16 States - One Germany
Poster
1990 (designed and printed)
1990 (designed and printed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This is one of the campaign posters issued by the DA ('Demokratischer Aufbruch' - 'Democratic Departure', running for office as part of the Alliance for Germany), for the first and only free parliamentary elections ('Volkskammerwahl') in East Germany (GDR-German Democratic Republic) on the18th of March 1990. The elections took place between the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 and the reunification of East and West Germany.
The poster depicts the map of a unified Germany divided up by its 16 states. The slogan on the poster states: '16 Länder, ein Deutschland', meaning '16 States, one Germany'.
The Alliance for Germany was an opposition coalition formed on the 5th of February 1990 in then West-Berlin to stand for the 'Volkskammer' (People's Chamber) election. It got the majority of the seats and thus formed the interim-government until reunification, with Lothar de Maizière as Minister President.
The DA, DSU (German Social Union) and CDU (Christian Democratic Union) were part of the Alliance. The political aims (reunification of Germany and reconstitution of the federal states) were mainly determined from the West German side of the CDU. The then Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl appeared at many election campaign activities for the East German CDU.
The 'Demokratischer Aufbruch' ('Democratic Awakening') was founded in 1989 as a Christian-conservative oriented opposition party in the GDR. Just shortly before the elections the then head of the party, Wolfgang Schnur, was convicted for being a long-standing spy for the GDR secret service and consequently had to resign.
The poster depicts the map of a unified Germany divided up by its 16 states. The slogan on the poster states: '16 Länder, ein Deutschland', meaning '16 States, one Germany'.
The Alliance for Germany was an opposition coalition formed on the 5th of February 1990 in then West-Berlin to stand for the 'Volkskammer' (People's Chamber) election. It got the majority of the seats and thus formed the interim-government until reunification, with Lothar de Maizière as Minister President.
The DA, DSU (German Social Union) and CDU (Christian Democratic Union) were part of the Alliance. The political aims (reunification of Germany and reconstitution of the federal states) were mainly determined from the West German side of the CDU. The then Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl appeared at many election campaign activities for the East German CDU.
The 'Demokratischer Aufbruch' ('Democratic Awakening') was founded in 1989 as a Christian-conservative oriented opposition party in the GDR. Just shortly before the elections the then head of the party, Wolfgang Schnur, was convicted for being a long-standing spy for the GDR secret service and consequently had to resign.
Object details
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| Object type | |
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| Materials and techniques | Colour lithograph on paper |
| Brief description | Poster, lithograph, '16 Länder, ein Deutschland', for the campaign of the DA (Demokratischer Aufbruch) for first free parliamentary elections in the German Democratic Republic (GDR), GDR, 1990 |
| Physical description | Printed in blue, black, yellow and red on a white ground. Depicts a map of Germany divided up by state. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Object history | This object is part of a group of graphics inspired by the pro-democracy movement in East Germany in 1989 and 1990, which saw popular demonstrations result in the overthrow of the Communist government, led by Egon Krenz, culminatinng in the free elections of 18 March 1990. All the material, which covers a wide range of the political parties and movements that took part in these events, was gathered by V&A Curator Margaret Timmers in East Berlin in the week preceding these elections. |
| Production | Poster issued by Demokratischer Aufbruch for the East German elections of 18 March 1990 |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Place depicted | |
| Summary | This is one of the campaign posters issued by the DA ('Demokratischer Aufbruch' - 'Democratic Departure', running for office as part of the Alliance for Germany), for the first and only free parliamentary elections ('Volkskammerwahl') in East Germany (GDR-German Democratic Republic) on the18th of March 1990. The elections took place between the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 and the reunification of East and West Germany. The poster depicts the map of a unified Germany divided up by its 16 states. The slogan on the poster states: '16 Länder, ein Deutschland', meaning '16 States, one Germany'. The Alliance for Germany was an opposition coalition formed on the 5th of February 1990 in then West-Berlin to stand for the 'Volkskammer' (People's Chamber) election. It got the majority of the seats and thus formed the interim-government until reunification, with Lothar de Maizière as Minister President. The DA, DSU (German Social Union) and CDU (Christian Democratic Union) were part of the Alliance. The political aims (reunification of Germany and reconstitution of the federal states) were mainly determined from the West German side of the CDU. The then Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl appeared at many election campaign activities for the East German CDU. The 'Demokratischer Aufbruch' ('Democratic Awakening') was founded in 1989 as a Christian-conservative oriented opposition party in the GDR. Just shortly before the elections the then head of the party, Wolfgang Schnur, was convicted for being a long-standing spy for the GDR secret service and consequently had to resign. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.2090-1990 |
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| Record created | January 31, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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