The Office of War Information

The Office of War Information (OWI) was created in 1942 and served as an important U.S. government propaganda agency during World War II. During 1942 and 1943, the OWI contained two photographic units: (1) a section headed by Roy Emerson Stryker and (2) the News Bureau (the units were merged during 1943). The photographers in both units documented America's mobilization during the early years of World War II, concentrating on such topics as aircraft factories and women in the workforce.

Stryker's section at the OWI had been transferred from the Department of Agriculture's Farm Security Administration (FSA) in late 1942. Stryker's FSA section is the source of a world-famous collection of documentary photographs; the color images from the FSA photographic section are also available in electronic form. The OWI News Bureau had operated within the Office for Emergency Management (OEM) during 1941 and 1942; some photographs from the OEM period are included in this set.

Altogether, the combined FSA-OWI collection of photographs at the Library of Congress numbers about 108,000, most of which are black-and-white.

FSA B&W Photos