World War II was a global war involving fighting in most of the world and most countries. The war started in 1939 with Nazi Germany invading Poland, so most countries fought from 1939 to 1945. However, Japan invaded China in 1937, so some started fighting in 1937. Most of the world's countries, including all of the great powers, fought as part of two military alliances: the Allies and the Axis Powers. It was the largest and deadliest conflict in all of history. It involved more countries, cost more money, involved more people, and killed more people than any other war in history. Between 50 to 85 million people died, most of whom were civilians. The war included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, starvation, disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons against civilians in history.

The two sides were the Allies (at first China, France and the United Kingdom, joined by the Soviet Union, United States and others) and the Axis (Germany, Italy, Japan, Hungary, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria). The war in Asia began when Japan invaded China on July 7, 1937.[4] The war began in Europe when Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. France and the United Kingdom reacted by declaring war on Germany. By 1941, much of Europe was under German control, including France. Only the British remained fighting against the Axis in North Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Atlantic. Germany gave up plans to invade Britain after losing an airplane battle. In June 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union, starting the largest area of war in history. On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor and invaded British and French colonies in Asia, and the two wars became one.

The Japanese victories were stopped in 1942, and that same year, the Soviets won the huge Battle of Stalingrad In 1943. Then, the Allies started to win in all areas. The Axis were forced back into the Soviet Union, lost North Africa, and, starting in 1943, were forced to defend Italy. allied forces had a hard time pushing into Italy due to its vast defensive system. In 1944, the Allies invaded France, and they came into Germany itself from the west while the Soviets came in from the east. Germany surrendered on 8 May 1945. Japan formally surrendered on September 2, 1945 because 2 nuclear bombs were dropped, and the war had ended with an Allied victory.

President Roosevelt first mentioned his “four freedoms” during his State of the Union speech on January 6, 1941—11 months before the U.S. was attacked at Pearl Harbor.

Here’s how he described them:

“In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.

The first is freedom of speech and expression… The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way… The third is freedom from want… The fourth is freedom from fear…”

One year later, the U.S. was deeply involved in the war and Norman Rockwell—already well-known for his iconic covers for The Saturday Evening Post—was trying to support the war effort however he could. In the spring of 1942, while he was creating promotional posters for the U.S. Army, Rockwell came up with the idea of illustrating Roosevelt’s “Four Freedoms.”

There were just two big problems.

First, it was an impossibly ambitious project. How do you illustrate abstract concepts like The Freedom of Speech or Want? The scope wasn’t lost on Rockwell.

“It was so darned high-blown,” he said. “Somehow I just couldn’t get my mind around it.”

The second problem was that no one would pay him to do it.

Rockwell first pitched his idea of painting the “Four Freedoms” to the Graphic Division of the War Department’s Office of Facts and Figures in May 1942. They were interested, but wouldn’t commit to the idea. So Rockwell created elaborate charcoal sketches of his concepts and traveled to Washington D.C. to propose the series to the Office of War Information. They too turned him down.

On his way back home, Rockwell met with Ben Hibbs, his new editor at the Saturday Evening Post. Hibbs embraced the concept of the Four Freedoms and committed to running them in the magazine. He gave Rockwell two months to complete them.

It took Rockwell seven months.

The tenacious project took its toll on the artist, who lost 10 pounds over the course of those seven months.

Afterward, he famously said, “The job was too big for me … It should have been tackled by Michelangelo.”

The Saturday Evening Post began publishing Rockwell’s “Four Freedoms” in February 1943. They ran one painting a week, starting with “Freedom of Speech” on February 20.

Freedom of SPEECH

Freedom of WORSHIP

Freedom of WANT

Freedom of FEAR

Each painting was accompanied by an essay extolling the virtues of that particular freedom.

The Saturday Evening Post was not prepared for the reaction to Rockwell’s paintings. They immediately received over 25,000 requests for reprints of the art.

Two months later, U.S. Department of the Treasury partnered with the Post to use the “Four Freedoms” to sell war bonds and stamps. They printed over 4 million posters of the “Four Freedoms” and sponsored a national tour where over 1 million people came to see Rockwell’s original paintings in person.

In the end, Rockwell’s ambitious project raised more than $130 million to support the Allied troops and resulted in some of the most iconic images of his long and storied career.

Their impact is still being felt today.