President Ngo Dinh Diem
11/25/1954
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This poster shows President Ngo Dinh Diem, first President of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) from 1955 until a military coup and his assassination in 1963. After the 1954 Geneva Accords called for a temporary partition of Vietnam at the 17th Parallel (Communist in the North and French-backed non-Communist in the South) and an election to reunify the two zones in 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower committed U.S. support to the new anti-Communist South Vietnamese government.
Diem inscribed the poster: "We must combine our hearts and spirits, our determination, and our abilities in order to defend the homeland and the people’s welfare in independence and unity." But Diem faced multiple threats: some members of his inherited government and military were associated with the hated French; mobsters controlled much of Saigon; and French-supported armed religious sects and military officers challenged his leadership.
Diem inscribed the poster: "We must combine our hearts and spirits, our determination, and our abilities in order to defend the homeland and the people’s welfare in independence and unity." But Diem faced multiple threats: some members of his inherited government and military were associated with the hated French; mobsters controlled much of Saigon; and French-supported armed religious sects and military officers challenged his leadership.
This primary source comes from the Records of the U.S. Information Agency.
National Archives Identifier: 6949135
Full Citation: Poster 306-PPB-223; President Diem Small Poster; 11/25/1954; Propaganda Posters Distributed in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, ca. 1950 - ca. 1965; Records of the U.S. Information Agency, Record Group 306; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/president-diem, March 27, 2023]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.
