Chapter 29 -- Propaganda Posters

Table of Contents: Introduction Modern Art and Propaganda , Women in Propaganda Posters, German War Posters of WWI , British Empire Posters of WWI , Austria-Hungary Empire posters of WWI, Italian posters of WWI, Belgium posters of WWI, French Posters of WWI , US Posters of WWI, Russian Posters of WWI, Nazi Germany and Soviet propaganda , The WWII Propaganda, US propaganda in WWII , German propaganda in WWII , Italian Propaganda in WWII , Nordic Propaganda Posters, Anti Semitic Propaganda , Soviet Russia Propaganda in WWII , Général de Gaulle and the French Fourth Republic , EU Propaganda , Nato and Warsaw Pact , Chinese Propaganda; Cultural Revolution and Economical Counterrevolution , Cold War Propaganda , North Korean Propaganda Posters - 21st Century!. Switzerland Propaganda Posters, 21st Century! .

Introduction:

Propaganda is a way of influencing people’s beliefs and actions by presenting selective or distorted information. It has been used throughout human history by different groups and empires to justify their actions and promote their interests. In this chapter, I will give some examples of how propaganda was used in ancient times by the Aetolians, the Assyrians, the Persians, and the Romans.

The Aetolians were a Greek tribe that controlled the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi in the third century BC. They claimed to be the sole defenders of the sanctuary and of Hellenism against the invasion of the Gauls, a barbarian tribe from Europe. They created a festival called the Soteria to celebrate their victory and to spread their propaganda. They also inscribed their version of events on monuments and coins. Their propaganda was so effective that later writers, such as Pausanias and Polybius, regarded the Gallic invasion as the greatest threat to Greece, even though the Aetolians exaggerated their role and ignored the contributions of other Greek states.

The Assyrians were a powerful empire that dominated the Near East from the ninth to the seventh century BC. They used propaganda to instill fear and awe in their enemies and subjects. They depicted their kings as merciless and ruthless warriors who slaughtered, tortured, and enslaved their opponents. They also boasted about their military achievements and divine favor on stone reliefs, stelae, monuments, and clay prisms. They placed these propaganda materials in strategic locations, such as palaces, temples, and city walls, to ensure maximum exposure and impact. 

Alabaster bas-relief depicting a propaganda war scene. Neo-Assyrian Period, 865-860 BC

An attack on a strongly walled city. The defenders, within crenelated turrets, are shooting arrows at the Assyrians. The battering ram of the Assyrian siege engine has repeatedly hit and finally broken the city’s wall; bricks are falling. An Assyrian archer, standing within a wooden tower is shooting arrows at the enemy, within a short distance from the turrets, and he is guarded by a shield held by another soldier. Ashurnasirpal II stands behind the siege engine and shoots arrows at the foes.

The Persians were another influential empire that ruled over a vast territory from the sixth to the fourth century BC. They used propaganda to show their benevolence and tolerance towards the diverse nations under their rule. They portrayed their kings as generous and wise rulers who respected the customs and religions of their subjects. They also showed their subjects as loyal and grateful supporters who brought gifts and tribute to the royal throne. They expressed their propaganda on the magnificent reliefs and inscriptions at Persepolis, the ceremonial capital of the empire. They also influenced the biblical writers, such as Isaiah, who adopted some of the Persian imperial imagery to describe the future glory of Jerusalem.

The Persian propaganda, in Persepolis reliefs, showing the ethnic hierarchy of the empire that ranges from Persians at the top and centers to Greeks at the bottom and periphery, tried to project an egalitarian approach, whereby all nations in the empire were represented equally in their role of supporting and elevating the royal throne, bearing gifts and offering tribute. In Isa 60, the changelessness, the grandeur, and the fortitude of Persian imperial propaganda were being drafted, reinterpreted, and incorporated in Jerusalem. The Pax Persica became Pax Jerusalem.

The Romans were the masters of propaganda in the ancient world. They used propaganda to legitimize their expansion and domination from the third century BC to the fifth century AD. They presented their wars as just and necessary, and their enemies as barbaric and evil. They also glorified their leaders as heroic and virtuous, and their achievements as unprecedented and lasting. They conveyed their propaganda through various media, such as coins, statues, arches, monuments, and literature. They also incorporated the propaganda of their conquered foes, such as the Persians, to enhance their own prestige and authority . 

A 'Roman propaganda' on the Summerston slab, depicting eagles with blood-stained beaks and decapitated Scottish warriors

Fast forward to the days of the Spanish Armada (1588), when Sir Walter Raleigh complained that it was “no marvel that the Spaniard should seek by false and slanderous pamphlets, advisors, and letters, to cover their own loss and to derogate from others their own honours, especially in this fight being performed far off.” And then he recalled that back at the time of the Spanish Armada, when the Spaniards “purposed the invasion” of England, they published “in sundry languages, in print, great victories in words, which they pleaded to have obtained against this realm; and spread the same in a most false sort over all parts of France, Italy, and elsewhere.”

In 1936, when totalitarian regimes in Germany and the Soviet Union resorted to propaganda to engineer the opinions of their citizens, strengthen their own dogmas and partialities, and rationalize atrocious wrongdoings, Aldus Huxley wrote: “Propaganda gives force and direction to the successive movements of popular feeling and desire; but it does not do much to create those movements. The propagandist is a man who canalizes an already existing stream. In a land where there is no water, he digs in vain.” A year earlier, W. E. B. Du Bois published an influential book titled Black Reconstruction in America in which he argued that American history have been falsified because the nation was ashamed. An American youth attending college, would in all probability complete his education without any idea of the part which the black race has played in America; of the tremendous moral problem of abolition; of the cause and meaning of the Civil War, and the relation which Reconstruction had to democratic government. According to him “it is propaganda like this that has led men in the past to insist that history is “lies agreed upon”; and to point out the danger in such misinformation.”

Propaganda is defined as; the systematic propagation of official government policies through manipulative communications to the public. The propaganda may provide true or false information, but the information is selectively presented in a provoking style to have its maximum emotional effect. The term “propaganda” apparently first came into common use in Europe as a result of the missionary activities of the Catholic church. In 1622 Pope Gregory XV created in Rome the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith. This was a commission of cardinals charged with spreading the faith and regulating church affairs in heathen lands.

In modern times it is argued that propaganda and public diplomacy are interrelated, with the former having a negative connotation.  According to Joseph Nye Jr.’s definition, Public Diplomacy is “building relationships with civil-society actors in other countries and about facilitating networks between nongovernmental parties at home and abroad”. On the other hand, Leonard Doob defines propaganda as the “control of individuals through the use of suggestion…regardless of whether or not the propaganda intends to exercise the control”, which suggests an element of mind engineering that is absent in public diplomacy.

Reviewing the state of the art of research in communication in 1949, Paul Lazarsfeld, professor of Sociology at Columbia University, categorized the subject of communication into four inquiries: (i) who, (ii) said what, (iii) to whom, and (iv) with what effect. He considered the fourth category as the crucial one.This model became the dominant paradigm defining the scope and problems of American propaganda research, applying the scientific approach of verification methodology. In particular, Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer addressed the more subtle and long-term implications of the underlying structure and the implicit themes in the media. Kelman and Hovland (1953) have found that the credibility of the propaganda source is not that important, as with the passing of the time people tend to disassociate source of the propaganda and its content. This is called a "sleeper effect" or a "dissociation hypothesis". This is quite alarming.

Propaganda posters appeared in earnest during World War One (1914-18) when each of the belligerent governments used them not only as a means of legitimizing their engagement to their people, but also as a means of enlisting men, and selling war bonds in order to finance the military campaign. With the outbreak of the First World War, advertising was used to attract volunteers. In 1914, the image of Lord Kitchener, the Minister of War in the UK, was depicted on a poster with a steely gaze and a pointing finger urging young men to ‘join your country’s army’. The identical approach, it seems, was adopted in every other country. In Germany a Reich soldier, pointing his patriotic digit, admonishing ‘Auch du sollst beitreten zur Reichswehr (You, too, should join the Reichswehr. ).’ It was the same on Italian posters.

The ‘four minute men’ of the US propaganda machine at the Committee on Public Information would deliver inciting speeches to potential volunteers under a poster depicting a stern Uncle Sam pointing his finger at the impressionable young man, pleading: ‘I want YOU for US army’ in 1917. According to Stephen Fox, the author of The Mirror Makers, the committee spend 1.5 million dollars on advertising for war. Many graphic designers who had fueled the propaganda war machine, including James Montgomery Flagg, who created the Uncle Sam ‘I want YOU’ poster, were stricken with remorse after the war. According to Flagg:

‘A number of us who were too old or too scared to fight prostituted our talents by making posters inciting a large mob of young men who had neverdone anything to us to hop over and get shot at. . . We sold the war to youth.’

