Catalogue Number
NMLH.2023.87.9
Object Name
Poster
Title
Germany 1933-45
Place
Germany
People
Adolf Hitler
Events
World War II
Date
1985
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. Between Future and Past
A set of posters looking at the ideological and economic structures underlying the unequal position of women in society at different junctures in history from feudalism to present. It also shows points at which women have fought to change existing social relations. This is the ninth poster in the series and reads "GERMANY 1933-45 'A WOMAN'S PLACE'" accompanied by images showing the place ofwomen under Hitler's Germany. Smaller text reads: "Hitler boasted that the Nazis would build an empire so strong that it would last a thousand years. It would be based on a strictly ordered society in which all people woild have to accept the specific function allotted to them. The Aryan race would rule; Aryan men the producers and fighters for the Fatherland, Aryan women the home-makers and mothers- their basic function the production of warrior sons for the nation. (Abortion and birth control were deniedto Aryan women, while non-Aryans were often forcibly sterilised.) The Nazis called this a
return to the 'natural' order of things. Mentally ill people were put to death. Communists, socialists, trade-unionists, homosexuals, Christians and others who did not accept the Nazi view of things were killed outright or sent to concentration camps. The 'natural' roles did not apply to non-Aryans - Jews, Slavs, gipsies and all non-Nordic people. They were regarded as inferior species; millions were slaughtered, others were worked to death as slaves for the fascist state."
