Bidspirit auction | Election Broadside Issued by the

Election Broadside Issued by the Nazi Party Detailing Adolf Hitler's Economic Achievements Ahead of the Plebiscite on the Annexation of Austria - April 1938 - Double-sided election broadside distributed by the Nazi Party in advance of the plebiscite and Reichstag election held on April 10, 1938, the historic date fixed to coincide with the annexation of Austria into the German Reich. Printed in German in Gothic script, the broadside presents Adolf Hitler's principal social and economic achievements during his first five years in power in an effort to persuade voters to cast a ”Yes” vote in the decisive plebiscite. The headline proclaims: ”The Führer has restored to the productive German people their dignity, their self-confidence, and their joy of life.” The front side of the broadside is devoted entirely to leisure, welfare, and sports programs provided to the masses through the state-sponsored Strength Through Joy organization (Kraft durch Freude). Beneath the main heading proclaiming that the Führer had restored dignity, self-confidence, and the joy of life to the German worker, the text presents impressive statistical figures intended to demonstrate the democratization of cultural life for every worker. Among other claims, it states that in 1936, twenty-two million Germans enjoyed access to theaters, eighteen million attended cinemas, and 5.6 million visited concert halls. The broadside further asserts that since 1934, nineteen million citizens had participated in excursions, organized tours, and sea voyages, while twenty-one million had taken part in various sports courses, achievements presented as evidence of the Führer's concern for the recreation of workers after their daily labor. This section concludes with an emphatic, underlined appeal declaring that for this we thank the Führer and express our confidence in him and in his work by casting a resolute ”Yes” vote on April 10. The reverse side addresses the working class directly and focuses on the abolition of class conflict and the solution to Germany's severe unemployment crisis. Beneath the headline proclaiming that the Führer had eliminated class struggle and brought social peace to the worker appears a giant numeral 7, announcing that the Führer had provided work and bread for seven million unemployed citizens: ”The Führer has given 7 million Germans willing to work work and bread!” The broadside then outlines the new social benefits promised by the Nazi Party, including the right to secure employment, healthy housing, clean workplaces, and pensions. It cites figures such as the construction of 1.4 million new homes since the Nazis came to power and the laying of the foundation for a unified old-age pension promised to twenty million members of the German Labour Front (Deutsche Arbeitsfront). Through this combination of welfare achievements and aggressive political propaganda, presented on both sides of the sheet, the regime sought to secure the complete loyalty of the German public during those fateful years. 30x21 cm. Very good condition.