Not - for once - from the GDR, but something not dissimilar from France (possibly even more 'militant' in its iconography - note the boss's cufflinked arm being pulled away! ('11' is the number of the Aude département.)
A whimsical image marking the day in 1949 when the GDR was founded out of the Soviet Zone of Occupation and the Soviet Sector of Berlin. From the GDR film 'Der Lewerenz - Porträt eines Heizers' (director Peter Rocha, 1984).
No wonder they look happy: it could take many years between putting in your order and finally getting your new 'Trabi'. (A second-hand one could be had much more quickly, but typically you'd pay more for it than for a new one.)
A 1982 GDR booklet on the rise of 'Solidarnosc' in Poland. The text is a commentary by the East German 'Christian Democratic Union' party. Note the repeated use of the word 'solidarity', implicitly reclaiming it for the communist perspective.
In 1948 a line is drawn between the East and West sectors of Berlin, where, 13 years later, the Wall was built. Their amused expressions suggest the onlookers had no idea what lay ahead. (Photo from Thomas Flemming & Hagen Koch, 'Die Berliner Mauer', Berlin 2001)
62 years ago this month: erection of the Berlin Wall. This pamphlet contains Walter Ulbricht's explanation of what it was for. But perhaps the most interesting part is the supportive comments from abroad, including 3 from the UK. (And who is Mr Butterworth?)
Forty years ago this month: 'GDR Review' celebrates 'Karl Marx Year' - and at the same time warns of the threat posed by the imminent arrival of Cruise and Pershing missiles in Western Europe.
Pamphlet produced by the GDR Christian Democratic Union - one of the 'bloc-parties' designed to bring traditionally non-communist parts of the electorate into the SED-led fold. (With an intriguing Bedfordshire connection for this English translation.)
Covers and sample pages from a 1959 West German government pamphlet on the GDR's paramilitary 'Kampfgruppen der Arbeiterklasse'. The Kampfgruppen are described in the East German 'Kleines politisches Wörterbuch' as 'Vom Klassenfeind gehasst, vom Volk geliebt' . . .
English version of a 16-page GDR pamphlet from 1960. Addressed to the 'West German Workers', it calls for a 'Summit Conference for the German People' (Front and back covers + extract.)