From October 2024 to the end of February 2025, the Museum of Recent History Celje is hosting the exhibition “The Communicative Power of Posters” in its gallery spaces.
As a part of the series FROM THE COLLECTION, this exhibition showcases a selection of materials from the museum’s Poster Collection, which includes more than 6,800 posters dating back to 1941.
Their historical significance and meaning vary, as do their aesthetic or even artistic value. Some left deeper impression to our historical consciousness and collective memory than others. A particularly notable part of the collection is the large number of posters created and published during World War II, which have been part of the museum’s collection since its establishment. Many of these posters are extremely rare, and some, as far as we know, are the only surviving copies.
One such example is the German poster from 1942 titled “So sehen sie aus”, featuring photographs of humiliated captured partisans displayed on the streets of Celje. Together with infamous proclamations known as “Bekanntmachung”, listing the names of executed Slovenian patriots, and other German propaganda posters, this piece represents the most visually powerful and harrowing evidence of the dark spirit of a specific time and place. It serves as a stark reminder and warning against the repetition of such events, in any form.
The collection also includes numerous posters of a more cheerful nature, particularly those that once invited people to sports, cultural, entertainment, and other social events. Many generations owe a significant part of their cultural socialization to these posters.
The exhibition also features a catalogue, available in the museum shop (clik).
