Keep Calm and Carry On

Keep Calm and Carry On ( German: Keep Calm and Carry on) was a propaganda poster that was produced in 1939 by the British government. Since the poster was never released, it was up to its rediscovery in 2000, relatively unknown; in consequence it has gained wide popularity.

The poster was originally printed by the Ministry of Information in an edition of about 2,500,000, to strengthen the morale of the population in the event of a major military strike. Thought it was the third part of a series for " Freedom Is In Peril. Defend It With All Your Might " and "Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution Will Bring Us Victory", which had been distributed nationwide.

The poster was rediscovered in 2000 in a thrift store for Books in Alnwick ( Northumberland, England) and because copyright Publications of the British state ( Crown Copyright ) expires after 50 years, it is now public domain. It enjoyed fast not only as a poster, but also as an imprint on clothing, coffee mugs, and many other items great popularity; Only the book store where the poster was rediscovered, sold to 2009 41.000 copies. The slogan has become in the UK a household word appearing in articles of many newspapers such as The Times, The Independent and The Guardian. On the website of The Economist, the slogan has been used four times since 2011 as a heading.

Due to the popularity, there are now numerous parodies that take over the design of the poster, but change the text. Examples include " Now Panic and Freak Out", "Do not Panic and Fake a British Accent " or " Keep Calm and Have a Cupcake " (with a cupcake instead of the crown). A mobile app, with which you can create your own versions, has already been sold, according to the provider's 100,000 times.