Nevertheless, perhaps out of a sense of patriotism, many of the graphic designers in the bellicose countries were convinced of the truth of the messages they had delivered.

“Weapons for death - weapons for life! Subscribe to the Victory Loan. ” 1918.

Modern Art and Propaganda

Max Pechstein (Germany, Zwickau, 1881 - 1955), Erwürgt nicht die junge Freiheit, Don’t Strangle Our Newborn Freedom, 1919

As the first world war drew to its bitter end, hunger and despair were rife throughout Germany. Military defeat and economic collapse were making themselves felt. Deserting soldiers roamed the streets and added to the chaos- The country was ripe for change. On November 9, 1918, Kaiser Wilhelm II fled to Holland, and a few days later announced his abdication. The stage was set for a revolution that would replace the old regime with a system in which the leaders were to be responsible to parliament.A coalition government of the moderate Social Democratic party and the more radical Independent Social Democrats was set up. Elections were called for January 1919. In the intervening period many artists became politically active, some for the first time, trying to stimulate action, strengthen opinions, or alter the social conscience.

Posters were the visual weapons in the struggle of the working class against the rich. In marked contrast to the censorship that had been so strictly enforced during the Kaiser’s reign, German cities now became a not of colors and slogans as strident messages covered every available wall space. Among the most traumatic events of the period were the brutal murders in Berlin of Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg, leaders of the abortive Spartakus (communist) Revolution. This Pechstein’s poster is a stark plea for an end to civil war. See: Stephanie Barron, “Introduction” to Barron (ed.), German Expressionism: The Second Generation (Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1988): :

Modernist art movements were influencing propaganda posters from the early 20st century.  A good example of the avant garde movement influence is a famous piece Beat the Whites with the red wedge - by El Lissitzky, in 1920 which used various geometric color surfaces in an abstract fashion. Lissitzky used this subtle platform to suggest in a blunt propaganda massage.

This early Russian revolutionary poster, "Believe, will celebrate the hundredth anniversary," is one of the many posters that used modernism as was practiced by Fernand Léger , Marc Chagall and others.

The Bauhaus School of Design
 Beat the Whites with the red wedge - 1920

Figurative Cubism was introduced by Strakhov-Braslavskij A. I. in his poster "Liberated woman – build up socialism!", in 1926  and by V. Kulagina's poster  called   "To Defend USSR" ,  in 1930. The quality of the artistic works in these early posters reveals that these creative artists were trying to use propaganda platform as a conduit for the realization of their aesthetic inspiration. Perhaps in those early years of Soviet Union these artists still had a degree of conviction in the legitimacy of their cause, something that was lacking in the propaganda posters of the later years,   

Strakhov-Braslavskij A. I, Liberated woman – build up socialism! , 1926

V. Kulagina, ; To Defend USSR,  in 1930.

This ambitious poster  celebrates Fascism  in strictly modernist flavor. The Mostra della Rivoluzione Fascista was held in Rome in 1933, to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the coup that made Mussolini absolute ruler of Italy. In the words of the catalog, the exhibition aimed to to express

... the atmosphere of the times, all fire and fever, tumultuous, lyrical, glittering. It could only take place in a style matching the artistic adventures of our time, in a strictly contemporary mode. The artists had from Il Duce a clear and precise order; to make something MODERN, full of daring. And they have faithfully obeyed his commands.

Magda Koll, Four Rest at Homes Behind the Front for Soldiers from Bremen, 1915. The poster message that; humanity is alive and well, was a German  response to the Allied allegation of German barbarism in the first world war. The minimalist design of the poster was quite innovative at the time.

 Ludwig Hohlwein,. Red Cross Collection 1914. Collection in support of volunteer nursing in the war. 1914,

Women in Propaganda Posters

Images of women have been prominent in the war poster propaganda as well as in other ideologically driven posters. The images of motherhood have been exploited to symbolize national security, sanctity of homes, duty to country and duty to family. Many of the propaganda posters portrait femininity as passive and in need of protection. Some posters emphasize the patriotic mother who is willing to sacrifice her sons to the war effort. The propaganda has been used to provoke a nationalistic attitude towards the motherland, a place that is pure, noble and different. In the classic war propaganda campaigns of the 20th Century, women as victims of rape often symbolize the brutality of the enemy as well as the despoiling of the motherland's culture and harmony. Ironically, however, women are sometimes portrayed as potential traitors or unwitting accomplices by virtue of their supposed tendency to gossip. Through this cultural stereotyping, an atmosphere of suspicion is created and domestic surveillance becomes embedded into the national consciousness as one of the justified costs of war.

Soviet propaganda posters of the 1920s and the 1930s often portrayed women as larger-than-life figures, reflecting their new economic role and socio-political power and importance. Women equality was enshrined in the Soviet constitution. To realize this ideal, there was a need to set up various institutions that would allow women to become engaged fully in the productive sectors of the economy. Thus, the government invested heavily on various child care facilities, and large-scale canteens to allow them to enter into the workforce. In the propaganda posters, the liberated Soviet women were depicted in various productive roles, although in reality, the gender inequality persisted, and during the whole Soviet era no woman of consequence did emerge at the helms of power.

“Women workers take up your rifles” - A revolutionary poster of 1917.

In contrast, the ideal role for a woman in Nazi Germany  was to work at home and be a mother. The Winterhilfswerk, or Winter-Help-Work of the German People, was founded by the Nazis after Hitler was appointed Chancellor. It was their official winter relief charity that was operating under Reich propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels . Hitler introduced the fund in a speech in September 13th, 1933, in which he claimed, "This great campaign against hunger and cold is governed by this principle: We have broken the international solidarity of the proletariat. We want to build the living national solidarity of the German people!" The Winter Fund's main aim was to propagate and popularize the Nazi idea of a national community. The focus of the propaganda was to create an image of the party as a caring institution that was concerned about the welfare of the German people.

Support the Relief Organization Mother and Child, Goebbels in his inauguration address of the Mutter und Kind (Mother and Child) organization, in February 24, 1934 stated; "Mother and Child are the pledge for the immortality of the nation". This was to address one of Hitler's major concern over the falling German birth rate. The Organization sought to increase the birth rate by assisting mothers. The effort was primarily geared to help the mother in the home.

A People that Help Themselves, the Winter Fund poster, 1933, projects the image of a "genetically healthy" family, as the racial nucleus of the nation. The "natural" duty of women, according to the National Socialists' doctrine was to bring as many racially pure and healthy children into the world as possible, in order to expand the "Aryan race". This was an effort to increase the birth rate significantly. Artists were encouraged in this context, "to show at least four German children when they were depicting a family " .

NSDAP (The National Socialist Party ) will save the people’s community; Fellow-Countrymen, if you need advice and help, apply at the local branches. 1938.

Jin Meisheng, The seeds have been well selected, the harvest is more bountiful every year, 1964.
Women in the Chinese propaganda posters are also depicted as fully equal to men, but like the Soviet Russia, they appear totally absent in the leadership roles.

Li Mubai, Jin Xuechen, Chairman Mao meets with model workers, 1964. It appears that the male model workers are more engaged in their discussion with the Chairman. The woman is placed standing at the back and just admiring the wise and handsome leader!

Most of the times women jobs are depicted as menial agricultural works, like this poster by

Wu Shaoyun, "We sell dry, clean, neat and selected cotton to the state, 1958.

...While men are doing serious industrial jobs, as this poster by Li Zongjin, called "Study the advanced production experience of the Soviet Union, struggle for the industrialization of our country" in 1953 shows. In the early years of the People's Republic of China, the Soviet Union sent many experts to help. Here a Russian industrial expert is shown giving advice. The text at the top is a handwritten announcement of a Russian exhibition. 

German War Posters of WWI

We won't tolerate anarchy! We'll protect women and children

Christmas collection by the Bavarian Red Cross for the armed forces --Weichnachts Sammlung des bayerischen Roten Kreuzes für die Feldgrauen,
By Fritz Maison, 1917

You, too, should join the Reichswehr. Therefore, sign up at the next enlistment post -- Auch du sollst beitreten zur Reichswehr, München , 1919.

