrymore,
Marie Dressler Marie Dressler (born Leila Marie Koerber, November 9, 1868 – July 28, 1934) was a Canadian stage and screen actress, comedian, and early silent film and Depression-era film star. In 1914, she was in the first full-length film comedy. She ...
,
Elsie Janis Elsie Janis (born Elsie Bierbower, March 16, 1889 – February 26, 1956) was an American actress of stage and screen, singer, songwriter, screenwriter and radio announcer. Entertaining the troops during World War I immortalized her as " the s ...
,
Theda Bara Theda Bara ( ; born Theodosia Burr Goodman; July 29, 1885 – April 7, 1955) was an American silent film and stage actress. Bara was one of the more popular actresses of the silent era and one of cinema's early sex symbols. Her femme fatal ...
,
Fatty Arbuckle Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle (; March 24, 1887 – June 29, 1933) was an American silent film actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. He started at the Selig Polyscope Company and eventually moved to Keystone Studios, where he worked ...
,
Mabel Normand Amabel Ethelreid Normand (November 9, 1893 – February 23, 1930), better known as Mabel Normand, was an American silent film actress, screenwriter, director, and producer. She was a popular star and collaborator of Mack Sennett in their ...
, Mary Pickford,
Douglas Fairbanks Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including '' The Thi ...
and
Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...
were among the celebrities who made public appearances promoting the patriotic element of purchasing Liberty Bonds. Chaplin also made a short film, ''
The Bond ''The Bond'' is a propaganda film created by Charlie Chaplin at his own expense for the Liberty Loan Committee for theatrical release to help sell U.S. Liberty Bonds during World War I. Made in 1918 with Edna Purviance, Albert Austin and S ...
'', at his own expense for the drive. Even the
Boy Scouts Boy Scouts may refer to: * Boy Scout, a participant in the Boy Scout Movement. * Scouting, also known as the Boy Scout Movement. * An organisation in the Scouting Movement, although many of these organizations also have female members. There are t ...
and Girl Scouts sold bonds under the slogan "Every Scout to Save a Soldier". The campaign spurred community efforts across the country to sell the bonds and was a great success resulting in over-subscriptions to the second, third and fourth bond issues. According to the Massachusetts Historical Society, "Because the first World War cost the federal government more than $ (by way of comparison, total federal expenditures in 1913 were only $), these programs became vital as a way to raise funds."


World War II


Canada

Canada's involvement in the Second World War began when Canada declared war on Nazi Germany on September 10, 1939, one week after the United Kingdom. Approximately half of the Canadian war cost was covered by War Savings Certificates and war bonds known as "Victory Bonds" as in World War I. Keshen, p. 31 War Savings Certificates began selling in May 1940 and were sold door-to-door by volunteers as well as at banks, post offices, trust companies and other authorised dealers. They matured after seven years and paid $5 for every $4 invested but individuals could not own more than $600 each in certificates. Although the effort raised $ in funds and was successful in financially involving millions of Canadians in the war effort, it only provided the Government of Canada with a fraction of what was needed. The sale of Victory Bonds proved far more successful financially. There were ten wartime and one postwar Victory Bond drives. Unlike the War Savings Certificates, there was no purchase limit to Victory Bonds. The bonds were issued with maturities of between six and fourteen years with interest rates ranging from 1.5% for short-term bonds and 3% for long-term bonds and were issued in denominations of between $50 and $100,000. Canadians bought $ worth of Victory Bonds or some $550 per capita with businesses accounting for half of all Victory Bond sales. The first Victory Bond issue in February 1940 met its goal of $ in less than 48 hours, the second issue in September 1940 reaching its goal of $ almost as quickly. Keshen, p. 32 When it became apparent that the war would last a number of years the war bond and certificate programs were organised more formally under the
National War Finance Committee The National War Finance Committee was set up in Canada in December 1941 by the Department of Finance. It was initially chaired by George Wilbur Spinney, president of the Bank of Montreal, and later by Graham Towers, the Governor of the Bank of ...
in December 1941, directed initially by the president of the
Bank of Montreal The Bank of Montreal (BMO; french: Banque de Montréal, link=no) is a Canadian multinational investment bank and financial services company. The bank was founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1817 as Montreal Bank; while its head office remains in ...
and subsequently by the Governor of the
Bank of Canada The Bank of Canada (BoC; french: Banque du Canada) is a Crown corporation and Canada's central bank. Chartered in 1934 under the '' Bank of Canada Act'', it is responsible for formulating Canada's monetary policy,OECD. OECD Economic Surveys: ...
. Under the more honed direction the committee developed strategies, propaganda and the wide recruitment of volunteers for bonds drives. Bond drives took place every six months during which no other organization was permitted to solicit the public for money. The government spent over $ on marketing which employed posters, direct mailing, movie trailers (including some by Walt Disney in cooperation with the newly established
National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...
's animation department that the former partner helped establish), radio commercials and full page advertisement in most major daily newspaper and weekly magazine. Keshen, p.33 Realistic staged military invasions, such as the
If Day If Day (french: "Si un jour", "If one day") was a simulated Nazi German invasion and occupation of the Canadian city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, and surrounding areas on 19 February 1942, during the Second World War. It was organized as a war bond pr ...
scenario in Winnipeg, Manitoba, were even employed to raise awareness and shock citizens into purchasing bonds. Keshen, p. 34


