Reading Under Fire showcases posters that demonstrate the variety of roles books played during wartime. Whether in the front lines or at home, books helped combat boredom, enemy propaganda, loneliness, and fear. Soldiers read to learn and advance their rank, as well as to escape the horrors of war, remember home, and entertain themselves. Civilians read to understand current events and war news, as well as to relax and be transported away from their worries and hardships. During World War II, reading was also a form of protest; as the Nazis banned thousands of books and destroyed over 100 million across Europe, Americans were encouraged to arm their minds with ideas and practice their freedom to read because they still could.