Helft uns Siegen! zeichnet die Kriegsanleihe [Help us win! Subscribe to the War Loan]

German First World War poster issued by the Government to promote the 6th German War Loan. Designed by German painter Fritz Erler, it features a three quarter portrait of a German soldier, staring into the distance, surrounded by barbed wire. His face is muddied from being in the trenches, however, an inner light is visible within his eyes. One of the official military painters for the Oberste Heeresleitung [Supreme Army Command] this propaganda poster is Erler's best known work. It presents a heroic image of warfare and can be linked to the idea that in some way trench warfare would be morally cleansing. The image is positioned centrally with the title above and below printed in green in a gothic typeface. The German text translates as ' Help us to win! Subscribed to the War Loan'. Fritz Erler (1868-1940) was a German painter, graphic designer and scenic designer. Although most talented as an interior designer, he is perhaps best remembered for several propaganda posters he produced during World War I. Fritz Erler studied at Breslau and Paris before travelling to Italy and Germany. He settled in Germany where he founded the magazine 'Die Jugend'. During the First World War he produced several notable posters for the German government. Erler drew inspiration from wild places and as a young man travelled to the Baltic Sea and to the Riviera and Brittany coasts. He was fascinated by Norse legends, Grimms' fairy tales and Johann Gottfried Herder's 'Stimmen der Völker' , all of which had an impact on his subject-matter. In a long, prolific career he designed costumes and stage sets, stained glass, ceramics and book bindings. After the war, Erler was commissioned to produce several murals on public buildings.