Catalogue Number
NMLH.2023.77.8
Object Name
Poster
Title
IT IS EASY TO SAY TAT HITLER WAS JUST A POWER-CRAZED MADMAN. BUT HOW WAS HE ABLE TO GET TO POWER? WHO PAID THE BILLS?
Place
Germany
People
Adolf Hitler
Events
World War II
Date
1972-1982
Description
The Poster Collective was a collective formed in 1971 at the Slade School of Art,  a group formed to initially produce posters in response to the miners strike and on the wars in both Vietnam and Ireland. It was formed on the basis of developing a coherent visual style, which addressed the political issues of the time. This included the armed struggles against colonialism in Africa, the struggle of women for equal rights and the continuing struggle against racism. The collective was active in the 70's and 80's, producing posters on a wide range of issues, including for educational purposes. The group was not-for-profit and used a variety of hand-printing techniques to create their posters. This poster is part of a set, "Whose World is the World?", comprising of twelve that were created for schools. The set depicts a different view of history and puts forward ways of understanding the basis for the development of Western economic power over the last 400 years. It was produced in
1979.
This is the eighth poster in the series; it is blue with red text and photographs and illustrations of Hitler's rise to power, including antisemitic marches and propaganda pieces. Text on the poster reads "IT IS EASY TO SAY TAT HITLER WAS JUST A POWER-CRAZED MADMAN. BUT HOW WAS HE ABLE TO GET TO POWER? WHO PAID THE BILLS? / AFTER THE HORROR OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR THERE WAS ECONOMIC DEPRESSION IN ALL THE INDUSTRIAL COUNTRIES. WORKERS FOUND THAT THERE WERE FEW JOBS, THAT LIVING STANDARDS LOOKED BAD AND THE FUTURE LOOKED WORSE. IN GERMANY THE BIG INDUSTRIAL BOSSES- SUCH AS THYSSEN AND KRUPP- FEARED THAT THEY WOULD LOSE POWER TO THE WORKERS. THEY DECIDED TO SUPPORT THE FASCIST PARTY- THE NAZIS. / Krupp said "We want only loyal workers who are grateful from the bottom of their hearts for the bread which we let them earn." Thyssen said "Democracy means nothing to us." / THE NAZIS BLAMED THE JEWS, THE COMMUNISTS, AND FOREIGNERS FOR THE PROBLEMS CAUSED BY THE DEPRESSION. THEY DID THIS TO HIDE
THE REAL CAUSES OF THE WORKERS' PROBLEMS. WHEN THEY CAME TO POWER THEY PUT THE JEWS AND THEY COMMUNISTS INTO CONCENTRATION CAMPS. THEY HAD PROMISED TO END UNEMPLOYMENT BUT THEY FORCED WOMEN OUT OF WORK AND SEND THE UNEMPLOYED TO WORKCAMPS. THEY BROKE UP THE TRADES UNIONS AND FORCED WAGES DOWN SO THAT THE PROFITS OF THE INDUSTRIALISTS COULD GROW. HITLER HAD PROMISED TO MAKE GERMANY A GREAT COUNTRY. THIS COULD ONLY BE DONE BY TAKING OVER OTHER COUNTRIES TO GAIN NEW MARKETS AND RAW MATERIALS. SO THE INDUSTRIALISTS INCREASED PRODUCTION OF WEAPONS IN THEIR FACTORIES. THIS MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR THE GERMANS TO INVADE NEARBY COUNTRIES ANDTHIS STARTED WORLD WAR 2." This poster was printed by Gaffyne & Brown Ltd. and says it was "designed by the poster film collective and distributed by the institute of race relations.
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