---
title: Bulgaren-Held (Bulgarian Hero)
url: https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/bulgaren-held-1915/
description: A Bulgarian soldier in field kit, bayonet in one hand and a cigarette in his mouth, stands under the words 'Bulgaren-Held' (Bulgarian hero) in an…
section: Collection
---

[Collection](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/)

[![Bulgaren-Held (Bulgarian Hero)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/bulgaren-held-1915.jpg)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/bulgaren-held-1915.jpg)

# Bulgaren-Held (Bulgarian Hero)

A Bulgarian soldier in field kit, bayonet in one hand and a cigarette in his mouth, stands under the words 'Bulgaren-Held' (Bulgarian hero) in an advertisement for the Menes cigarette factory of Wiesbaden. The brand borrows the standing of Germany's newest ally and the soldier-hero figure; the poster makes no claim about the cigarettes themselves.

- **Date:** 1915
- **Period:** [First World War](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/#era=wwi)
- **Made by:** Zigarettenfabrik Menes, Wiesbaden (commercial advertiser); artist Ludwig Hohlwein
- **Region:** [Western and Central Europe](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/#region=western-central-europe)
- **Country:** [German Empire](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/#country=german-empire)
- **Medium:** [Advertisement](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/#medium=advertisement)
- **Issuer type:** [Corporation](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/#actor=corporation)
- **Regime:** [German Empire](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/#regime=german-empire)
- **Leader:** [Wilhelm II](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/#leader=wilhelm-ii)
- **Audience:** [Domestic public](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/#audience=domestic-public)
- **Purpose:** [Persuade or win support](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/#purpose=persuade-support)
- **Themes:** [War and the military](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/#theme=war-military), [Economy and finance](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/#theme=economy-finance)
- **Event:** [World War I](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/#event=world-war-i)
- **Techniques:** [Transfer](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/)
- **Regime:** [German Empire under Wilhelm II](https://propagandaarchive.org/regimes/german-empire/)
- **Leader:** [Wilhelm II](https://propagandaarchive.org/regimes/german-empire/#wilhelm-ii)
- **Source:** Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- **Source:** [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/item/2004665951/), retrieved September 27, 2026
- **Rights:** Public domain in the U.S. (published before 1931) Hohlwein, Ludwig, 1874-1949, artist; Rehse Archiv für Zeitgeschichte und Publizistik, DLC, former owner. 1915. Library of Congress, LC-USZC4-11625.

## Text on the object

Original (German) · read from the image, not independently checked

```
Bulgaren-Held

Zigarettenfabrik Menes Wiesbaden
```

English translation (machine translation by Claude, not verified by a fluent reader)

```
Bulgarian Hero

Menes Cigarette Factory, Wiesbaden
```

A tiny printed line beneath the illustration (likely the printer's imprint, 'Fritz Maison, München' per the poster's production credit) and a purple oval archival stamp to its right are too small/not textual (the stamp) to transcribe confidently and are omitted.

[← "I hear they want more Bovril. My place is at the front" (Bovril poster, 1915)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/bovril-my-place-is-at-the-front-1915/) [Can I Afford to Pay for Freedom (Canadian Patriotic Fund) →](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/can-i-afford-canadian-patriotic-fund-1915/)

## Using the same techniques

- [Bronze sestertius of Gaius (Caligula), reverse S P Q R P P OB CIVES SERVATOS in an oak wreath](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/sestertius-caligula-ob-cives-servatos-0037/) (0037 · Testimonial, Transfer)
- [Gold coin of Kanishka: King of Kings legend, king at the altar, deity Oesho](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/gold-dinar-kanishka-king-of-kings-0130/) (0130 · Transfer)
- [Gold solidus of Justinian I, reverse VICTORIA AVGGG with Victory holding a Christogram staff](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/solidus-justinian-i-victoria-avggg-0538/) (0538 · Transfer, Glittering generalities)
- [Bayeux Tapestry, scene 23: UBI HAROLD SACRAMENTVM FECIT VVILLELMO DVCI](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/bayeux-tapestry-harold-oath-to-william-1070/) (1070 · Transfer, Card stacking)
- [Frontispiece to Eikon Basilike, The Pourtraicture of His Sacred Majestie in his Solitudes and Sufferings (Hollar, 1649)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/eikon-basilike-frontispiece-hollar-1649/) (1649 · Transfer, Glittering generalities)
- [Consult of the doctors on the grave illness of the Grand Sultan (Consult vande medicijnen inde swaere siekte vanden grooten Sultaen)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/consult-of-the-doctors-sick-sultan-antwerp-1683/) (1683 · Transfer, Bandwagon)
- [The Highlanders Medley, or The Duke Triumphant (A Loyal Song)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/highlanders-medley-duke-triumphant-1746/) (1746 · Name-calling, Transfer)
- [Marche du Dom Quichotte moderne pour la deffence du Moulin des Abus (March of the Modern Don Quixote in Defence of the Mill of Abuses)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/dom-quichotte-moulin-des-abus-1791/) (1791 · Name-calling, Transfer)