East German Poster Database

Items

• Jugend und Studienjahre
  This poster shows pictures and documents from Karl Marx's early years. This poster is the first of a series of 8.
• Umweltschutz macht doch nur Arbeit!
  This poster has a blue background with green highlight boxes with text promoting the Green Party. The hedgehog of Alternative Liste appears at the bottom.The text reads, "Environmental protection is just work! And that becomes jobs. Labor market policy that benefits everyone." The very bottom of the poster reads, "Viewpoints instead of lip service." This represents a coalition between the Green and Alternative Liste parties. The poster is from the October 1990 elections.
• Schwerter zu Pflugscharen:
  This poster shows an impressionistic rendering of soldiers marching from above. The poster is from the October 1990 elections. The top text says, "Swords to plowshares" and the quote by one of the soldiers meaning, "All hands step away!"
• 13. August 1961: Berliner Mauerbau
  Text tells the story of Peter Fechter, an 18 year old bricklayer who was shot at the base of the Wall while trying to escape DDR border guards. He cried out for help but no one came until finally he died and was carried away. Bold red letters state "murder is murder, even when ordered". Three black and white photos of the incident accompany the text.
• Berlin 1990
  This poster features a photograph of young woman with earring chipping away a piece of the wall. There is a German flag hung on the wall to the right. The photograph is surrounded by black and white "snow" patterned border.
• Berlin '89/Photo by Gustav Brauer
  Poster features large photographic print by Gustav Brauer; depicts an individual with a hammer atop a ladder, positioned to bhip away at a heavily defaced segment of the wall.
• Berlin
  Poster is a double-sided chronological series of Berlin wallmaps that can be folded into a brochure. One side is multilingual, the other English (content differs). Poster shows Berlin through time with emphasis on the Wall, and includes locations of contemporary Wall memorials. Red and black design theme.
• Darauf sind wir stolz! - 40 Jahre DDR
  Poster celebrating 40th anniversary of the GDR. It showcases 40 years of East German achievement, emphasizing physical, social, and economic security. Poster is arranged in a 3x3 grid consisting mainly of photographs and superimosed captions. Title reads "This is what we are proud of!"
• Im Bruderbund mit der Partei und dem Lande Lenins - vorwärts zum XXV. Parteitag der KPdSU!
  This poster shows various photographs depicting collaboration between DDR and Soviet government officials.
• 30 Jahre Danach
  This poster commemorates 30 years of Soviet and DDR collaboration, depicting scenes of Germans and Soviets working together, along with captions.
• 1945-1975: 30 Siegreiche Jahre
  This poster, which proclaims "30 victorious years" of the DDR, shows various Soviet and DDR emblems, along with a depiction of a Soviet soldier raising the USSR flag over the Reichstag in WWII. The poster also has thank-you cards in one corner. The text in the lower left corner reads: "Dank euch, ihr Sowjetsoldaten, Dank eurem Land, das uns immer mit Rat und Tat, mit selbstloser Hilfe zur Seite Stand." The upper right corner contains the quote "Als die Sohne des Großen Oktober die Soldaten aus dem Lande Lenins die rote Fahne auf dem Reichstagsgebäude hißten, brachten sie uns Frieden und Freiheit vom Faschismus. Sie brachten zugleich die allgemeingultigen Erfahrungen der erstmalig in der Welt im Lande Lenins siegreich verwirklichten Lehre von Karl Marx in dessen Geburtsland zurück."
• (In Russian)
  This chart shows Soviet military medals from various years in chronological order.
• Bertolt Brecht / Der aufhalt-same Aufstieg des Artutro Ui
  This is a double-sided poster. It advertises a production of Bertolt Brecht's “Der aufhaltsame Aufstieg des Arturo Ui” (The Resistable rise of Aurturo Ui). The front shows the silloutes of two men dressed in long coats and hats against a black background and what looks like cut up financial information from an English language newspaper. The back has anti-war works of art in black and white, as well as a poem by Pablo Neruda and an essay by Fernando Arrabal translated into German. Oversize.
• Unser Recht Zu Leben / Berliner Ensemble
  This poster advertises a performance by the Berliner Ensemble. It is not clear what specific play is being performed. The top of the poster has a title: “Unser Recht Zu Leben” (Our Right To Live) above a Picasso drawing of a bird. Below there is a quote from Bertolt Brecht about Carthage in German, French, English, Spanish and Russian. Oversize.
• Dornröschen / Märchen Nach Den Gebrüdern Grimm Von Peter Ensikat
  Poster is white with black letters. On the left and right there are drawings of a young girl and young boy in plain clothes and in between them what look like a paper doll cutout of a princess and a chef. The poster advertises a theatrical production of the Brother's Grimm fairytale “Dornröschen” which is the Sleeping Beauty story. Box 5.
