Berlinerinnen und Berliner! Instructions for West Berliners During the Construction of the Berlin Wall Poster (1961)
A rare, original and important document distributed in West Berlin during the construction of the Berlin Wall. Posted during the rapid, two-week construction of the wall, the poster asks for the cooperation of the people of West Berlin and reflects the perspectives of West Berlin citizens and police on the inhumane decision by Walter Ulbricht, First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party from 1950 to 1971, to build the wall, while also urging civilians to comply with police instructions for the sake of community safety.
Constructed in 1961, the wall separated East Berlin and the German Democratic Republic from West Berlin, a democratic, capitalist enclave surrounded by Soviet-controlled East Germany. It violently divided families and created a militarized “death strip,” where approximately 140 people died attempting to cross. Intended to prevent East Germans from fleeing to West Berlin, the wall’s construction, along with its 28 years of existence, became a symbol of totalitarian oppression and surveillance.
Text in German, with a printing credit for the Erich Pröh Printing Company of West Berlin. A rare and unique artifact from the Cold War that symbolizes the differing world views of East and West.
Full (rough) translation bellow:
Berliners! In these hours so difficult for Berlin our police have particularly responsible tasks to manage. All Berlin police officers, just like the entire population, despise the inhumane system that is now symbolized by barbed wire. All Berliners know exactly how interested Ulbricht and his associates are in make us West Berliners nervous. This must not be! Our police have to particularly ensure the maintenance of peace and order and the security of the Berlin population in these fateful hours. Therefore, the ÖTV trade union asks all citizens to follow the order of the police organs in ever case. In doing so, you help yourselves and the police fulfill their responsible task. Item #2090.
Condition: Good+, some light creasing; light edgewear with multiple closed tears along all edges, all smaller than 1"; two tears near lower left corner with .25" loss each (see detail photo); two written marks, one in pencil on lower left denoting date of poster ("Sept. 1961") and the second are the numbers "85x60" written in pen near the top right; toning to edges; newsprint is fragile and brittle.
Price: $950.00