Reichswehr-Gruppen-Kommando no. 4 (Bavarian), Möhl, Major General, forming part of: Rehse-Archiv für Zeitgeschichte und Publizistik
By Oscar Consée Kunstanstalt

Bolshevism brings war, unemployment and famine -- Bolshewismus bringt Krieg, Arbeitslosigkeit und Hungersnot. Vereinigung zur Bekämpfung des Bolshewismus. 1918

Freedom, Peace and Work. Elect the German People's Party in Bavaria, (German Democratic Party) -- Freiheit, Friede, Arbeit. Wählt die Deutsche Volkspartei in Bayern,
By Valentin Zietara (1883-1935),

This is what the Polish emmigrants look like, and you'll look like this too if Silesia becomes part of Poland. Upper Silesians! Stay with the new Germany! -- So sehen die polnischen Auswanderer aus, und so werdet Ihr auch aussehen, wenn Schlesien zu Polen kommt. Oberschleisier! Bleibt beim neuen Deutschland!, 1919.
By Münzer, Adolf Franz Theodor, 1870-1953

German Anti-Polish poster, 1920. If you vote for Germany in the Upper Silesian plebiscite, prosperity. If you vote for Poland, poverty.-- Bei Deutschland dauern der Wohlstand; bei Polen, Armut und Auswanderung
by Kirchbach, Fritz Gottfried (1888-1942)

British Empire Posters of WWI

World War I Irish Recruiting Poster

World War I Irish Recruiting Poster

World War I Irish Recruiting Poster

Austria-Hungary Empire posters of WWI

Poster encouraging the public to subscribe to the 5th War Loan at the Živnostenská bank in Prague or one of its branches

Subscribe to the 8th War Loan

Poster for the National War Relief Exhibition in Pozsony.

Italian posters of WWI

For the country, my eyes, for peace, your money. National Consolidated Loan.

“Weapons for death - weapons for life! Subscribe to the Victory Loan. ” 1918.

1917 - Italy needs meat, wheat, lard, and sugar. Eat little so that food can go to our people, and army of Italy

1917 "Do your Whole Duty!", by Achille Luciano Mauzan

Belgium Posters of WWI

French Posters of WWI

The French Infantry in battle, by H. Delaspre

For France that Fights 

After victory, To work! Help us

National loan for facilitating the reparation of damages  caused by the war. 

US Posters of WWI

James Montgomery Flagg WWI Posters

Berlin or Bust- Pershing in France

Russian Posters of WWI

Fight until Victory

"Everything for the war! Suscribe to the 5 1/2% War Loan."

Why did you sell your bonds Do not you want to participate in the industrialization of the USSR? - circa 1922-30

Nazi Germany and Soviet propaganda

After the first world war practically every government resorted to intense propaganda campaigns for capturing the hearts and the minds of the masses. In particular, the extreme right in the form of fascism and the extreme left in the form of communism found posters a potent tool in their propaganda campaigns. Here are two examples from Nazi Germany, and Soviet Russia.

The WWII Propaganda

During the World War II posters were used for a variety of purposes by all sides. They were used to encourage men to sign up and to encourage women to support their men by working in the factory or by buying war bonds.

US propaganda in WWII

It is estimated that the U.S. produced more than 200,000 different posters during the second war, more than any other country. Many of the US war posters were designed by the artists who participated in various competitions to produce a design in support of the war. Many corporations produced posters that while supporting the war was also promoting their products. Many corporations were allowed to treat their war propaganda posters as business expenses.

German propaganda in WWII

According to a fascinating article by Steven Heller :

Hitler’s fervent desire to attain propaganda supremacy among nations was a direct result of the German defeat in World War I and his belief that superior allied propaganda trumped Kaiser Wilhelm II’s meager output. Through intensive barrages of posters and other visual media, Britian and America effectively defamed the “Hun” in the eyes of the world, portraying the Kaiser’s military as callous blood-thirsty beasts. The German counterattack was tepid at best. “The Germans were sent into this mighty battle with not so much as a single slogan,” wrote Eugen Hadamovsky, the Nazi propaganda expert and Josef Goebbels’ deputy, in Propaganda and National Power (1933, reprinted by Arno Press in 1972). So when the Nazis came to power, Hitler commissioned a book titled Das Politische Plakat: Eine Psychologische Betrachtung by Erwin Schockel (Franz Eher Verlag, published in 1939), a psychological assesment of English, American, French, Russian and German political posters. It was a handbook for German propagandists and others. ...

Das Politische Plakat was one in a series of textbooks and manuals issued through the Reichspropagandaleitung, based in Munich (Reich Propaganda Office of the Nazi Party, a separate department from the more powerful Berlin-based Ministry of Propaganda and Enlightenment) for use by party members only. Schockel’s message was clear: powerful propagandistic graphics must be simple and memorable.

 Especially you! 

Hitler and Hindenburg for List 1

 Work for Victory. Just Like We Fight for it! 

Woman in Luftschuk!

 Adolf Hitler is victory! 

Give me four years’ time, 1937

January 30 1933-1943 A fight for a win

Italian Propaganda in WWII

Victory! for the new social order of civilization

"Each day of fighting brings us closer to the goal"

'Good blood doesn't lie'.

Nordic Propaganda Posters

Försvaret främst, National Defense first,WWI 1914, By Gunnar Widholm

Sweden never participated in World War one but the threat around Europe were very much present in 1914. Therefore the Swedish military authorities did its best to inform the people regarding the eventuality of war. This poster stressed that the army should be placed as the priority focus.

The propaganda posters were appeared during the Second World War in Nordic countries. Germany was using intensive propaganda campaigns in the occupied Norway and Denmark particularly to attract volunteers for the German armed forces in the Waffen-SS.  In the unoccupied Nordic countries state censorship did not allow propaganda to offend Germany or the Soviet Union. The Finnish Winter War, a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland in 1939–1940, that began with Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939 (three months after the outbreak of World War II), and ended with the Moscow Peace Treaty on 13 March 1940 became an important motive for propaganda posters. It is known that at least 8,000 Swedes voluntarily went to Finland to fight alongside the Finns. The Swedish government and public also sent food, clothing, medicine, weapons and ammunition to aid the Finns during this conflict. Despite the fact that angry voices were heard from both Germany and the Soviet Union, a recruitment process for Finnish friviligkåren (The Finnish Volunteer Corps) ran openly, perhaps best shown in a number of posters calling for joining the fight for Finland

För Norges folk, For the people of Norway - be a volunteer!

Swedish propaganda poster from 1928. A political poster that claims everyone that votes for the "Workers party" also votes for Moscow. This is a political poster from the 1928 Swedish election.

Edra förfäder hava en gång räddat Sverige från Kristian Tyrann. Gör om edert storverk: en var som röstar på, Arbetarepartiet , röstar på samhällets omstörtande och Bolsjevismens införande, RÄDDA FOSTERLANDET!;-- Men of Dalekarlia! Your forefathers once saved Sweden from Christian the Tyrant. Please repeat your magnificent work. Anybody who votes for the "Labour party" vote for the wrecking of our society and Bolshevism. Save the father Land!")

Swedish propaganda and election poster from 1928. A political propaganda poster, it was one of many in an anti-Communist campaign that was published during the election 1928 in Sweden.

Anders Beckman

Andra försvarslånet , The second war loan, By I. Axelsson

SKJUTSKICKLIGHET ökar värnkraften, Shooting skill increases defense, By Anders Beckman

Anders Beckman

Anders Beckman

Kjemp med Hirden -- "Fight with Hirden!") Norwegian propaganda poster for the ruling nazi-party Nasjonal Samling. "Hirden" was the partys storm troopers, just as the German SA. The word hird is norse and means warrior, often in service for the king.

Norwegian SS Recruiting Poster -- "Fight for Norway".

Ett folk är i fara - Du kan hjälpa - Nationalinsamlingen för Finland , A people is in danger - you can help - National collection for Finland" By Carl Herman Runnström, 1939

The character in this  poster represents  Georg Carl von Döbeln,  an old Swedish war hero from the Finnish War 1808 - 1809. Von Döbeln had an old head injury from the battle of Porrossalmi 1789 (Gustav III's war) which he concealed with a black silk headband. The damage was caused by a Russian bullet in the forehead and several years after the incident, it was said that one could pick bone pieces from the wound.  During the Second Napoleonic war von Döbeln was sentenced to death by martial law after violating the master's orders during a battle against the French. The Swedish King Karl XIV Johan, however, found the punishment highly inappropriate for such a war hero and softened it down to a year in prison on Vaxholm Citadel.  His exploits became famous, in Johan Ludvig Runeberg's epic poem "Tales of Ensign Stål" where the hero poem "Döbeln of Jutas" depicts him in the Battle of Jutas.

