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[Identification of item], German Broadside Collection, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
The German Broadside Collection was received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library as a gift in 1948.
Processed by Willeke Sandler, December 2011
Encoded by Paula Jeannet Mangiafico and Willeke Sandler, January 2012
Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory:
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
The German Broadside Collection span the years 1905-1990, with the majority of the items in broadside or poster form dating from the 1920s. Other formats include leaflets, handbills, campaign publications, political brochures, and other ephemera; many items contain political cartoons and caricatures. The broadsides originated from cities across Germany, with Leipzig and Berlin strongly represented; the majority were disseminated by the Socialist Party, the Communist Party, the German Democratic Party, and the German National People's Party, with some material from the Center Party and from Richard Kunze's anti-Semitic German Social Party. The broadsides range in size from 5 x 3" to 37 x 27". The majority relate to the 1919 National Assembly election and the 1920 and 1924 Reichstag elections; these are arranged according to election, and within each election according to city. The broadsides address economic, political, and cultural themes debated in national, state, and local elections in the 1920s in Germany, as well as the legacy of the First World War.
Additional materials include broadsides relating to commemorations of the assassination of German Foreign Minister Walther Rathenau in 1922, the political situation in China, Poland, and Russia, among others, and international peace, workers, and anti-imperialism movements. The collection also includes three unaddressed letters from the Zentralkomitee Internationale Arbeiterhilfe about events in Hungary and China, and two sets of Holocaust exhibition posters produced by the Anti-Defamation League and the United States Holocaust Memorial Council in the late twentieth-century.
The collection provides rich documentation on the political climate in early twentieth-century Germany, especially during the Weimar Republic (1919-1933). It offers a expansive view of political life in Germany in a variety of cities and within a variety of political parties. The bulk of the material stems from 1919-1924 and from 1928-1930, both periods of political and economic instability. In the Weimar Republic, numerous political parties vied for Germans' votes and materials in the collection document this competition. With the extension of suffrage to German women in 1919, political parties (especially the Socialist Party) began to tailor their election propaganda towards these new voters, as is reflected in numerous broadsides in this collection. Of note in the collection are the predominance of materials from Leipzig, two Käthe Kollwitz drawings, the Reichsbund jüdischer Frontsoldaten broadside "An die deutschen Mütter," and a 10 Million Mark Reichsbank note from the hyperinflation in 1923.
Divided into seven series: Allied Propaganda Leaflets, 1944 and undated; Campaign Publications and Political Brochures, 1919-1930 and undated; Elections, 1919-1933 and undated; Holocaust Exhibition Posters, undated; International Relations and Movements, 1900-1930 and undated; Walther Rathenau Assassination, 1922-1926; and Other Topics, undated.
These are searchable subject entries for this collection. Performing a search on these subjects in the Duke University Libraries online catalog will bring up other related research materials.
The following items have been separated and relocated in the Currency Collection and the Postcard Collection: a piece of German currency (10 million Reichsmarks) from 1923 and a letter from Chicago to Leipzig with a fold-out accordion sheet of 19 labeled postcards of a parade/community event in the United States.
Small leaflets produced by the Allied powers and distributed in Germany and Italy as propaganda targeting Axis military forces and civilian populations.
Contains broadsides, leaflets, and handbills relating to local, state, and national elections, mostly from the Socialist Party and the German Democratic Party, with some material from other interest groups. They originated from German newspapers and election newspapers printed and distributed by political parties. Arranged chronologically.
The largest group in the collection. Contains electioneering broadsides targeting the general population, political party members, and interest groups such as women, blue- and white-collar workers, Catholics, students, and farmers. The broadsides are predominantly small leaflets printed with political slogans and party platforms, announcements of rallies, and instructions to voters either on one or both sides. Arranged according to election, then by city, then by political party.
Consists of two sets of large black-and-white and color posters produced by the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith and the United States Holocaust Memorial Council.
Materials in this series deal with a range of international movements such as those centered on anti-imperialism, workers, and peace, as well as the political situation in foreign countries, including China, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, and Russia. The series also includes three unaddressed letters from the Zentralkomitee Internationale Arbeiterhilfe about events in Hungary and China. The broadsides consist of publicity for lectures and rallies, posters, and informational handbills. Large posters in this series are found in the Oversize Folder. Arranged in alphabetical order by topic or geographical area.
Contains materials relating to the assassination of the German Foreign Minister Walther Rathenau by German nationalists on June 24, 1922, as well as commemorations of the event in 1925 and 1926.
Red bound volume of unknown provenance containing an index of broadsides, posters, leaflets, and brochures relating to the revolution in Germany (in particular in Berlin) between November 1918 and June 1919. Does not correspond to material in this collection.