I. Speeches by East German Leaders

• A speech by Albert Norden on the Division of Germany from 1966.
• Two speeches by Erich Honecker to the Free German Youth from 1984 and 1989.
• Erich Honecker on Peace: A speech from 1984.

II. Miscellaneous Propaganda

• American Beetles: 1950 charges that the U.S. dropped potato beetles on the GDR.
• “Who is Threatening Whom?”: A 1951 article on the United States.
• The Five Year Plan: Walter Ulbricht introduces the plan for 1951-1955.
• It’s Up to You!: A 1954 pamphlet on a East-West controversies.
• The Call of the Heart: From a book on Khrushchev’s 1957 visit to the GDR.
• The 40th Anniversary of the KPD: 1958 material on the founding of the German Communist Party.
• Ten Years of the GDR: A 1959 booklet commemorating the GDR’s 10th anniversary.
• Farmer Arnold: A 1960 pamphlet promoting collective farms.
• “Dangerous Shadows”: Defending the GDR’s agriculture from fascist sabotage.
• On the 13th: A pamphlet praising the Berlin Wall just after it was built.
• A 1962 propaganda brochure defending the Berlin Wall.
• The Meaning of Being a Soldier: Material given to draftees in the GDR’s armed forces.
• Military Agitation: An essay from Radar, the GDR’s magazine for military agitators.
• GDR Review: A monthly propaganda periodical in English (August 1984).
• West Germany’s “Great Coup”: GDR press reports on fleeing citizens (September 1989)
• Atheistic Propaganda (A developing section)
  • Definition of atheism: Definitions of atheism from 1967 and 1988.
  • Definitions of freedom and republic: From 1967.
• Material for the Youth
  • The Rules of the Thälmann Pioneers: What 4th to 7th graders in the GDR promised to do.
  • Material from Trommel: The GDR magazine for children.
  • The Seven Brothers: Material from a 1985 children’s book on military matters.
  • Material from a 9th grade history slide show on Ernst Thälmann.
  • A chapter from a 1988 civics textbook: The advantages of socialism.

III. Posters and Visual Material

• Caricatures from 1953: Mostly aimed at the U.S. or West Germany.
• Cartoons on the Berlin Wall: Taken from 1961 issues of Eulenspiegel.
• Walter Ulbricht: Material from a 1968 coffee table book on the GDR’s leader.
• The 30th Anniversary of the GDR: 19 posters prepared for the event in 1979.
• GDR posters: I’m just starting to gather some.
• Free German Youth pictures: Photographs of FDJ activities, 1976-1980.
• Honecker poster: This is one of the official posters of Erich Honecker.
• Socialist competition: Bulletin board material to motivate workers (1988).
• Eulenspiegel covers: Satire from 1985-1989.
• Thomas Müntzer: Bulletin board material on the 500th anniversity of his birth (1988).
• Wall newspaper material from 1989: General material intended for bulletin boards.

IV. Material for Propagandists

• “Why is the Oder-Neiße Line a Border of Peace?”: Advice from 1950 on German territory lost to Poland.
• “The Tasks of Party Propaganda”: A 1950 pamphlet outlining the party’s education system.
• On Improving Party Propaganda: A 1954 speech by Fred Oelßner reviewing GDR propaganda.
• “The Journalist in our Day”: Albert Norden on socialist and Western journalism.
• Leading the Jugendweihe: 1960 material for leaders of the youth dedication ceremony.
• Arguments for the Berlin Wall: 1961 material for propagandists just after the Wall.
• “Closely Tied to the Masses”: Heinz Geggel speaks to agitators in 1976.
• “Why are West Germans Anti-Communist?”: 1979 arguments on why West Germans failed to see the advantages of socialism.
• Youth and worldviews: Material on propaganda aimed at young people (1980).
• The Situation in Poland: 1980 advice on the Solidarity movement in Poland.
• Propaganda Plan for County Rochlitz (1982): Each SED county branch made an annual plan.
• “Oral Agitation”: A 1984 introduction to a book on face-to-face propaganda.
• Military Agitation: A chapter from the 1988 GDR textbook on military agitation.
• The official definitions of propaganda and agitation: From the Kleines politisches Wörterbuch.
• Material from Periodicals for Agitators: 1951-1989
  • The Soviet Union and Atomic Weapons: Why the USSR had atomic weapons (1951).
  • Model agitators: Examples of what to do (1953).
  • On improving agitation: Advice after the 17 June 1953 uprising (July).
  • “The Importance of Alertness”: The enemy is still at work after the June uprising (1953).
  • On those leaving East Germany: Advice from 1955 on Republikflucht (fleeing the GDR).
  • What and How (February 1981): A full issue in translation.
  • “Transparent ‘Advice’”: What to say about the Soviet Union and Gorbachev (1988).

V. Links

• Pilots in Pajamas: Transcript of a 1967 GDR film about captured American pilots from the Vietnam War, some of whom ended up in the GDR.
• German Newsreel Archive: In German, but a great source of GDR newsreel footage.
• The German Historical Museum (Berlin): collection of GDR posters.
• Eastern German Studies Association: A defunct scholarly organization interested in the GDR.
• The Marx Archive: The source documents.

For more information on the German Propaganda Archive, see the FAQ.

Other Archive Sections:

Last revised on 20 November 2009 by Randall Bytwerk. My e-mail address is available on the FAQ page.

Page design by Rob Veenstra