Bolschewismus heisst die Welt im Blut ersaufen [Bolshevism means the world will drown in blood]

German anti-Bolshevik propaganda poster depicting a Russian wolf standing over a figure submerged in a pool of blood. In translation the poster states: 'Bolshevism means the world will drown in blood'. A destroyed city is seen in the background. The poster provides a context for the social, cultural, emotional and political situations in Germany during and immediately after the First World War. It also provides an insight into the way war was viewed and experienced by the German nation, and of German war propaganda and the chaotic period immediately following the first World War when a struggle for the rights of the German people began between the radical Communists on the left and the strident anti-Bolsheviks on the right. The poster was a form of art that reached a status beyond that of commercial design during this period, particularly in Germany. German graphic design of the time was more artistic and sophisticated than other national styles. It concentrated on the typographical elements, with the integration of text and illustration being of higher importance than that used in other European posters produced in the early twentieth century.

Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program 2006