British Propaganda Cartoons for Occupation of Iran in WWII

The political cartoonist Kem (Kimon Evan Marengo 1907-1988) produced over 3,000 propaganda cartoons for the British Ministry of Information.

These propaganda cartoons, justifying the occupation of Iran, by the allies in WWII, are based on the mythical battle in Ferdowsic epics of Shahnameh (Majestic Book). The battle between Frereydoon (Thratona in Avesta, and Trita in Rig Veda) and the shoulder-serpented Zohak ( the three-headed Azhi Dahaka in Avesta and Vertra in Rig Veda) is represented in the Persian miniature style. Kem illustrated the cartoons during March and October 1942. In these cartoons the Allies leaders Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin represent the three saviors, Fereydoon and his two brothers Barmayoon and Katayoon. Hitler represents the evil-doer Zohak. People under the makeshift flag of Kaveh the blacksmith revolt against Zohak.

"Two  magic  serpents  grew  on Zohak's shoulders  and devastated people", Hitler, as Zohaak is sitting on his throne while a chef  is offering the brain of a youth to feed the serpents

"The custom of sages disappeared, the demons' desire became widespread , the demons' hands were stretched towards wickedness, nobody was talking about righteousness, except in secret  ". Hitler is punishing people.

"He dreamed that from the palace of kings.  suddenly there appeared three warriors"

Left: " Putting his hand over his head  and mad from the king's injustice, he cried O king! I am   justice-demanding. Kaveh, There is a  a boundary for injustice, Is there any reason  for this kind of wrongdoing?"Right: "He tied and fastened  his hands and his his torso, that even  a war-elephant  could not untie".
 Kaveh the blacksmith, representing the spirit of revolt, is  waving his makeshift flag, made from blacksmith's leather apron, before the tied-up Hitler's corpse, carried by a horse .

Anti Semitic Propaganda

With the coming to power of Hitler in Germany in 1933, the situation of Jews in that country began to deteriorate. As the Nazis applied their racial doctrines, the political and civil rights of German Jews were curtailed. Nazi policies met with some resistance, but more often the response of the German population was one of passivity or acquiescence. Many German Jews reacted with disbelief, but others saw the threat to their continued existence in Germany posed by Hitler and his party.

The Nazi propaganda film “The Eternal Jew”, purporting to be a documentary, was given its public premiere on 28th November 1940. It was all part of the continuing process of desensitizing the general population to the growing persecution of the Jews. The message was presented very crudely, as can be imagined from the poster. Notoriously the film juxtaposed footage of rats with scenes of Jewish life.

"Der ewige Jude" (the eternal Jew).

"Hinter den Feindmächten: Der Jude" created by the artist Hamil. This antisemitic poster depicts a large Jewish man behind the flags of the United States, Russia and Great Britain. It depicts him working behind the scenes in world affairs, manipulating the superpowers. In English, it reads: "Here is behind the hostile powers: the Jew."

In addition to fostering a German “master race” myth with images of beautiful and handsome Aryan-types, National Socialist propagandists also worked to create a counter-image aimed at uniting the country against a common enemy: the Jew. Ironically, before the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, one might have thought Germany the least likely European country to initiate an all-out war against the Jews. In the pre-Third Reich era, Jews had been emancipated, and the Jewish population had largely assimilated into German society, with high rates of Jewish-German intermarriage. Following Hitler’s rise to power, however, the National Socialist dictatorship began to foster and create stereotypes and unflattering images of Jews and other “degenerate” races to promote fear, distrust, and hatred of the supposed “enemies” of the Third Reich. 

The Nazi campaign for “cleansing” the fatherland of foreign and “degenerate” cultural influences that began with the banning and burning of books and the publication of anti-Semitic propaganda, soon escalated into government-sanctioned harassment of Jews, the passage of racist legislation prohibiting intermarriage, the forced segregation of Jews into ghettos, and ultimately, deportation to so-called “work camps” during the Second World War.

Nazi WWII German-produced Russian Anti-Semetic propaganda poster. Poster reads: "Jews - A People of Contagion" with a Jewish stereotype-caricature counting money on a mound of skulls. The poster is marked "Russ.ofs.d/1943-230917" .

" Which side will be heavier? Neither because the Jew is holding the scale. See the anti-masonic exhibition and then you will know for certain."

Nazi Germany occupied most of Yugoslavia by April 1941. Milan Nedic was the "nomial" local ruler, comparable to the collaborationist regime of Quisling in Norway. Under the Nedic regime a heavily anti-semitic Exhibition opened in occupied Belgrade on 22nd October 1941 and ended January 19, 1942. It was funded apparently by the German occupiers and supported by Nedic to intensify hatred against the Jews, although the title of the exhibit suggested the Masons (Masonic Orders had been closed in Germany).

"The Scourge of Mankind", Poland, c.1943

The genocide was not only perpetrated by evil doers, but also by those who believed in the propaganda. The complacency of the public was a key component of Hitler’s ideology. The success of Nazi propaganda depended on constant repetition of the demonization of Jews. Printed propaganda reiterated the ideology that Jews were the cause of Germany’s problems and compared them to vermin in need of extermination.

Cossacks, Now is the Time to Save Your Family and Country! Time to Toss off the Yoke which we have upon us! - 1943 .

Jewish settlements in Ukraine can be traced back to the 8th century. During the period of the Khazar kingdom, Jews lived on the banks of the River Dnieper and in the east and south of Ukraine and the Crimea. The Kingdom was considered the most influential of the medieval period because of its economic and diplomatic standing. The Khazars, an ancient nomadic Turkic people who reached the lower Volga region in the 6th century, were held in high esteem by the pope and other national leaders and played a major role in solving the region’s conflicts.  At first, Khazars from royal families converted to Judaism. But other citizen from throughout the Kingdom soon followed suit, adopting Jewish religious practices including reading the Torah, observing the Sabbath, keeping kosher and switching to Hebrew as the official written system. At a time of religious intolerance, tWhen Jews settled in Ukraine, they became more prominent in the trade business, selling dye, cloth, horses, cattle and estates. Jews were also making connections with other Jewish communities in the Ottoman Empire, serving as liaisons between the two worlds. But what Jews were mostly known for — and detested for — was their role in the Polish government as collectors of customs, duties and taxes on behalf of Polish landlords, bankers and physicians.

As Jews prospered, anti-Semitism flourished. The country’s lower classes, including the Ukrainian Cossacks, saw Jews as working for the nation’s wealthy landowners and accused Jews of robbing the wealth of poor people to better enrich them. The Cossacks wanted to free Ukraine from Polish domination — and sought to rule Ukraine. In 1648, the Cossacks, led by Bohdan Chmielicki, began a series of campaigns by instigating the uprising of the Cossacks against the Jews. Chmielicki told people that the Poles had sold them as slaves “into the hands of the accursed Jews.” Angered by this notion, the Cossacks massacred tens of thousands of Jews during 1648-1649, in a war that would later be considered among the worst of that time period.

After the October 1917 Revolution and the civil war, more than 300,000 Jews left Ukraine for other parts of the Soviet Union. But some Jews stayed. The period from March 1917 to August 1920 constitutes a special chapter in the history of the Jews of the Ukraine. The Ukrainians established a National Council (Rada), which in January 1918 proclaimed the separation of Ukraine from Russia; this episode came to an end in August 1920, when the Red Army completed the conquest of the Ukraine. In December 1918, the Jewish ministry passed a law providing for democratic elections to the administrative bodies of the communities , a Jewish National Council was formed, and the Provisional National Council of the Jews of the Ukraine was convened in November 1918. These institutions, however, were short-lived. In July 1918, the autonomy was abolished, the Jewish ministry was dissolved and the pogroms which then took place

An initiative to prohibit circumcision in San Francisco had collected enough signatures to put the measure to voters in November 2011. “This comic is modern anti-Semitism at its best. It is one story to fight against circumcision, and another to portray Jews in a false anti-Semitic stereotype. The Jewish depictions look like they came right out of Nazi Germany propaganda in the 1930s and 1940s,” wrote Hailey Dilman in a commentary at Digital Journal. Debra J. Saunders the columnist for the San Francisco Chornicle spoke with Matthew Hess of Foreskinman.com this morning:

I asked him if the comic is anti-Semitic. He answered, “A lot of people have said that, but we’re not trying to be anti-Semitic. We’re trying to be pro-human rights.”

Here is an interview Hess did with Eli Ungar-Sargon, a documentary filmmaker based in Los Angeles, published im JE School:

EUS: Were you familiar with the history of anti-Semitic imagery associated with mohels when you created Monster Mohel? Did this inform your artistic decision-making?