• Goethe/Iphigenie auf Tauris/Staatsschauspiel Dresden.
  The poster is white with text in black at the bottom. The name of the author and the title are printed in black letter font; the name of the theater is in Latin script. The top two thirds of the poster show a grainy black and white print of a woman in a cloak with her arms stretched out and raised. Both sides of the picture show thick Greek columns. Trees in the background.
• Iphigenie in Aulis/Oper von Christoph Willibald Gluck/Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar.
  Poster is bright red with a black bar and text in black at the top. It shows the rough outline of a woman in Greek dress; she is standing with her arms raised across her chest facing the viewer and looks up at the sky.
• Der Wett-Lauf zwischen Hase + Igel/Theater Senftenberg/von P. Ensikat
  Poster is a depiction of a rabbit in a red suit and red top hat, holding what appears to be an egg in his right hand. One either side sit two hedgehogs, one at left with an apple stuck on his quills. Advertises for "The Race Between Hare and Hedgehog", from P. Ensikat.
• Der Soldat und das Feuerzeug- Pop-Musical für Kinder ab 5 und Leute mit Herz bis 85 nach einem Märchen von Hans Christian Andersen, Text: Heinz-Martin Bendecke, Musik: Thomas Bürkholz, Regie: Radestock- Volkstheater Rostock
  This poster is white with a yellow border. It depicts a soldier in a red and blue uniform marching with a guitar over his shoulder instead of a weapon. The text is in black script at the top. This poster advertises for "The Soldier and the Lighter", a "pop musical for children and people with heart to 85 years old, based on a fairytale from Hans Christian Andersen". The text is by Heinz-Martin Bendecke and music by Thomas Bürkholz, while directed by Radestock.
• Sinulja: Alexander Gelman- Maxim Gorki Theater
  This poster is black with white text at the top, left, and bottom. In the center is a depiction of a woman in overalls standing knee-deep in water, looking away from the viewer. This poster advertises for "Sinulja" from Alexander Gelman.
• Oper von Eugen d'Albert/Teifland/Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin
  Poster is what appears to be close-up colored pencil depiction of two individuals, one female one male, with a background of green/white/yellow/green layers visible behind between them. Text in white center bottom. Advertises for "Lowland", an opera from Eugen d'Albert.
• Schwanensee/Ballett von Pjotr I. Tschaikowski/Komische Oper
  Poster is gray with large inset rectangle in black. Near bottom of rectangle, black appears torn away to reveal landscape of mountains. Title at top in white, with theater information below in black. Advertises for the ballet "Swan Lake" from Tschaikovsky.
• Deutsch Nationaltheater Weimar Uraufführung/Der Schuster und der Hahn/Ein Spiel von Menschen und Tieren von Armin Stolper
  Poster depicts a shoemaker with hen-like features (tail, legs, wings) playing a guitar. A woman to the left is throwing papers in the air and a man to the right is running away with a bloody axe. Title at bottom with remaining text left vertical. Advertises for "The Shoemaker and the Hen", a "play of men and animals from Armin Stolper". Play's premiere.
• Giuseppe Verdi/Der Troubadour il Trovatore/Text von Salvatore Cammarano/Hans-Otto-Theater Potsdam/Musikal. Leitung G. Lienicke Inszenierung P. Brähmig Bühnenbild P. Heilein Chöre E. Lehnig In den Haputpartien E. Schumann, E.-M. Opitz, R. Riemer, A. Scheib
  Poster is red with black etchings of two men in medieval costume facing away from each other on either side of a triangle pointing downward from top to bottom in center of poster. Each man holds a sword. At bottom center is a smaller scale white etching of a woman lying on her side, holding her hand out. Title top center in white with black text on either side, remaining text at bottom in black. Advertises for the opera from Giuseppe Verdi, "The Troubadour from Trovatore", starring E. Schumann.
• Die Stellung ist K(r)ampflos zu Halten/Eine Inszenierung des Staatlichen Puppentheaters Neubrandenburg sechs Erzählungen von Cechov, Katajew, Lentsch/Sorin und einer Episode aus dem Roman "der Meister und Margarita" von Bulgakow" Auswahl, Bearbeitung Regi
  Poster background is composed of tiled black and white photographs of the same marionette in different poses from different scenes of the performance. Title superimposed in black on red, with remaining text between in white. Advertises for the puppet play "The Status is to Remain Uncontested", from Cechov, Katajew and Lentsch after the novel by Bulgakow.