DKP election poster
Inventory number: DPM 6.784
This time we are presenting an object of the month that we recently acquired: An election poster of the German Communist Party (DKP).
It is the only poster from the 2017 federal election that featured a tank. How the tank is used as a symbol in debates is always interesting to us, which is why this poster definitely belongs in our collection. Today it is ‘only’ a current everyday object, but it is part of the cultural history of the tank and in 100 or 200 years’ time it could be an exciting exhibit for museum visitors. A museum must always collect today for tomorrow.
The German Communist Party was founded in 1968 in the Federal Republic of Germany and was closely linked to the SED (Socialist Unity Party of Germany) of the GDR until 1989. After the collapse of the real socialist states in the 1990s, the DKP lost many members; the founding of the PDS (now the Left Party) as another party to the left of the SPD also caused many members and voters to leave. Today, the DKP has only 3,500 members and received only 11,713 votes in this year’s federal elections – which corresponds to 0.0%.
The tank on the DKP poster is depicted as a piggy bank in which euro coins disappear. It stands symbolically for the Bundeswehr, but also for German armaments projects. The DKP rejects all Bundeswehr deployments as imperialist warfare, as well as the export of German armaments. These two aspects are an integral part of capitalism, of which they see communism as a peaceful alternative. In the eyes of the DKP, investment in the army and armaments perpetuates the capitalism to be overcome and must therefore be ended.
This view is also reflected in the slogan “Up with wages. Down with armaments.”. It refers specifically to the current debate on increasing the armaments budget, which the DKP believes can only be financed by making savings in other areas of the federal budget or by raising taxes.
The tank thus stands for armor, war and militarism. This shows that the tank is still seen as the central weapon of today’s wars and has not been replaced in its symbolic effect by drones or other war equipment.
Object of the month
(short) stories from the depot
Unfortunately, many objects cannot currently be shown in the exhibition for conservation reasons. Here you will find unusual objects and exciting stories of special pieces from the depot
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07/2025
Poem on the one thousandth design change of the HS-30, 1960
This poem was written by Hanomag employees to mark the one thousandth design modification of the HS 30 infantry fighting vehicle in March 1960.
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06/2025
Shaped-charge grenade as a cutaway model, 1971
This model has a Prussian cockade at the front and a storm strap with which the helmet could be fastened to the head.
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05/2025
Leather helmet of the motorized troops, ca. 1916
This model has a Prussian cockade at the front and a storm strap with which the helmet could be fastened to the head.
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04/2025
Book “Grenadiers” by Kurt Meyer, 1983
Kurt Meyer (1910-1961) was an SS brigade leader in the Waffen-SS and remained a staunch National Socialist even after the war.
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03/2025
Japanese armored helmet, ca. 1930s
This helmet is the unlined summer version of the Japanese Type 92 armored helmet. It is made of brown textile and is fully padded.
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02/2025
Beer mug from the Wünsdorf Army Driving School, 1935
This beer mug was awarded to Richard Streibel on August 14, 1935 at the end of his training as a non-commissioned officer in Wünsdorf.
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01/2025
Computer game Battlefield 1, 2016
Battlefield 1 is the fifteenth game in the Battlefield series from Electronic Arts, the numbering refers to the historical setting: the First World War.
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12/2024
Patches “Panzer Division Marduk”, 1999
Marduk is a Swedish black metal band that formed in 1990. It is considered one of the most commercially successful in the scene and a classic of the genre.
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11/2024
Aluminum drinking cup, 1894-1914
These aluminum drinking cups were only produced until October 1914, after which the shortage of this light metal began in Germany.
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10/2024
Uniform jacket of the fog troop, ca. 1936
This field suit worn by a Wehrmacht Oberwachtmeister belongs to the fog training and testing department set up in Bremen 88 years ago today.
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09/2024
Tropical helmet according to the Bortfeldt patent, ca. 1901
In 1896, the German colonial troops were given a uniform that had never before existed in the armies of the German Empire.
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08/2024
Play figure Kataphron Destroyer, 2022
This game piece is part of the tabletop strategy game “Warhammer 40,000” (often abbreviated as: Warhammer 40k).
