World War One Posters, Small Form Graphics and Children’s Drawings

The picture material for Europeana Collections 1914-1918 consists for one part of children’s drawings illustrating and World War I. Another large part of this collection are the World War I posters which are probably the best known form of propaganda during WW1.

The collection contains posters from the Austria-Hungary empire as well as from the German Reich and the countries of the Triple Entente (about 500 items in total) covering official pronouncements, conscription calls, decrees, collection calls, war bonds and propaganda posters. The collection is completed with small form graphics used to call the civilian population to participate in fundraising activities postcards, satirical graphics and cartoons. The distribution of flyers created a powerful psychological persuasion helping to spread comforting or intimidating ideas and this is well represented in this collection.

Postcards designed by famous artists such as Fritz Schönpflug Karpellus and Adolf Fritz Gareis, as well as school essays which illustrate the influence of propaganda on children and adolescents are also included. Explore 1135 Hungarian First World War announcements, most of which were printed in Hungarian and some in a multilingual manner (in Slovakian, Serbian or Romanian, Italian, Slovenian, Croatian, Polish and Russian as well as Hungarian).

The announcements inform us about medical examinations, conscription, military drafts, desertion and military successes but also about life in the provinces. The latter can be classified into the following topics: state finances, security, traffic, transport and postal system, agriculture, labour shortage, supply of food, health, charity and propaganda.

(Preview image taken from:http://www.bildarchivaustria.at/Pages/Search/Result.aspx?p_eBildansicht=2&p_ItemID=3)