MH: I first saw some of those cartoons in middle school during lessons about World War II and I have seen other examples since then. But they didn’t influence me one way or the other when creating the art for Foreskin Man #2. While I did not wish to borrow anything from those cartoons, I also felt I would not be doing justice if I held back on portraying Monster Mohel and his goons as evil characters simply because they were Jewish.

EUS: Is it simply coincidence that the hero has blonde hair and blue eyes while the villains have darker complexions?

MH: Foreskin Man’s blond hair, blue eyes, and fair skin reflects my own German heritage. I see absolutely no reason to be ashamed of that. Suggestions in the media that Foreskin Man is a Nazi because of the color of his hair is pure racial stereotyping. And Monster Mohel, Yerik, and Jorah were drawn based on photographs of actual mohels.

After the tweeting of this poster by Trump campaign, Peter Wade described it as "perhaps the most confusing and offensive graphic of the 2016 campaign." Adding "It is offensive on so many levels. It evokes negative Jewish stereotypes and misappropriates a religious symbol." Dana Schwartz, an arts and culture staffer, posted a damning open letter on The Observer website daring her boss Jared Kushner to denounce his father-in-law’s tweet. Headlined “An Open Letter to Jared Kushner, From One of Your Jewish Employees,” she wrote: “I’m asking you, not as a 'gotcha' journalist or as a liberal but as a human being: how do you allow this? (...) Because, Mr. Kushner, you are allowing this. Your father-in-law’s repeated accidental winks to the white supremacist community is perhaps a savvy political strategy if the neo-Nazis are considered a sizable voting block — I confess, I haven’t done my research on that front,”

Soviet Russia Propaganda in WWII

Dmitry Stakhievich Orlov, who was known by his artistic name Dmitry Moor revolutionized the art of propaganda poster in the Soviet Russia. His dramatic treatment of class warfare, with haunting contrasts of then and now, enemies versus heroic allies, imperialism against workers' struggles, to which he added a simplistic slogan: Death to World Imperialism.


Many of Moor's and Deni's posters were restricted to black and red. Red could be used to identify revolutionary elements, particularly flags, worker's shirts and peasant blouses. Black was used for the main drawing and as a solid colour for the clothes of capitalist and priest. His work dominated both the Bolshevik Era (1917–1921) and the New Economic Policy (1921–1927).

Cold War Propaganda

For home! For Stalin! For world! For communism!

Young builders of communism!Forward, to new successes at work and study!

Serve the People!

Every day more and more joyful life!

May the indestructible friendship and collaboration of the Soviet and Chinese peoples survive and strengthen!

Bring up a generation of selfless devotion to the cause of communism!

“This is a struggle, above all else, for the minds of men.Propaganda is one of the most powerful weapons the Communists have in this struggle. … This propaganda can be overcome by truth—plain, simple, unvarnished—presented by newspapers,radio, newsreels, and other sources that people trust..” President Truman, 1950 in Tuch, 1990, p. 15

When the Cold War came into full form in the late 40s, it was only natural that both the US and the USSR would turn to propaganda war. This was a struggle for people's hearts and minds. In 1948, worried that the American public might become the victim of misinformation produced by its own government, Congress passed the Smith-Mundt Act. This Act outlaws the domestic distribution of U.S. government materials intended for foreign audiences.  In 1953, the United States Information Agency (USIA), was founded. It was established as a propaganda agency but it was very careful not to use the word "propaganda" to describe any of its activities.

In order to convince Americans that the US was justified in its new battle, the USIA produced anti-communist propaganda in mass quantities. It became very prevalent very quickly. Anti-communist propaganda could soon be found in every major medium including posters, books, pamphlets, comics, radio, films, and eventually TV.

D. Pjatkin, To Fly Higher Than All, Farther Than All, Faster Than All, 1954,

Published one year after Stalin’s death, this poster reinforces the message that Soviet research and development of weapons and machinery is ongoing. Substantially funded by war reparations from Germany, the Soviets were able to build the MiG-9 Fargo turbo fighter in 1946 and the Yak-15 Feather attack aircraft in 1947. The red stars in the image above symbolize the pilot’s kill score.

"Glory to the Soviet warrior!", by Viktor Ivanov, 1947,

"We are safeguarding the peace and happiness of our beloved Motherland!", by V. Koretsky, 1947,

"Become a member of DOSFLOT! (the Society for Voluntary Support of the Soviet Navy)", by B.D. Velensky, 1948,

"Stalin raised us to be faithful to the Soviet people!", by P. Golub, 1948

"The masterminds of a new war ought to remember the shameful fiasco of their predecessors!", by N. Bulganin, B. Efimov, and N. Dolgorukov, 1948

"Glory to Stalin's eagles!", by E.S. Malotetkov, 1948

"Glory to the Soviet People!", by Viktor Ivanov, 1947

M. V. Luk'janov and V.S. Karakashev,People and the Party Are Undivided, 1978,

In this poster, banners carried by marching Soviet citizens create a somewhat subtle image of Lenin’s face. The caption reads “People and the party are undivided.” This famous Soviet slogan first appeared in Pravda, the leading newspaper of the Soviet

B. Reshetnikov, A Mighty Sports Power, 1962

By 1962, sporting events such as the Olympic Games had become hotly contested between the Soviet Union and the USA. Each was desperate to win in order to demonstrate their power and dominance over the other. In the 1956 and 1960 Olympic Games, the Soviet Union was victorious. The character in this poster has been painted to resemble an Olympic torch, with gold medals in the background.

V. Briskin, Lenin, 1970,

The Soviet Union was keen to promote a positive image of itself throughout the early 1970s against a backdrop of the Vietnam War and a highly volatile relationship with the USA. Posters such as this helped to keep Lenin’s political ideologies alive. With no slogans or foreign words whatsoever, this poster was clearly designed for a European and American audience.

“We are with you, Vietnam!”

Unknown, Jo-Jo The Dove, 1951.

French anti-communist group, Paix et Liberté, created this poster, which openly mocks Stalin’s advocacy of peaceful values. Stalin is depicted as a peace protestor with sinister motives, holding a “Peace” sign in one hand and a bommy-knocker in the other.

Caucasian Dance: Stalin, having stuck the knife in Hungary, Romania and China, turns to France, surrounded by the French communists Duclos and Thorez, anti-communist poster by the 'Paix et Liberte' movement, 1951

 

A French book titled This is What the Bolshevist will Bring to Europe, published in 1934 or 1935

Bolshevism brings war, unemployment and famine, a German poster from 1918

Germany's ideal future under the leadership of the Bolsheviks, 1919

Civilization or barbarism – Don't you still understand?, a Dutch poster from the 1940s

Do you want to live in the shadow of him?, A Norwegian anti-communist poster

 

Gennady Andreyevich Zyuganov (Генна́дий Андре́евич Зюга́нов) , First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (since 1993), and Chairman of the Union of Communist Parties - Communist Party of the Soviet Union (UCP-CPSU) (since 2001) reading Pravda -- like Lenin.

Zyuganov quickly emerged as post-communist Russia's leading opposition leader. He argued that the collapse of the Soviet Union led to a decline in living standards, that economic power was left concentrated in the hands of a tiny share of the population, that violent crime increased, and that the Soviet collapse allowed ethnic groups throughout Russia to embark on campaigns, sometimes violent, to win autonomy.

Soviet Space Program

Through the worlds and ages

With Lenin’s name!

Our triumph in space is the hymn to Soviet country!

Glory to the conquerors of the universe!

Glory to the workers of Soviet science and technology!

Glory to the Fatherland of Heroes!

Soviet means excellent!

Général de Gaulle and the French Fourth Republic:

Général de Gaulle, was a French general and politician. He was the leader of the Free French Forces in World War II and head of the provisional government in 1944-46. By the end of 1950s, the French Fourth Republic was tainted by political instability, its failures in Indochina and its inability to resolve the Algerian question. On May 13, 1958, the French settlers seized the government buildings in Algiers, attacking what they saw as French government weakness in the face of demands among the Arab majority for Algerian independence. A "Committee of Civil and Army Public Security" was created under the presidency of General Jacques Massu, a Gaullist sympathiser. General Raoul Salan, Commander-in-Chief in Algeria, announced on radio that the Army had "provisionally taken over responsibility for the destiny of French Algeria". On May 17, De Gaulle announced that he was ready to "assume the powers of the Republic" (assumer les pouvoirs de la République).

