Soviet Yiddish propaganda poster “OZET member! Help transform the Jewish toilers into active builders of the socialist society,” 1932

The poster—“Gezerd mitglikh! Helf mit farvandlen di yiddishe horepahnikes in aktive boyer fun der sotsialistisher gezelshaft” (OZET member! Help transform the Jewish toilers into active builders of the socialist society) in original Yiddish—depicts Jewish farmers at work. This poster is propaganda material commissioned by the All-Union Association for the Agricultural Settlement of Jewish Workers in the USSR (Vsesoiuznoe Obshchestvo po Zemel’nomu Ustroistvu Trudiashchikhsia Evreev v SSSR), best known by its abbreviation OZET (Yiddish, GEZERD), established in 1925 in Moscow. OZET’s mission was to publicize inside and outside the USSR the plans to foster Jewish agriculture, and to collect funds for implementing those plans. Designed by Mark Epshtein (1899-1949), Soviet Jewish artist. After designing this poster in 1932, Epshtein continued to develop this theme in his art. In 1934-1935, on the OZET’s assignment Epshtein visited Jewish collective farms in Crimea, where he created series of graphic works depicting Jews engaged in agriculture. Editor: Shlosberg. Technical editor: Tenenbaum. Published by “Emes” (Bolshevik party-sponsored Yiddish publishing house) in 1932. Print run 5,000 copies. Price 50 kopeks. Identical copy of POST.00014.