Germany

The Nazi regime never attempted to convince the general populace to buy long-term war bonds as had been done during the First World War. Aly & Chase, p. 294 The Reich government did not want to present any perceived form of public referendum on the war, which would be the indirect result if a bond drive did poorly. Aly & Chase, p. 298 Rather, the regime financed its war efforts by borrowing directly from financial institutions, using short-term war bonds as collateral. German bankers, with no demonstration of resistance, agreed to taking state bonds into their portfolios. Financial institutions transferred their money to the Finance Department in exchange for promissory notes. Through this strategy, 40 million bank and investment accounts were quietly converted into war bonds, providing the Reich government with a continuous supply of money. Aly & Chase, p. 295 Likewise, German bank commissioners compelled occupied Czechoslovakia to buy up German war bonds. By the end of the war, German war bonds accounted for 70% of investments held by
Czechoslovakian , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
banks.


United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the
National Savings Movement The National Savings Movement was a British mass savings movement that operated between 1916 and 1978 and was used to finance the deficit of government spending over tax revenues. The movement was instrumental during World War II in raising f ...
was instrumental in raising funds for the
war effort In politics and military planning, a war effort is a coordinated mobilization of society's resources—both industrial and human—towards the support of a military force. Depending on the militarization of the culture, the relative siz ...
during both world wars. During World War II a ''War Savings Campaign'' was set up by the
War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from t ...
to support the war effort. ''Local savings weeks'' were held which were promoted with posters with titles such as "Lend to Defend the Right to Be Free", "Save Your Way to Victory" and "War Savings Are Warships".