The crisis deepened as French paratroops from Algeria seized Corsica and a landing near Paris was discussed. Political leaders on all sides agreed to support the General's return to power, except François Mitterrand, and the Communist Party (which denounced de Gaulle as the agent of a fascist coup). De Gaulle remained intent on replacing the constitution of the Fourth Republic, which he blamed for France's political weakness. He set as a condition for his return that he be given wide emergency powers for 6 months and that a new constitution be proposed to the French people. On June 1, 1958 he became premier and was given emergency powers for six months by the National Assembly.On September 28, 1958, a referendum took place and 79.2% of those who voted supported the new constitution and the creation of the Fifth Republic.

French Referendum Poster of the 28th September 1958, on the new constitution proposed by General Charles de Gaulle, September 1958

Poster for the YES vote in the referendum of 1958, created by Lefor and Openo. General de Gaulle often commissioned Lefor and Openo for his campaign posters. Lefor and Openo was a composite name, derived from the names of Marie-Claire Lefort and Marie-Francine Oppeneau, two celebrated designers of commercial and political advertising during the 1955-67 era. The poster depicts Marianne as a round-faced young woman, with big hopeful eyes and captivating smile, looking confidently into the future, which seems to have been inspired by Brigitte Bardot's image. Marie-Claire Lefort and Marie-Francine Oppeneau appears to used the same idea in their poster created for Bardot's film "Babette goes to war".

Poster for the No vote in the referendum of 1958, commissioned by the French Communist Party.

EU Propaganda

Poster of the campaign for European Defense Community(EDC).

The EDC, was a French project devised by Paris to prevent the entry of Germany into NATO. According to Victor Gavin in his paper "What Kind of Europe within the Atlantic Community? Britain and the European Defense Community 1950-54," Germany posed the main problem for British, French and Americans. The British did not want Germany to enjoy full freedom of action, and felt that one of the few merits of the EDC was that it would exercise control over Bonn’s security policy. The prospect of a rearmed Germany was not very popular,though the British Joint Chiefs of Staff had come to the same conclusion as the US about the impossibility of defending Europe without German participation. The British Government was ready to accept the proposal of Chancellor Adenauer to create a federal police force, but no more than that.

The position of French is best articulated by a French embassy staff in London, Monsieur Lebel, who stated bluntly that “the French were still scared to death at the thought of a revived German army.” The US did recognize that, politically and economically, Europe was very poorly organized, and all of her problems could be attributed to its division into a mosaic of nation-states, each one seeking constantly to safeguard its own particular interests to the detriment of the most elementary criteria of rationality and efficiency. For Washington it was necessary to find a formula that combined efficiency with containment on two fronts, on both Soviet expansionism and of the new West Germany. Germany was to be progressively released from the punitive policies of the immediate post-war period, and its integration into the new Europe would allow both mechanisms to control its progress and the benefits from its economic recovery to be shared by all. Indeed, the US made their support for the political and economic recovery of Europe contingent on a relaxation of state borders and the overcoming of the narrowness of the nation-state mind-set, a change that the US regarded as vital not only for overcoming ancient hatreds but also for the efficient management of European resources in the Cold War.

In the words of the British scholar Timothy Garton Ash, there was a need to find a formula to replace the control derived from a policy of punishment with a set of ‘golden handcuffs’. Nevertheless, London saw itself as a power with world responsibilities derived, essentially, from its colonial empire, and thus it could not focus exclusively on questions concerning Europe. At the NATO Council meeting in Paris on 14 December 1953 John Foster Dulles, US Secretary of State,threatened an “agonizing reappraisal” of US policy if the EDC was not ratified,a declaration that led the Foreign Office to understand the scale of the US commitment to the EDC as part of its overall strategy for European defense. It was a particularly difficult moment for London. Everything seemed to indicate that if the EDC was not ratified, the United States would reassess its commitment to the defense of Europe. The pressure on France was ineffective because Paris, unlike London,correctly saw the US threats as a bluff; the French thought it inconceivable that at the height of the Cold War Washington was ready to yield, even temporarily, all the resources of Western Europe to the Soviet Union should Moscow attack. If France stayed firm, how long could Britain hold out?

At the end, the EDC treaty was not ratified by the National Assembly in Paris on 30 August 1954. Instead, during September-October of the same year the British led the way to transform the Treaty of Brussels organization into the Western European Union in 1955. West Germany accepted the limitations of putting all her troops under the authority of the NATO supreme commander and of not developing, possessing or storing atomic, chemical or bacteriological armaments.

The winner of the poster competition, Maria Mileńko from Poznań, Poland

Young Fine Gael, the autonomous wing of the Irish party, launched the above poster for the YES vote to the Lisbon Treaty. The above two posters, targeted male and female voters, with the slogans: 'Enlarge your opportunities, vote yes to Lisbon' and Increase your prospects, vote yes to Lisbon'. Ireland voted “no” to the Lisbon Treaty on 12 June 2008, by 53.4% to 46.6%. The poll was a major blow to the EU leaders, which required all its members to ratify the treaty. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said he had spoken to Mr Cowen and agreed with him that this was not a vote against the EU! "Ireland remains committed to a strong Europe," he said.

Nevertheless, Ireland passed Lisbon Treaty in second referendum on October 2nd 2009, paving way for EU integration.

The Front National campaigned against the EU. On July 2012, they issued a communique criticizing François Hollande's proposal to go further on the path of European federalism as a direct affront to national independence and sovereignty of France.

After the recent announcement by the socialist of one more step towards a federal Europe, it is now becoming difficult to give a meaning to the wording of Article 3 of the DDLC of 1789: "The principle of all sovereignty resides essentially in the Nation "or to that of Article 3 of the 1958 Constitution, which clearly declares the democratic principle: " National sovereignty belongs to the people who exercise it through their representatives and by means of referendum.

'

Ukraine's “Europe without Barriers” public initiative conducted an information campaign: "Choose a better life! " Live without barriers " and "No visa regime! Europe is our home” aimed to explain the benefits and features of visa-free regime in relations with the EU to Ukrainian citizens.

On October 2012, in a move interpreted by some as a job application, the former British prime minister Tony Blair declared  the EU could do with a strong leader approved by the people. He also warned that too deep a political divide between Britain and the core Eurozone countries could lead towards a break-up. "Out of this European crisis can come the opportunity finally to achieve a model of European integration that is sustainable," said Mr Blair. "A Europe-wide election for the presidency... is the most direct way to involve the public." Europe's millions of residents might feel "alienated" unless they have a direct say in who is governing them, Mr Blair told the Nicolas Berggruen Institute on Governance. "An election for a big post held by one person - this people can understand," he said. "The problem with the European Parliament is that though clearly democratically elected, my experience is people don't feel close to their MEPs."

In June of that year in an interview with the Financial Times Weekend magazine he had said: "I sometime wish now that when the presidency came up, I would have taken that position - and actually gone out on a more public campaign about what I thought about Europe".

On September 2009, a reader, in response to an inquiry by Mailonline, asking "Should Tony Blair become EU President?" wrote:

In my opinion It would be a disastrous decision if Tony Blair was made EU President. When in government he rough shod over Parliament, he took us into Iraq costing many lives, he took us into Afganistan,His party promised that the UK would have the referendum on the EU Constitution, Did we get it. No! Public opinion means nothing to this man and his past policies are still costing the lives of our young men. For Tony Blair to be given this position would be disastrous for all of Europe and beyond.

Scotland Referendum for independence of 2014

Brexit Referendum of 2016

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras rejected European warnings that Greeks will be deciding on their future in the euro zone in a referendum on July 2015, saying negotiations would continue for a better deal with international creditors after the vote. In a televised address, Tsipras said a report by the International Monetary Fund which arguing that Greece's massive public debt could not be sustained without significant writedowns vindicated his advice to reject the lenders' terms. Repeating his assault on European partners he accused of blackmailing and issuing ultimatums to Greece, the leftist leader called for calm ahead of the July 5th 2015 ballot, as two opinion polls showed the 'Yes' and 'No' camps neck-and-neck. "On Sunday what is at stake is not Greece's membership of Europe, what is at stake is whether blackmail will lead us to accept the continuation of a policy which the lenders themselves recognize is a dead end," he said

Nato and Warsaw Pact

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s creation was part an effort to serve three purposes: deterring Soviet expansionism, forbidding the revival of nationalist militarism in Europe through a strong North American presence on the continent, and encouraging European political integration. In the words its first secretary-general, Lord Ismay, NATO had three functions: keep the Americans in, the Russians out and the Germans down.

