In this painting, to understand the message the artist is passing, one has to check the political context when the painting was produced, his societal beliefs, Salvador's progression as an artist plus how bread has been used in this painting. Basket of Bread in history was used as propaganda mainly for the ERP (Recovery Program), which is also called the Marshall Plan (1947-1951). The ERP earned George Catlett Marshall Jr the Nobel Peace Prize, and it's credited with rebuilding nations in Europe by restoring industrial and agricultural production, hence restoring economic infrastructure and food supply in the aftermath of the Second World War.

Salvador wrote in the New York catalogue of the Bignou Gallery that he painted this painting in 60 days when the most sensational and staggering episodes of contemporary history occurred and finished a day before the war ended. The subtitle of the painting, Rather Death than Shame, took special significance during that time period. In the painting, the basket is precariously positioned on the edge of an uncovered table, against a crisp black backdrop, which is a sign of its sacrificial destruction.