United States

By the summer of 1940, the victories of Nazi Germany against Poland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and Luxembourg brought urgency to the government, which was discreetly preparing for possible United States involvement in World War II. Kimble, p. 19 Of principal concern were issues surrounding war financing. Many of President
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As th ...
's advisers favored a system of tax increases and enforced savings program as advocated by British economist
John Maynard Keynes John Maynard Keynes, 1st Baron Keynes, ( ; 5 June 1883 – 21 April 1946), was an English economist whose ideas fundamentally changed the theory and practice of macroeconomics and the economic policies of governments. Originally trained in ...
. In theory, this would permit increased spending while decreasing the risk of inflation. Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau, Jr. however preferred a voluntary loan system and began planning a national defense bond program in the fall of 1940. The intent was to unite the attractiveness of the baby bonds that had been implemented in the interwar period with the patriotic element of the
Liberty Bonds A liberty bond (or liberty loan) was a war bond that was sold in the United States to support the Allied cause in World War I. Subscribing to the bonds became a symbol of patriotic duty in the United States and introduced the idea of finan ...
from the First World War. Kimble, p. 20
Henry Morgenthau Jr. Henry Morgenthau Jr. (; May 11, 1891February 6, 1967) was the United States Secretary of the Treasury during most of the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt. He played a major role in designing and financing the New Deal. After 1937, while ...
sought the aid of Peter Odegard, a political scientist specialised in propaganda, in drawing up the goals for the bond program. Kimble, p. 23 On the advice of Odegard the Treasury began marketing the previously successful baby bonds as "defense bonds". Three new series of bond notes, Series E, F and G, would be introduced, of which Series E would be targeted at individuals as "defense bonds". Like the baby bonds, they were sold for as little as $18.75 and matured in ten years, at which time the United States government paid the bondholder $25. Large denominations of between $50 and $1000 were also made available, all of which, unlike the Liberty Bonds of the First World War, were non-negotiable bonds. For those who found it difficult to purchase an entire bond at once, 10-cent savings
stamps Stamp or Stamps or Stamping may refer to: Official documents and related impressions * Postage stamp, used to indicate prepayment of fees for public mail * Ration stamp, indicating the right to rationed goods * Revenue stamp, used on documents to ...
could be purchased and collected in Treasury-approved stamp albums until the recipient had accumulated enough stamps for a bond purchase. Kimble, p. 24 The name of the bonds was eventually changed to War Bonds after the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, ju ...
on 7 December 1941, which resulted in the United States entering the war. The War Finance Committee was placed in charge of supervising the sale of all bonds, and the War Advertising Council promoted voluntary compliance with bond buying. Popular contemporary art was used to help promote the bonds such as ''
Any Bonds Today? "Any Bonds Today?" is a song written by Irving Berlin, featured in a 1942 animated propaganda filmCohen (2004), p. 40 starring Bugs Bunny. Both were used to sell war bonds during World War II. Song "Any Bonds Today?" was based on Berlin's own "A ...
'', a 1942
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
theatrical cartoon. More than a quarter of a billion dollars' worth of advertising was donated during the first three years of the National Defense Savings Program. The government appealed to the public through popular culture.
Norman Rockwell Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of the country's culture. Rockwell is most famous for the ...
's painting series, the ''
Four Freedoms The Four Freedoms were goals articulated by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt on Monday, January 6, 1941. In an address known as the Four Freedoms speech (technically the 1941 State of the Union address), he proposed four fundamental freed ...
'', toured in a war bond effort that raised $. Bond rallies were held throughout the country with famous celebrities, usually Hollywood film stars, to enhance the bond advertising effectiveness. Many motion pictures during the time, especially war dramas (a form of propaganda itself), included a graphic shown during the
closing credits Closing credits or end credits are a list of the cast and crew of a particular motion picture, television program, or video game. Where opening credits appear at the beginning of a work, closing credits appear close to, or at the very end of a ...
advising patrons to "Buy War Bonds and Stamps", which were sometimes sold in the lobby of the theater. The Music Publishers Protective Association encouraged its members to include patriotic messages on the front of their sheet music like "Buy U.S. Bonds and Stamps". Over the course of the war 85 million Americans purchased bonds totalling approximately $. Named after the 1942
Hollywood Victory Caravan The Hollywood Victory Caravan was a two-week cross-country railroad journey in 1942 that brought together two dozen film stars to raise money for the Army and Navy Relief Society. It was sponsored by the Hollywood Victory Committee of Stage, Scree ...
, a 1945 Paramount-produced film promoted bond sales after the end of World War II. The short subject included Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Alan Ladd, William Demarest, Franlin Pangborn, Barbara Stanwyck, Humphrey Bogart, and others. Aside from movies and music, there were countless other programs held throughout the states to encourage the purchasing of war bonds. One such promotion that was held, at the least, in Nebraska and Montana, allowed for citizens to "get Hitler's goat," a play on the phrase "to get someone's goat" meaning to make someone angry or annoyed. The goat would be held up for "auction" with the money going directly towards war bonds. According to one source, the auctioning of "Hitler's goat" in Nebraska in 1942 raised $90,000 in War Bond sales. The National Service Board for Religious Objectors offered civilian bonds in the United States during World War II, primarily to members of the
historic peace churches Peace churches are Christian churches, groups or communities advocating Christian pacifism or Biblical nonresistance. The term historic peace churches refers specifically only to three church groups among pacifist churches: * Church of the Breth ...
as an alternative for those who could not conscientiously buy something meant to support the war. These were U.S. Government Bonds not labelled as defense bonds. In all, 33,006 subscriptions were sold for a total value of $, mostly to Mennonites, Brethren, and Quakers.


After World War II


Ukraine

On 1 March 2022, following the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
, the Ukrainian government announced it would issue war bonds to pay its armed forces. Between March and May 2022, around USD 3.1 billion equivalent of bonds were sold, maturing in one year and yielding 11 percent. The bonds were sold in small units of 1,000 hryvnias, with over 70,000 buyers.


Canada

On 28 October 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Canada announced that they will sell government-backed, 5-year bonds to raise money for Ukraine.


Notes


References

* * * * * * * * * * *


External links


Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig and Elmer Fudd pitch War Bonds
*{{Wikisource-inline, list= **{{Cite EB1922, wstitle=Dollar Securities Mobilization, first=George Ernest , last=May , authorlink=George Ernest May , noicon=x **{{Cite EB1922, wstitle=Liberty Loan Publicity Campaigns, first=Martin , last=Vogel , noicon=x **{{Cite EB1922, wstitle=Savings Movement, first=Theodore Gervase , last=Chambers, first2=William Mather , last2=Lewis , authorlink=William Mather Lewis , noicon=x **{{Cite EB1922, wstitle=War Loan Publicity Campaigns, first=George Augustus , last=Sutton, noicon=x Military economics Military terminology Government bonds Articles containing video clips