"Enlist," by Fred Spear. "This poster was published in June 1915 by the Boston Committee of Public Safety, after the sinking of the Lusitania by a German U-boat attack. More than a thousand civilians were lost, 128 of them American. Spear's poster recalls the drowning of a mother and child. Without the particular occasion and the word 'Enlist,' the dreamlike image of two figures under the sea would arouse no strong response."The Lusitania sinking was widely used for propaganda by both sides. A German medallion was struck commemorating the event, correctly claiming that the ship had carried munitions. The British produced a counterfeit of the medallion, which was widely circulated. The British public interepreted the sinking as a premeditated attack on women and children. The destruction of the Lusitania was also a considerable shock to the American public and was a factor in America's decision to enter the war." First World War Posters, by Joseph Darricott and Belinda Loftis for the Imperial War Museum, p. 53.