Tearing Down Propaganda: A Case Study on the “What You Should Know About the Wall” Brochure

Akgüden, Muhterem

Contemporary history is full of remarkable Cold War resources which were not given considerable attention at their times due to the perception of them as ridiculous words of enemy. Although they were not classified documents in the depths of national archives, they were not considered important or serious to be studied alongside more popular materials. This study supports the re-discovery of such propaganda materials with a general belief that international propaganda studies can realize their historical significance, when the ideas that once labelled them as products of enemy have disappeared. With this aim, this study presents a qualitative case study on the What You Should Know About the Wall brochure, which was an early example of the official East German brochures on the Berlin Wall i...