Propaganda poster “Help us win”

During the First World War, the German population was called upon to issue war bonds every six months, in which they were supposed to grant the state a loan for the war effort. This usually involved appealing to the patriotism of the population and promising investors income from interest, which was to be financed from reparations payments after the war had been won.

The sixth German war bond was intended to finance the first half of the First World War in 1917. However, the German population was not very willing to donate after the famine caused by the “turnip winter” of 1916/1917. For the first time, therefore, a poster issued by the German Reich was to advertise the war bond. Previously, the banks that administered the war bond had advertised independently.

The poster shows a soldier in a steel helmet, equipped with a gas mask and hand grenades, who has just cut through a barbed wire fence and is now looking towards his next target.

The impressive motif was created by the renowned Munich artist Fritz Erler. His picture became so well-known that it was used in a modified form as the book cover for the first English-language edition of Erich Maria Remarque’s novel “Im Westen nichts Neues” in 1929.

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