1945 Soviet World War II Anti-Nazi Germany Propaganda Poster in Slovakian

This is a powerful 1945 Slovak-language Soviet World War II propaganda poster heralding the achievements of the Yalta Conference and the Allies' agreement to continue the fight until Germany was defeated. The evocative image set against a bright yellow background features three fists (representing the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union) punching a dejected and depressed Hitler. A Nazi swastika is breaking apart in the background. The text reads, 'Nácistické Nemecko bude dobité v najkratšom čase - tak sa rozhodli Stalin, Roosevelt a Churchill na krymskej konferencii' ('Nazi Germany will be conquered in the shortest possible time - this is what Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill decided at the Crimean conference').

The Yalta Conference

The Yalta Conference was a meeting between U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet General Secretary Joseph Stalin. It occurred at Yalta in Crimea and was held February 4 - 11, 1945. The participants discussed how to shape postwar Europe and declared an intention of self-determination for liberated Europe.

Slovakia during World War II

On March 14, 1939, an independent Slovakia was declared, emerging out of Hitler's invasion of Czechoslovakia. Slovakia was led by Jozef Tiso, a Catholic priest, and signed a friendship agreement with Nazi Germany. Slovakians fought in the German Army on the Eastern Front for the entirety of the war. In 1944, the Slovak National Uprising broke out and lasted from August 29, 1944, until late October. This forced Nazi Germany to send troops needed on the Eastern Front to secure Slovakia. The Soviet Red Army slowly liberated Slovakia in the spring of 1945 and entered Bratislava in early April, ending collaborationist independent Slovakia. After the end of the war, Czechoslovakia was reestablished.

Publication History and Census

This poster was published in 1945 by the Soviet government. This is the only known surviving example of the 1945 edition in Slovakian. We are aware of 2 surviving examples of a 1944 Russian language edition, which are held by the Vabamu Museum of Occupations and Freedom in Tallinn, Estonia, and the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library in St. Petersburg.