Designing democracy: posters and the political transformation of Europe 1989–91

Election poster issued by the Alliance of Young Democrats [FIDESZ], 'Make Your Choice'

Election poster issued by the Alliance of Young Democrats [FIDESZ]
'Make Your Choice'
Sándor Kállay
Hungary
1990
Offset lithograph on paper
Museum no. E.174-1991
Given by Nigel Wade

Photographs of two kisses are juxtaposed on this poster, each symptomatic of different political cultures. The first kiss is an official greeting between the former Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and Erich Honecker, head of the GDR (the communist-ruled German Democratic Republic) until October 1989 and one of the most hard-line of the Eastern Bloc leaders. It captures the stale officialdom and secrecy of Soviet-style politics. The second kiss between a young man and woman sitting outdoors suggests youth, a more open future and the freedom of the individual. The poster is a relatively makeshift design that is roughly reproduced. However as an irreverently humorous and sharp political comment it quickly achieved cult status.

Election poster issued by The Greens and the Independent Women's Association, 'Protecting the Environment. We fight for every millimetre'

Election poster issued by The Greens and the Independent Women's Association
'Protecting the Environment. We fight for every millimetre'
Holger Matthies
Germany
1990
Colour offset lithograph on paper
Museum no. E.2067-1990

In East Germany the Green Party had access to the resources of a wide network of European green parties and organisations. This resulted in one of the most technically polished of the posters that were produced for the East German elections of February 1990. It was designed by Holger Matthies, a prominent West German graphic designer. Disregard for environmental protection under the communist GDR (German Democratic Republic) made the environment a key campaign issue in the first elections after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Poster issued by Civic Forum, 'Gloria in Excelsis'

Poster issued by Civic Forum
'Gloria in Excelsis'
Pavel Beneš
Czechoslovakia
1989
Lithograph printed in yellow and purple on paper
Museum no. E.270-1990
Given by Christopher Wilk

This poster produced soon after the collapse of communist government in Czechoslovakia is a jubilant celebration of the ‘velvet revolution’ and of the Civic Forum, one of the opposition organisations that led the Revolution. It employs the iconography of the comet as a symbol of hope and a harbinger of momentous events. This comet marks the propitious birth of a new Czechoslovakia with the 'OF' logo of Civic Forum (Občanské Fórum) glowing at its heart. It is one of a  number of ‘Christmas posters’ issued in December 1989 that incorporate religious imagery, signalling an end to the oppression of religion and linking the Civic Forum with moral values.

Election poster issued by the Alliance of Free Democrats [SZDSZ], 'Free Democrats - The Road to Europe'

Election poster issued by the Alliance of Free Democrats [SZDSZ]
'Free Democrats - The Road to Europe'
György Kara
Hungary
1990
Offset lithograph printed in black and green on paper
Museum no. E.2188-1990

The slogan ‘With a clean path, into a clean future’ is repeated multiple times to give it visual form, creating a runway that vanishes into the future. The sky is populated with soaring birds, the symbol of the Alliance of Free Democrats, in the red, white and green colours of the national flag.

Poster issued by Solidarity Independent Trade Union, 'December 1970'

Poster issued by Solidarity Independent Trade Union
'December 1970'
Krystyna Janiszewska
Poland
1980
Lithograph on paper
Museum no. E.2098-1990

This poster commemorates the massacre of striking Polish workers by government forces at the Gdaÿsk shipyard in December 1970. It preserves the memory of a traumatic event that was lodged in popular consciousness, but officially glossed over. The stark statement of the date needed no explanation or elaboration.  The artist has simply turned the 7 into a cross suggesting the martyrdom of the workers in the cause of opposition. It was produced in 1980 for the newly formed Solidarity Independent Trade Union when the Gdaÿsk shipyard was again the scene of political conflict between the workers and the communist government.

Poster published by FNAC (the Association of French Librarians), Unknown

Poster published by FNAC (the Association of French Librarians)
Artist unknown
Painted in Romania, 1989, printed in France, 1990
Colour offset lithograph on paper
Museum no. E.5-1991
Given by the Romanian Writers’ Union

This is one of a set of posters that reproduced original student protest graphics painted or drawn in the streets of Bucharest. The photographs were taken during the uprising in December 1989 and published in poster form by the Association of French Librarians in order to preserve the images and give them a wider dissemination. In contrast to the largely peaceful transitions of power in other Eastern European countries, Romania’s revolution entailed significant violence and loss of life. This reality is reflected in a visceral image of handprints raised in protest and submerged in blood.