Throughout the Cold War NATO, also served as a bulwark against a Soviet invasion of Europe. "The Parties of NATO agreed that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all." The treaty was of the particular importance to Europe which faced with fifty Soviet and Warsaw Pact armored divisions with nearly two million troops. The Soviets and their allies believed that their numerical superiority would allow them to advance to the Rhine River in seven days, and thus Europe was highly dependent on America's promise to retaliate critically as a safeguard against invasion.

In 2014 the State Institute for Culture of the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in cooperation with the National Academy of Arts, organized a competition for the design and production of original posters, to be exhibited at “Bulgaria: 10 years in NATO”.

Georgi Pavlov

Georgi Pavlov

Georgi Pavlov

Nikolay Mladenov

Nikolay Mladenov

Stoian De4ev

Stoian De4ev

The Warsaw Pact, was formed in 1955 as a counterweight to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). During much of its early existence, the Warsaw Pact essentially functioned as part of the Soviet Ministry of Defense. In fact, in the early years of its existence the Warsaw Pact served as one of the Soviet Union's primary mechanisms for keeping its East European allies under its political and military control. .

No American agent will pass through our village!

Peace can be preserved! Peace can be preserved! Peoples'

Peace is in our hands!

J.V.Stalin: The peoples of the world do not want the horror of the war ever again.

Chinese Propaganda; Cultural Revolution and Economical Counterrevolution

After the relative failure of Mao Zedong's "Great Leap Forward" campaign to a modernize China, based on the Stalinist model of industrialization, he and his wife's Jiang Qing initiated, the Cultural Revolution. Millions of mainly urban youths, organized as "Red Guards" were mobilized and sent out into the countryside to propagate Mao's ideology of a new society and to fight the "Four Olds" (old ideas, old culture, old customs and old habits). Posters were the most practical means of propaganda, since most people, particularly in the rural areas, were illiterate, and there were very few radio or television. Posters were easy and cheap to produce. The total output was several billion over a period of 30 to 40 years.

Chairman Mao is the great liberator of the world's revolutionary people, 1968

China lodged an official protest against the policy of apartheid in South Africa in September 1950. After the Sino-Soviet conflict, the Chinese began to differentiate themselves from the Soviets with respect to their attitudes towards the oppressed people of colour. According to their propaganda although yellow and black are not the same, but at least they are not as different as the white of the Soviets.

The struggle of all the people in the world against American imperialism will be victorious! 1965

Vigorously support the anti-imperialist struggles of the peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America, ca. 1964

The feelings of friendship between the peoples of China and Africa are deep, 1972

Revolutionary friendship is as deep as the ocean, 1975

1977 - Smash the Gang of Four and popularize the agricultural experience of Dazhai county

1977 - Relentlessly criticize the "Gang of four", set of a new upsurge of industry studying Daqing and agriculture studying Dazhai



After Mao, regime legitimacy is no longer based on ideology, but rather functionally defined: by the promises of modernization and development; of gaining national strength; of preserving political, economic and social stability; and by establishing both a “socialist democracy” and a “rule of law”. It appears that each Paramount leader must provide hie own political theory.

Marxism-Leninism was first “sinicised”, i.e. adjusted to help tackle China’s practical problems, and then in the 90s it was complemented by the “Deng Xiaoping theory”, which encapsulated the various policy pronouncements that guided the reform process that started in 1978. His Theory was a major departure from Mao Zedong Thought, as Deng insisted that "economic development is the center of party work". Two of the late paramount leader;s famous dicta were: "It always stands to reason to develop the economy faster" and "The economy must cross a new threshold every few years." Deng's development plan resulted in tremendous development, explosive growth and the first traces of a consumer society. At the same time, it created undesirable consequences that affected stability and the potential for the party's continued rule. They include a growing gap between rich and poor; a large disparity between coastal and western China; bureaucratic corruption. Meanwhile, the aim of the regime was no longer a far away “communism” but a not too distant “harmonious society”.

in Deng Xiaoping era Africa and China drifted apart. For many Africans the sudden and dramatic changes of political philosophy were ill-justified. They found Deng's ideological principle of 'Four Modernizations', strengthening the sectors of agriculture, industry, technology and defense, sloganeering and opportunistic. In consequence, China lost much of its credibility in Africa.

Hold high the great banner of Deng Xiaoping Theory to completely advance the cause of building socialism with Chinese characteristics into the 21st century, 1999	Designer: Design Institute of Wuxi Light Industrial College (无锡轻工大学设计学院) 1999 Usher in a new epoch - Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China Kaichuang xin shiqi -Qingzhu Zhonghua renmin gongheguo chengli wushi zhounian (开创新时期-庆祝中华人民共和国成立五十周年)

1978 - Move fast forward! Construct and protect the Motherland

1979 - Union friendship

1979 - Long live all the nationalities united as one people

1984 - To love the country one must first know its history - The deeper the knowledge, the more eager the love

1984 - Deng Xiaoping's four Basic principles: We must keep to the socialist road. We must uphold the dictatorship of the proletariat. We must uphold the leadership of the Communist Party. We must uphold Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought.



After the death of Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin began working on his own "theoretical" contribution to China's ideological complex. In 2000, his theory of the "three represents" (三个代表，Sange daibiao) was first presented as the nucleus of his Theory. The so-called theory focused on the future role of the Chinese Communist Party as "a faithful representation of the requirements in the development of advanced productive forces in China". This was perhaps an expression of the fact that the Chinese society has rapidly changed and that the Party no longer represents merely the interests of the workers and peasants, but those of the entire newly commercial class dwelling in its larger cities. The 17th Party Congress in 2007 enshrined the formula “Scientific Concept of Development” (科学发展观) into the Party constitution. This signified a stronger focus on sustainable development, taking care for the socially weak and their problems, establishing a social security net in urban and rural areas, etc.

Love science, explore diligently, 1985

Let our lives have more order, 1983



During Hu Jintao chairmanship African attitudes towards China shifted again. China seemed to have the Midas touch in Africa, steadily turning vast natural resource wealth into gold through investments in oil, gas, and mineral projects around the continent. In 2011, Chinese interests invested nearly $16 billion in African mining projects -- a tenfold increase from 2010. At a time when most Western media were retrenching, China’s state-run news media giants were rapidly expanding in the region. They were hoping to bolster China’s image and influence around the globe, particularly in regions rich in the natural resources needed to fuel China’s powerhouse industries and help feed its immense population. “Hostile international powers are strengthening their efforts to Westernize and divide us,” President Hu Jintao wrote in 2012 in a party journal. “We must be aware of the seriousness and complexity of the struggles and take powerful measures to prevent and deal with them.”
In 2012, President Hu Jintao hosted the Fifth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing, where he highlighted the $165 billion in trade between China and Africa in 2011, a tripling since 2006, making China the continent's largest trading partner. No expense was spared. Advertising was stripped off billboards and replaced with giant pictures of giraffes, lions and elephants roaming the savannah. The walls around building sites was decorated with posters of tribesmen, antelopes and the pyramids. Wanfujing, Beijing's main shopping street, became a safari-land of wooden animals. Everywhere, posters proclaimed: "Africa, the Land of Myth and Miracles." Moreover, Hu Jintao sent a message to the dozens of African heads of state and hundreds of senior African and Chinese government officials in attendance that the commitment behind the Sino-African relationship is consistent, comprehensive, and forged at the highest levels.

On 23rd October 2017, the National Congress of the Communist Party at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, elevated, the 64-year-old, Xi Jinping close to the sacred status of Chairman Mao.
He became the first living leader since Mao, the founder of modern China, to have his political thinking enshrined in the Communist Party’s constitution.

North Korean Propaganda Posters - 21st Century!

Although North Korean earlier propaganda designs could be considered as a mere copy of Soviet Russian socialist realism, and Mao era's Chinese propaganda, they have been quite avant-garde and bold in recent times. The country's socialist realist art is largely informed by her traditional Korean ink Painting, 한국의 전통회화 Chosŏnhwa painting, admired by its leader Kim Il Sung (Kim Chŏng Il), who considered it as the quintessence of North Korean art, and pronounced it as the most pertinent style for the post-revolutionary North Korean art. North Korean artists are supposed to be in the ideological forefront of the revolution, and must vehemently defend the leadership and their cause. Their training includes a combination of technical and ideological courses, which emphasizes the socialist realism as the only acceptable style.

