And you?
And you? was an advertising poster for the seventh German war loan of the German Reich in the third year (autumn 1917) of the First World War . It was created by Fritz Erler .
description
Like the forerunner Help us win , the artwork shows a woodcut-like expressionistic style. It still showed a soldier, but this time not from the infantry , but from the air forces , which were not yet a branch of their own and were affiliated with the army, but were known to everyone for their daring and daring deeds. The slightly injured soldier looks demanding at the viewer and simply asks: “And you?” Again, the soldier's gaze is of decisive importance for the effect of the poster. The artistic design was criticized and described as a step backwards compared to its predecessor, but it didn't detract from the effect. Thanks to the memorable picture and the short text, the actual message was conveyed well to the man.
history
In the third year of the war, German warfare was to be financed primarily through war bonds , which were issued every six months. But the total of nine war bonds only covered about half of the war costs. In the coming year of the war, after the fall of the Eastern Front through the peace treaty of Brest-Litovsk , the Supreme Army Command planned to use the German spring offensive in 1918 to force a decision on the battlefield. Therefore, when the seventh war loan was issued, the advertising expenditure was increased again considerably. UFA was founded at the end of 1917 for the same reason . The poster “And you?” By Erler was again chosen as the main poster. The posters were hung up almost everywhere, including the Brandenburg Gate and Berlin City Palace .
Individual evidence
- ^ Christian Koch: Image propaganda for the German war bonds in World War I, p. 18.
literature
- Clark, Toby: Art and Propaganda. The political picture in the 20th century, Cologne 1997, p. 106 f.
- Christian Koch: Image propaganda for the German war bonds in World War I, Munich 2013, ISBN 3-638-69320-1 .