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Restoration

After the liberation, the pre-war parties, trade unions, and organizations were re-established. Serious political differences of opinion were avoided: teamwork was indispensable. Old political symbols vanished from the posters: the red flag, the clenched fist, and others. In their place came general, neutral scenes: the map of the Netherlands, flowers, and tools used by masons and construction workers, all denoting the restoration. Very few of these posters address other important contemporary issues, such as the Indonesian independence or the Cold War.

Enterprising designers now preferred cultural commissions to political ones, as cultural subjects offered greater freedom and more opportunities. Commercial artists and illustrators did not object to occasional assignments from political organizations. Likewise, the principals appear to have taken considerable trouble to change the appearance of political posters altogether. Cheerful figures, which prevailed in advertisements as well, became ubiquitous. Propaganda came to be associated with the past and the war and advertising with the present, with affluence, and with progress. Nevertheless, many posters from this period are attractive and technically sophisticated, and some are even highly ingenious.

1. Designer unknown, German territory without Germans, 1945

2. Wim Brusse, Give for those who gave themselves, ca. 1945

3. Ies Spreekmeester, Waarheid summer festival, 1947

4. André Kokke, Stand for justice and liberty, 1948

5. Bach Schuurmans, The Netherlands, bright spot in a dark world, 1948

6. Designer unknown, Choose Welter, 1948

7. Reyn Dirksen, All our colours to the mast, ca. 1949

8. Alex Jagtenberg, Ban the A-bomb, ca. 1950

9. Designer unknown, Vote AR, 1952

10. Koen van Os, NVV, 1955

11. Rein Snapper, NVV 1906-1956, 1956

12. Cornelius van Velsen, We ram on, 1956

13. Designer unknown, Communism is progress, 1957

14. Bach Schuurmans, There's only one solution, 1958

15. Dick Bruna, Universitary Asylum Fund, 1958

16. Cornelius van Velsen, 400.000 in the KAB, 1959

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