Saxon referendum posters in an FDJ youth display, "Pfingsten 1947"
A display wall carries three printed posters and a painted board for the Saxon referendum: a skull-faced figure over 'Volksentscheid', a wide-eyed young man with 'Jugend will leben! Deshalb beim Volksentscheid Ja!' and a board 'In Sachsen wahlberechtigt mit 18 Jahren!'. Fear (the skull, 'to protect house and farm') and a vote-by-age appeal are both aimed at the young.
- Date
- 1947
- Period
- Cold War
- Made by
- Freie Deutsche Jugend (FDJ) display; photograph by Abraham Pisarek (Deutsche Fotothek)
- Country
- East Germany
- Medium
- Photograph
- Issuer type
- Party
- Leader
- Vasily Sokolovsky
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Persuade or win support
- Techniques
- Fear appeal
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- Deutsche Fotothek (SLUB Dresden), df_pk_0000314_017, via Wikimedia Commons, retrieved October 2, 2026
- Rights
- CC BY-SA 3.0 de (Deutsche Fotothek release on Wikimedia Commons; file page states the licence)
Deutsche Fotothek / Abraham Pisarek, df_pk_0000314_017 / CC-BY-SA 3.0 DE
Text on the object
Enteignung der Betri[ebe] [illegible] Kriegs- und [illegible]verbrecher Volksentscheid Zum Schutz von Haus und Hof, von Vieh und Ernte! Jugend will leben! Deshalb beim Volksentscheid Ja! In Sachsen wahlberechtigt mit 18 Jahren! [small notice with FDJ emblem, illegible] Die Jugend fordert ihr [illegible] [illegible] Wählt den Jugendkandid[aten] Nicht so sondern so! Darum Ja zum Volksentscheid JUGEND UND [illegible]
Expropriation of the enterprises [illegible] war and [illegible] criminals People's referendum For the protection of house and farm, of livestock and harvest! Youth wants to live! Therefore at the referendum, Yes! In Saxony entitled to vote at 18 years! [small notice with FDJ emblem, illegible] Youth demands its [illegible] [illegible] Vote for the youth candidate[s] Not like this but like this! Therefore Yes to the referendum YOUTH AND [illegible]
Read from the 528 px image and a 2x crop. Cut-off or too-small words are marked [illegible]; the skull poster's first line is read as 'Enteignung der Betri…' and its second line only in part.
