site.btaExhibition of War Posters in Sofia Unveiled for 80th Anniversary of Second World War's End

An exhibition of war posters marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II at the T. G. Masaryk Czechoslovak Club in Sofia. The exhibition, prepared by the Military History Institute in Prague and the Czech Military Historical Archive, is on from May 8 to 30, the organisers said.

According to the team, the propaganda poster represents a medium with a rich past. It is also one of the significant phenomena of the two world wars. The paper poster proved to be a cheap, accessible and very powerful tool for mass communication.

"From the beginning, the war poster was part of political propaganda. Demonizing the enemy was supposed to lead to rage, to a desire for revenge. As an example, German war propaganda achieved true mastery in distorting reality, presenting apparent defeats as tactical victories. On the other hand, the Allied war poster is rather factual, understandable and without significant exaggerations. It still impresses today as it presents a kind of imprint of the era and creates the illusion of events from military history," the exhibition's organisers said.