Nevertheless, the artists have experimented with a wide range of expressionistic techniques within the confines of socialist realism. What renders a work of art "socialist realist" is the correct ideological interpretation of social reality in a manner that would be appealing to the people. To attain such an station the artist must toil with the proletariat, and share in their life experiences. The artist should comprehend at its core the diversity and complexity of life represented by its material form but more importantly by its humanistic essence defined as seed theory, 종자론. Artwork is judged not just on its aesthetic/technical merits (예술성), but more importantly on its ideological quality (사상성). A masterpiece is produced when a balance is found between aesthetical and ideological quality.

Work and live with the mind and spirit of Pegasus!


Kim Jong Il’s Misullon 미술론 (Treatise on Art, 1992), which begins by describing the relationship between humans and art describes the function and meaning of art in North Korea;

The art form that most accurately reflects the demands of the time and serves the people and their aspirations is juche art. Juche art is a revolutionary and people oriented art form that is national in form with socialist content. It is also a new form of art that perfectly fuses ideology and aesthetics. Materializing juche ideology in art best fits the people’s emotions and thoughts and acts as the basis for a new art form that serves our revolution...Beauty is tied to the autonomous desires and aspirations of humans and the emotional responsiveness a depiction evokes from a person... Emotion comes into force and can be experienced only when an artwork is based on the aspirations and desires of humans… A beautiful depiction of an object that is felt through an individual’s aesthetic emotion cannot exist without the active endeavor to understand and reform the world and oneself… Beauty occurs when a depiction of an object that meets the human desire and aspiration for autonomy is emotionally felt

These characteristics have formed the main framework for North Korean poster art. Kim Jong Il considered posters as important tools in the mobilization of the masses, they have to have an instantaneous impact on the viewers’ understanding and their desire to act upon this understanding. Their message has to be accessible, clear and direct; informative and explanatory, as well as exhortative. The link between contemplation and action is crucial. A poster artist is ultimately an agitator, who, familiar with the party line and endowed with a sharp analysis and judgment of reality produces a rousing depiction of policies and initiatives that stimulate the people into action. Only if the poster appeals to the ideological and aesthetic sentiments of the people will it succeed in truly rousing the people. Kim Jong Il refers to poster painters as standard bearers of their times, submerged in the overwhelming reality and in touch with the revolutionary zeal and creative power of the people, leading the way from a position among the people.

The U.S. is truly an axis of evil	Wicked Man
When provoking a war of aggression, we will hit back, beginning with the U.S.	When we say we will, we will. We do not talk idly.

“All towards achieving the decisions of the 5th Plenary Meeting of the 7th Party Central Committee!” 《모두다 당중앙위원회 제７기 제５차전원회의 결정관철에로!》

“Let us break through head-on all the barriers impeding our advance!” 《우리의 전진을 저애하는 모든 난관을 정면돌파전으로 뚫고나가자!》

“Let us firmly carry on with the march of Paektu!” 《백두의 행군길을 꿋꿋이 이어가자!》

“Let us follow the party to increase electricity production!” 《전력증산으로 당을 받들자!》

“The agricultural frontline is the main attack in the head-on battle to break through!” 《농업전선은 정면돌파전의 주타격전방!》

“Science and technology is an inexhaustible strategic asset worthy of us pursuing!” 《과학기술은 우리가 의거할 무진장한 전략자산!》

“To more valuable achievements in science and technology!” 《가치있는 과학기술성과들을 더 많이!》

Let us promote without exception the superiority of our country’s socialist public health system!” 《우리 나라 사회주의보건제도의 우월성을 남김없이 발양시키자!》

“Let us become patriotic workers making the spirit of conservation an inveterate habit!” 《절약정신을 체질화한 애국적인 근로자가 되자!》

“Let us finish construction of the Sunchon Phosphatic Fertilizer Factory in a quick span of time!” 《순천린비료공장건설을 빠른 시일내에 끝내자!》

Depths of Hatred

Switzerland Propaganda Poster, 21st Century!

On October 21st 2007, Swiss Justice Minister Christoph Blocher’s SVP party won 29% of the vote on the back of an election campaign dominated by an overtly racist anti-immigration campaign. The SVP’s election propaganda included a poster with three white sheep kicking a black sheep out of the country with the slogan ‘More Security!’.

According to a BBC reprt on October 8th, 2009 , Switzerland's biggest city, Zurich, did allow the use of this controversial poster which urges a ban on the building of minarets in the country . The poster shows a woman dressed in a burka in front of black minarets standing on a Swiss flag. But Zurich city council said campaign posters were protected by free speech. The advert was used by the far-right Swiss People's Party (SVP) ahead of a referendum on whether to ban the building of new minarets. At the time this poster was created, there were only four minarets in all of Switzerland. Apparently, the woman has forfeited her human right to choose for herself what she wants to wear.

The propagandists boasted that:

The success of the Swiss People's Party - and particularly its iconic posters - is driving the Establishment crazy in Switzerland. The searing power of these images - now regarded as among the great poster art of all time, and being sold in auction houses alongside the work of Toulouse-Lautrec - may well have played a significant role in altering the political dynamic in Switzerland.

Start Mass Emigration.

The designer Alexander Segert and his advertising agency Werbeagentur GOAL AG, have been apparently proud of their bizarre posters!

Foreign-vote? Easterners voting right: 2 times No, 2004

The poster is against the right to vote of foreign workers who legally work, pay taxes and show a tax declaration  in the cantons Neuchâtel and Jura .

Poster against Free Movement of Bulgarians and Romanians -2008

Poster shows black ravens eating Switzerland with the slogan: "Free entrance for all? No". In the background the fruits of Free Movement agreement argumented by the proponents is symbolized as an apple tree. The tree is stolen by one of the ravens.

Non-whites grabbing Swiss passport. 2014

 Schweizerische Volkspartei or SVP , caused outrage among open borders proponents on February 2014 when it gained enough signatures from the Swiss public, forcing the Swiss government to hold a referendum. This led to restrictions being placed on immigration, after the majority of Switzerland voted in favor of restrictions on February 9th.

Having regard to the poster depicting foreign hands grabbing Swiss passports, it should be said that immigrant couples must fulfill a 12 year waiting period of residence before being able to even apply for Swiss citizenship. Which is the longest waiting period for citizenship anywhere in Europe. Also it should be noted that 23% of the Swiss population being foreign is exaggerated by the fact that approximately a quarter of these people were actually born in Switzerland and have lived there for their whole lives but were unable to obtain citizenship due to strict naturalization laws and are therefore considered to be foreigners. Daily Kos, February 11, 2014

The advocates for these posters believed:

A poster needs to reduce and compress - only in that way can it transmit its messages. The SVP has understood this very well: with conciseness in word and image - and statement - they achieved the optimal effect. Intellectual messages overburden a poster and cannot be deciphered quickly. The SVP advertising also stands out in the crowd by using illustrations instead of the widespread photo aesthetic. It uses the language of comics, a popular, generally understood visual language. This works perfectly through simplification of colour and form.

The four white sheep have rolled out the red carpet for golden sheep in this clever Hungarian cartoon that represent foreign millionaires. The cartoon criticizes Swiss' favorable tax policies toward rich people in order to entice foreign millionaires to reside in that country. This cartoon shows that authentic cartoonists can take a piece of propaganda filth such as Alexander Segert's "Sicherheit schaffen" cartoon and turn it into a genuine thought-provoking social commentary.

This Canadian poster ads, featuring a photo of party leader Maxime Bernier, with the slogan "Say NO to mass immigration" and a call to vote for his party, started popping up across the country in August 2019. They were criticized nearly immediately as promoting anti-immigrant rhetoric.

Outraged citizens  called on billboard owners Pattison Outdoor Advertising to take the ads down, arguing that they violate the company's own code of conduct. The company released two statements, the first of which said that people who have a problem with the ads should take it up with the advertiser, True North Strong &; Free Advertising Corp. they reviewed the ad content and it did not violate the Ad Standards of Canada (ASC) code or their own policies. "We take a neutral position on ads that comply with the ASC code as we believe Canadians do not want us to be the judge or arbiter of what the public can or cannot see," the company said in a statement circulated on their social media accounts. "Should advertising elicit a public debate, we encourage Canadians to voice their opinions directly to the advertiser who placed the message as it is our policy that their contact information must be a legible part of the ad."

But later in the day, the company. facing the anger of Canadians, realized its error and issued a second statement saying that while the billboards didn't violate any policy, they would come down nonetheless. "It was never my or Pattison Outdoor's intention to offend, alienate or in any way insult the public by allowing this ad to be run," company president Randy Otto wrote, adding that the company would review its advocacy guidelines. He said that neither he nor anyone else at the company endorses the message of the advertiser!!

Go to the next chapter; Chapter 30 -- Posters and Cult of Persnality






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