German broadsides collection, 1870-1990 and undated, bulk 1920s

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Summary

Creator:
David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library
Abstract:
The German broadsides collection spans the years 1870-1990, with the majority of items dating from the 1920s. Broadsides (single-sided announcements and texts) predominate, but there are also several diplomas, leaflets, handbills, campaign publications, political brochures, propaganda posters, and other ephemera documenting the political, economic, and social conditions in Germany, Eastern Europe, Russia, and China, particularly during the Weimar Republic. Many of the broadsides relate to elections during the 1920s and the legacy of World War I as well as the political implications of women's suffrage during that time. Political parties represented include the Socialist Party, the Communist Party, the German Democratic Party, and the German National People's Party, as well as several smaller parties. The majority come from cities across Germany, with Leipzig and Berlin strongly represented. Additional materials include Allied propaganda leaflets and Holocaust exhibition posters, as well as materials relating to the assassination of German Foreign Minister Walther Rathenau in 1922, and several diplomas, 1870-1924 relating to the Von Baudissin family. Closely related to the German Newspaper Clippings Collection.
Extent:
5.8 Linear Feet (Approximately 519 items)
Language:
Material are in German
Collection ID:
RL.00444

Background

Scope and content:

The German Broadsides Collection spans the years 1870-1990, with the majority of items dating from the 1920s. Broadsides predominate, but there are also leaflets, handbills, campaign publications, political brochures, propaganda posters, and other ephemera documenting the political, economic, and social conditions in early 20th century Germany, Eastern Europe, Russia, and China. Many of these items contain political cartoons and caricatures. Sizes vary greatly, from small leaflets 3x5 inches, to large posters 28x32 inches in size.

The collection provides rich documentation on the political climate in early twentieth-century Germany, in a variety of cities, but especially Leipzig and Berlin, and within a variety of political parties. The bulk of this material was produced in the years from 1919-1924 and from 1928-1930, both periods of political and economic instability. In the Weimar Republic, 1913-1933, numerous political parties vied for German 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 two Käthe Kollwitz drawings, and the Reichsbund jüdischer Frontsoldaten broadside "An die deutschen Mütter."

The majority of the political pieces 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 elections broadsides along with other political ephemera chiefly 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. Broadly speaking, they 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 several diplomas, 1870-1924, from the Universities of Berlin and Leipzig, relating to the Von Baudissin family; two sets of Holocaust exhibition posters produced in the late twentieth-century by the Anti-Defamation League and the United States Holocaust Memorial Council; and posters 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.

Closely related to the German Newspaper Clippings Collection.

Acquisition information:
The German Broadsides Collection was received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift in 1948.
Processing information:

Processed and encoded by Willeke Sandler and Paula Jeannet, January 2012

Arrangement:

Organized into the following series: German Diplomas, Allied Propaganda Leaflets; Campaign Publications and Political Brochures; Elections; Holocaust Exhibition Posters; International Relations and Movements; Walther Rathenau Assassination; and Other Items.

Physical location:
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

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Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], German Broadsides Collection, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.