"Strengthen the Combat Might of the USSR!" poster, printed on 23 June 1941, one day after the German invasion of the USSR.
Measures 35" x 22 ¾ " in overall size. The publisher information is at the bottom margin shows that the artwork was created by the artists I. Denisov and N. Vatolina. The poster was published by the Iskusstvo ("Art") State Publishing House and printed at the Detgiz Children's Book Printer in Moscow. The authorization to print a total of 100,000 copies (not an unusually large number by Soviet standards) was issued on 23 June 1941. The date is particularly interesting - literally one day after the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. Clearly, the artwork and printing plates had been prepared well in advance and then "kept under wraps" in anticipation of the impending conflict with Germany.
The poster is in very good condition. It shows a few minor tears and separations, and has been professionally mounted on heavy stock, apparently acid-free backing paper to prevent further damage. Please note that it has been stored rolled and will be shipped in a sturdy postal tube.
A very impressive artwork imploring home front workers to produce more for the Red Army. The bottom half shows Soviet machine gun team in action with infantry storming a barbed- wire defensive line in the background and swarms of red airplanes overhead. This and several other known Soviet propaganda posters that appeared in the very first days of the war typically had nothing to do with the defense of the country from invaders: on the contrary, they depict the Red Army waging an offensive war. This fact, albeit indirectly, seems to supports the theory that the Soviet high command had been planning to attack Germany in the summer of 1941 and was simply preempted by the equally aggressive Nazi regime.
Item# 34394
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