Hill, Thomas

Epithet: Minister of Shuttington, county Warwickshire

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000568.0x00039d

Epithet: of Emmanuel Coll., Cambridge

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000568.0x0003ac

Epithet: turnkey in Portsmouth gaol

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000568.0x0003b2

Epithet: Rector of Dunstable

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000568.0x0003af

Epithet: Secretary to the Board of Trade

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000568.0x0003b0

The East German government created posters to promote a wide variety of events and anniversaries. The locations of these events varied from indoor locations, such as museums, to outdoor locations, such as recreation areas. The posters list sponsoring organizations as well as dates and times. The anniversary posters often contain artwork with no specific mention of activities, perhaps indicating that the posters were created more for a general awareness, such as the anniversary of Berlin, rather than listing specific events associated with the anniversary. This idea of a general awareness is the purpose of the fitness posters that encourage exercise, especially for children, and there is somewhat of a propaganda angle to these as well. The posters typically had multiple organizations responsible for their creation, usually a government agency and an advertising agency. Artists were also involved with the creation of the posters, and in some cases multiple artists collaborated on one poster.

From the guide to the East German poster collection culture and science series, 1952-1991, (George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections & Archives)

None available

From the guide to the Thomas Hill Court Petition, 1812-1813, (John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)

Epithet: of Sloane MS 4053

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000568.0x0003ad

Epithet: Quartermaster Staff Sergeant RHA

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000001137.0x000185

Epithet: of Egerton MS 1708

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000568.0x0003ab

Epithet: Fellow of Trinity Coll., Cambr

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000568.0x00039c

Epithet: of Add MS 33112

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000568.0x0003a1

Epithet: alias Buckland; DD, Benedictine

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000568.0x000396

Epithet: painter

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000208.0x000333

Epithet: of Lincoln's Inn Middlesex

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000001124.0x00026c

The cinema of East Germany is strongly identified with the studio Deutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft (DEFA) and the distributor Progress Film Vertrieb, which later became VEB Progress Film Vertrieb, and then Progress Film Verleih. The Soviet Military Administration created DEFA following the end of World War II and the establishment of the the military districts that divided Germany. In 1949 the newly formed Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR) developed DEFA into a film studio with strict guidelines for creating works that favored socialist prosepctives. Even though the strict rules on content limited the number of films created by DEFA, the number of films distibuted by Progress Film Vertrieb increased as more and more cinemas opened. By the 1970s, Progress Film Vertrieb distributed films from 30 countries. In addition to distributing films to cinemas, Progress Film Vertrieb also sponsored film festivals.

From the guide to the East German poster collection film series, 1947-1995, (George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections & Archives)

Epithet: Secretary to the Plantation Office

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000568.0x0003b1

Epithet: yeoman

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000978.0x0001e9

Epithet: of Pyrton Oxfordshi

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000862.0x0002a7

Epithet: of Add MS 40393

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000568.0x0003a8

The chronology and content of the posters illustrate an undulating timeline of alternately liberal and conservative phases, during which artists crafted their work in periods of greater or more limited autonomy. The performing arts provided an outlet for dealing with tragedy and turmoil that defined the creation of East Germany. The performances often touched on the legacy of the Nazis, the persecution of the Jewish people, and the division of Germany. Despite the strict censorship in East Germany, during the liberal periods authorities allowed a substantial number of Western performances to take place. In the GDR, America was conceived of primarily as a system of production; its levels of profit and abundance both awed and provoked the wartorn and comparatively impoverished East Germans. The American obsession with productivity and consumption drew the most bitter criticism from German observers. Interesting to consider in this context is the performance of "Ein Yankee an König Artus' Hof" (1982), a play adapted from Mark Twain's novel "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court," in which the protagonist's escalating disillusionment with technology is a prominent motif. Even though Fordism may have been grudgingly accepted in the GDR as necessary for economic growth and the ultimate progress of the state, the assimilation of America's cultural barbarism through media imports was fiercely resisted. The state may have resisted America's cultural barbarism, but young people did not. Attending productions of the American media was a chance for them to distance themselves from their parents, from National Socialism, and from the failures of World War II. By the 1970s, changes in the performing arts community occurred, particularly in theatre, that included artists leaving as a result of increased censorship and smaller venues opening in cities and towns outside of Berlin.

From the guide to the East German poster collection performing arts series, 1955-1997, (George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections & Archives)

Epithet: of Add MS 35592

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000568.0x0003a6

Epithet: of Egerton Ch 7542

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000568.0x0003aa

Following the formation of the Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR) under the governance of the Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands (SED), art was widely censored. This lasted throughout the existence of the DDR from 1949 to 1990.

In the art community, all public venues were subject to censorship. Posters and advertisements for any event, as well as all art itself, were to be submitted to government officials for review and approval. The content of the art was judged on its adherence to the communist ideologies of the SED. Criticism of the communist party and its current regimes was not tolerated by the officials and was often censored. Also, any art that portrayed a sympathetic view of capitalism was not allowed. Other topics that were subject to censorship were homosexuality, pornography, violence, and alcoholism.

In addition to reviewing content, the DDR censored forms that were not viewed as proper art. This ranged from free verse poetry to avant-garde and abstract art. Artists could be sent warnings for art not fitting into these standards, and subsequent penalties included public bannings, arrest, and deportation. During the declining years of the GDR, from the early 1980s to 1990, this censorship lessened as the SED began to lose control over the East German population.

From the guide to the East German poster collection art exhibits series, 1955-1994, (George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections & Archives)