Catalogue Number
NMLH.1994.168.124.1
Object Name
Poster
Title
Italian anti-Fascism poster: "reaction runs on the wire."
Events
Years of lead
Date
1970
Description
White poster with red border. Shows a painting of a red telephone with its wire wrapped around a screaming woman - she has a hat on her head that looks like a castle. The bottom of the poster has text written in Italian - "Telefoni spia per gli uomini spia: il segnale del pericolo per la liberta del ciadino e la democrazia italiania, la reazione corre sul filo." This translates to "Spy phones for spy men: the signal of danger for the citizen and for Italian democracy. The reaction runs on the wire." This is a political poster commenting state spying on citizens, and its impact on democracy. This poster was made in 1970 in relation to the 'years of lead.' The 'years of lead' is a term used for a period in Italian history defined by social and political turmoil, and far right and far-left terrorism. The Years of Lead are often considered to have begun with the Hot Autumn strikes starting in 1969; the death of the policeman Antonio Annarumma in November 1969; the Piazza Fontana bombing in December of that year, which killed 17 and was perpetrated by right-wing terrorists in Milan; and the subsequent death that same month of leftist anarchist worker Giuseppe Pinelli while in police custody under suspicion of a crime he did not commit. A far-left group, the Red Brigades, eventually became the most notorious terrorist organization associated with the period : in 1978, they kidnapped and assassinated former Prime minister Aldo Moro. Another major crime associated with the Italian Years of lead was the 1980 bombing of the Bologna railway station, which killed 85 people. The terrorist organizations were gradually disbanded and their members arrested, though sporadic political violence continued in Italy until the late 1980s. The poster is slightly creased, but in good condition. The artist signature on the poster reads as "Gal."
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