Poster, '3rd Liberty Loan'

This poster was created to advertise the 3rd Liberty Loan which was issued from 8 June to 10 July 1943 by the New Zealand government.It contains the terms of the investments offered to the public, and would have been seen where loans were received, such as post offices and banks.

Funding the war
New Zealand's war effort was financed from internal resources, including loans, taxation, and savings. Posters such as this one played a significant part, appealing to New Zealanders' sense of patriotism and sacrifice.

Seven loans were floated during the war, with the aim of raising a total of £145 million. These schemes were huge and dramatic, held only once or twice a year, and generally attracted larger investments from business firms, public bodies, and wealthier individuals.

Sharing the cost
A key intention of the loans was to absorb New Zealanders' private savings, which had increased owing to the paucity of goods and services (often diverted to the war effort), and thereby offsetting inflation.

The emotional premise of the loans was to conscript wealth in the same spirit as the conscription of people, essentially making ordinary citizens shareholders in the war effort.Even though it was acknowledged that money could never equal the loss of life or injury to soldiers, the risks were to be shared between soldiers and civilians. Each groupwould then be rewarded with payor interest, respectively.