Poster issued by Sajÿdis, 'We've already "voted" for them'

Poster issued by Sajÿdis
'We've already "voted" for them'
Jonas Varnas
Lithuania
1989
Colour lithograph on paper
Museum no. E.3108-1990
Given by Atgimimas newspaper

Lithuania achieved independence in 1918, but was incorporated into the Soviet Union as a constituent republic in 1940. The poster scornfully illustrates the lack of electoral choice under Soviet rule. It depicts Stalin with images of other Soviet officials encased within his monumental form and the photomontage style recalls the posters of the early Stalinist era. However Stalin is emphatically crossed out and symbolically decapitated by the voter’s mark. The poster was issued by Sajÿdis, the political organisation founded in 1988 that led the Lithuanian struggle to regain independence.

Poster issued by Eesti Raamat, 'Everybody has a right to his own culture'

Poster issued by Eesti Raamat
'Everybody has a right to his own culture'
Villu Järmut and Enn Kärmas
Estonia
1989
Colour offset lithograph on paper
Museum no. E.99-1991
Given by Kevin Propbert

This poster depicting a woman in traditional Estonian folk dress (from the Setu region) is an assertion of national culture. The photograph is cropped to focus on her silver jewellery which held an important place within national heritage and collective memory. This particular style of jewellery is associated with the period of Estonian independence 1918-40 and included large chains of the tsarist silver coins that had been taken out of circulation when Estonia gained independence from Russia. Much of this jewellery was sold, confiscated or hidden during the early Soviet era.  The hands are those of an elderly woman - a witness of pre-communist life.

'Truth is Victorious', Václav Jirásek

'Truth is Victorious'
Václav Jirásek, Bratrstvo
Czechoslovakia
1989
Offset lithograph printed in black and red on paper
Museum no. E.2035-1990

The text 'Truth is Victorious' was the presidential motto in pre-communist Czechoslovakia and a proverb rooted in the country's history and mythology. Together with this slogan, the photograph of a young man proudly holding the Czechoslovak flag can be read as a symbol of the re-emergent independent spirit of the nation. The Bratrstvo (Brotherhood) was a multi-media group of photographers, painters, writers and musicians modelled on the romantic artistic brotherhoods of the past (particularly the nineteenth-century British Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood). Their work drew on fairytale and mythology, but also on 1950s socialist realist art. The socialist realist overtones of the figure in this photograph introduce an element of ambiguity into the poster.

Poster issued by the Alliance of Free Democrats [SZDSZ], 'Workers' Militia'

Poster issued by the Alliance of Free Democrats [SZDSZ]
'Workers' Militia'
Krzysztof Ducki
Hungary
1989
Offset lithograph printed in black and yellow on paper
Museum no. E.160-1991
Given by Mücsarnok, Budapest, through Krisztina Jerger

This poster is campaigning against the continued existence of the Workers’ Militia during the period of democratic reform in Hungary. The Workers' Militia was a voluntary armed force closely linked with the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party that had ruled the country since 1956. The artist represents the Workers’ Militia as a fearsome set of false teeth. It is an adroit visual metaphor, implying that the militia is an old organisation that belongs to the past, but is still potentially dangerous. The teeth have been taken out and put in a glass, referring to the efforts that the Workers’ Militia was making to erase its cruel image. The implied warning is that the fangs could still be put back in – and bite.

Poster issued by Solidarity Independent Trade Union; Janiszewski, '2+2 must always be 4'

Poster issued by Solidarity Independent Trade Union; Janiszewski
'2+2 must always be 4'
Henryk Tomaszewski
Poland
1989
Lithograph printed in red and black on paper
Given by Miss Peggy Vance
Museum no. E.137-1991

In his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell used the slogan ‘2 plus 2 equals five’ as a demonstration of the false dogma and absurdity expounded by a totalitarian state. In response, the protagonist of the novel, Will Smith, claims that ‘Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four’. ‘Two plus two equals five’ was originally a communist slogan in the USSR suggesting that the goals of the first five year plan could be achieved a year early if people worked harder. Tomaszewski was one of the greatest masters of the Polish Poster School, which was renowned from the 1950s for its painterly approach, irony and visual metaphor.

Poster issued by Sajÿdis, 'With Sajÿdis - for Lithuania!'

Poster issued by Sajÿdis
'With Sajÿdis - for Lithuania!'
Jonas Varnas (designer),  Zinas Kazÿnas (photographer) and Giedrius Reimeris  (logo designer), Lithuania
1989
Colour photo-lithograph on paper
Museum no. E.3120-1990
Given by Atgimimas newspaper

On August 23 1989 an estimated two million people in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia demonstrated against Soviet rule by joining hands and forming a human chain that stretched for nearly 400 miles across the three Baltic states. This extraordinary mass protest took place on the 50th anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact of August 23 1939, when Germany and the Soviet Union had staked out their territorial claims in Europe, an agreement which led to the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states. This photographic poster documents the spectacle and draws on the iconography of revolutionary action, emphasising the solidarity and spirit of the demonstrators.

