WWII U.S. TREASURY WAR BOND MOVIE

Year Published: 1944

Format: 16mm

Description: Made by the U.S. Treasury Department during WWII to promote the sale of War Bonds and Stamps, and overall productivity, HANDS shows how productive hands can built a nation. It was part of the Sixth War Loan Drive that began November 2, 1944, and ended December 16, 1944. The drive raised $21.6 billion. In December 1941, the US declared war on Japan and Germany declared war on the US shortly thereafter. This was the starting point for a large scale – and thus expensive — defense program. The problem of the financing of World War II was greater than that of World War I, as the struggle lasted longer and the amounts involved were larger. The budgetary expenses for the years 1941–1945 amounted to some $317 billion, of which $281 billion was directly related to the war effort; expenditures climbed from $9.6 billion in fiscal 1940 to nearly $100 billion in 1945. Of these outlays some 45 percent was covered by taxes and other non-borrowing sources. The deficit had to be covered by selling bonds. The Treasury sold $185.7 billion of securities to finance the war. The public debt rose from $50 billion in 1940 to $260 billion in 1945.

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