During the First World War, the Deutsche Bücherei Leipzig set up a special collection of printed works concerning the war, its prehistory and its course. Such a collection was also set up for the Second World War. The collection comprised all German and foreign-language literature relating to the war in the Reich and the occupied territories, in particular extra sheets, leaflets and airdrops, field, soldier and prison camp newspapers and magazines, announcements, posters, wall posters and other occasional printed matter published on the occasion of the war. At the end of the Second World War, the collection was fragmented, with partial confiscation by the Soviet military administration, temporarily deposited in the Georgi Dimitroff Museum in Leipzig and subsequently distributed to various museums and archives. In 1993, around 5,000 sheets were returned to the German National Library, where the collection can now be searched via the online catalog. A complete digitization of the collection is planned. A virtual exhibition entitled ‚Occupied Space‚, which shows a selection of posters and announcements from the territories occupied by Germany, can already be viewed. The blogpost of the German National Library by Anne-Katrin Kreisel and others from December 5, 2024 reports in more detail on the Second World War poster collection with further references and illustrations. and Yvonne Jahns‘ post from December 12, 2024 offers lots of background information and images, providing detailed information about the creation of the collection and its fate.
In this context, reference should also be made to the war collection 1914 – 1918 founded by Wilhelm Beck, which is available online at bavarikon in a fully digitized and also exemplary presentation (as we have reported).
(c) Image 2024 German National Library
The text printed on the poster reads:
Shame on you, chatterer! Enemy listens in – silence is obligation!