Election poster issued by the Romanian Agrarian Democratic Party of [PDAR], 'Where the peasants are winning

Election poster issued by the Romanian Agrarian Democratic Party of  [PDAR]
'Where the peasants are winning, there is place for bread! Vote for the Romanian Agrarian Democratic Party!'
Artist unknown
Romania
1990
Colour photogravure on paper
Museum no. E.2361-1991
Given by the National Museum of Art, Bucharest

Food shortages and bread queues resulting from the agrarian policies of communist dictator Nicolae Ceauÿescu were a key factor in precipitating revolution in Romania. The loaves of bread illustrated on this poster for the democratic elections in 1990 hold out the promise of a better future. However the realist style of the poster and the radiating party emblem maintain some visual continuity with official propaganda from before the revolution.

Poster issued by Hungarian Democratic Forum, 'Hungarian Democratic Forum [MDF]'

Poster issued by Hungarian Democratic Forum
'Hungarian Democratic Forum [MDF]'
István Orosz
Hungary
1990
Colour offset lithograph printed on paper
Museum no. E.2167-1990

This poster is a succinct graphic representation of the collapse of communist rule and the re-emergence of an independent Hungary. The insignia of the People’s Socialist Republic of Hungary cracks and breaks apart to reveal an older coat of arms belonging to the Hungarian Kingdom of the Middle Ages. This was the coat of arms adopted in 1990 as the official symbol of the new Hungarian Republic. The communist symbols are rendered grey and tomb-like in contrast to the colour of the national coat of arms.

Election poster issued by the United Left, 'Vote With Your Head'

Election poster issued by the United Left
'Vote With Your Head'
Artist unknown
Germany
1990
Lithograph printed in black and red on paper
Museum no. E.2065-1990

The intentionally ‘primitive’ and low tech style of this election poster expresses the urgency and excitement of events following the collapse of communist rule in East Germany. The style echoes the paintings of the New Fauves (Neue Wilden) in West Germany who were held in high international regard around the world. It is printed in colour, although other posters of the United Left were cheaply printed in black and then hand-coloured in red crayon or felt tip pen by party workers. The poster asks the voter to consider the policies of the parties contesting the election rather than 'punishing' the Left in the ballot box for its associations with the pre-1989 communist government.

'Havel to the Castle', Joska Skalník (designer) Miloš Fikejz (photographer)

'Havel to the Castle'
Joska Skalník (designer) Miloš Fikejz (photographer)
Czechoslovakia
1989
Offset lithograph on paper
Museum no. E.2041-1990

Václav Havel was a key figure in the 'Velvet Revolution' that ended communist rule in Czechoslovakia and a founder of the opposition movement Civic Forum. His charismatic personality and leadership made him a focus of the country's hopes for a democratic future and his image inspired widespread loyalty. The Castle in Prague is the seat of the president and the slogan 'Havel to the Castle' was a call for Havel to become president.  He was selected as president of Czechoslovakia by parliament in December 1989 and was re-elected as president by the Federal Assembly after the free elections in June 1990. This photograph by Miloš Fikejz portrays Havel as a bohemian, a world-worn but visionary dissident. His image evolves in later posters which present him in a suit with the body language of a statesman.

Poster, 'Germany is it?'

Poster, 'Germany is it?'
Mahlke
Germany
1990
Screenprint in red on paper
Museum no. E.2083-1990

The Alliance of the United Left (Aktionsbündis Vereinigte Linke/AVL) was formed out of the ruins of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschkands/SED) to contest the elections of March 1990 for the Volkskammer. The election was in effect a plebiscite for the reunification of Germany.

This design sought to raise the spectre of the Americanisation of the country through one of its most powerful symbols of capitalism, Coke, Using the brand’s characteristic colour scheme and lettering the AVL asked the viewer whether a united Germany would mean the consumption of East Germany by the market. The answer was clear when the conservative Alliance for Germany effectively won and set about working for reunification, an event that took place in October 1990.

Poster, '23.10.'56 / 1989'

Poster, '23.10.'56 / 1989'
Péter Pócs
Hungary
1989
Colour offset lithograph printed on paper
Museum no. E.153-1991
Given by Mücsarnok, Budapest, through Kristzina Jerger. Reproduced courtesy of DACS, London 1997

Péter Pócs's poster imagines the demise of Communism and commemorates the 1956 Hungarian popular uprising crushed by Soviet forces. In a reversal of the events of 1956, the red star symbol of the red army is held powerless in a trap. The artist wanted to depict Communism as a live, actively oppressive force, and formed the star from raw flesh. It glistens in the strong light and seems to writhe in agony as the metal bites.

The poster was published on the occasion of the memorial ceremony for the reburial of Imre Nagy, the Hungarian statesman who led the revolutionary government of 1956, and the other executed leaders of the uprising. Although the poster had originally been commissioned by one of the new political parties, the Alliance of Free Democrats, when they saw the design, they were afraid to publish it. Pócs therefore went ahead on his own, challenging the censorship regulations which forbade publication by individuals.