An Unknown War

ELIZABETH KRIDL VALKENIER

A RECENT gift of posters, presented by the family of the
Z-A late Louis G. Cowan to the Rare Book and .Manuscript
A )\ Library, provides rich insight into the Soviet experience
of World War II. The 45 posters are much more than documen¬
tary evidence of Soviet x'isual propaganda in wartime. They also
bear testimony to the artistic community's participation in the na¬
tional emergency and illustrate the changing public mood during
the various phases of the conflict.

All the posters are part of the most renowned ^^'orld War II
series, the TASS Windows (Okna TASS). Of the millions of
posters and dozens of series produced during 1941-45, this par¬
ticular group has been pre-eminent for its popularity, agitational
effectiveness and artistic value. Both during the hostilities and
after, they were regarded as the visual counterpart of the popular
songs and poems which lifted public spirits and played a vital role
in engendering the sense of common purpose and resolve. In the
public eye, the)? were as symbolic of the artists' contribution to
the war as was Shostakovitch's Seventh Symphony.

Although produced in small numbers—usually a run of Soo¬
the posters reached every section of the country, for they were
reprinted in smaller format for large press runs to be shipped di¬
rectly to the front, behind the lines and to remote regions of the
USSR. It would be hard to find a Soviet citizen who lived through
the war without seeing these posters. Official recognition of their
effectiveness xx-as immediate. Several xvriters and artists xx'orking
on TASS A\'indows received state prizes \x-ithin months after the
war began, and the first exhibit of posters was held in August 1942,
as Moscow celebrated the turning back of enemy troops from the
capital. A selection from the TASS series xvas sent to the Western
Allies, including the United States, to help rouse support for the

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