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Description

Czech Language Anti-American / Anti-Israeli Middle East Propaganda Poster Two Years Prior To The Velvet Revolution

Rare Czech language propaganda poster, published by Svoboda Publishing House. 

The poster describes American and British aggression in the region, along with strong anti-Israel themes.  The overarching theme is the US and British military threat to the region, with images showing missile attacks on on major cities in Iran and Iraq, AWACS and naval surveillance craft in the region, long range bombers and other military and tactical positions, projecting the might of the Capitalists against the Socialist and Progressive peoples of the region.  Curiously in northern Pakistan (colored capitalist), the positions of Afghan counter-revolutionary fights is shown, with no suggestion of conflict or military occupation of Afghanistan by the USSR, 2 years prior to the end of the Soviet-Afghan war in 1989.

The map is colored to show:

  • Socialist States (red)
  • Capitalist States (brown)
  • States occupied by Israel (green)
  • States of Socialist Development and  Countries implementing progressive changes (pink)
  • Other States (green)

The 6th Naval Fleet of the US is shown off the Coast of Egypt and Israel, with 270,000 soldiers.

The Territory of the Lebanese Republic is under partial Israeli control and is a place of constant armed conflict, with numerous armed forces including Arab, Lebanese Christian Militias, and Palestinian armed units.

In Iran, a note describes preparation for US aggression in the region, with numerous forces in the region prepared for attack, 28 strategic bombers and constant AWACS surveillance.

Czech-Middle East Relations

During the communist era,  the former Czechoslovakia played  a significant role in the Middle East as one of the region's top supplier of arms. The relationship began in earnest with mutual agreement between Czechoslovakia and Egypt which involved the first non-American shipment of arms to the region in the cold war era, a deal which ultimately led to the Suez War in 1956. Through the sale of Czechoslovak arms, the USSR hoped to gain political and military influence in the region in order to challenge the authority of the United States. Czechoslovakia supported hostility towards Western influence, an ideology which was exploited to the spread communist ideology in the Middle East.

Commerce in the Middle East was the primary source of hard currency for the former Czechoslovakia, a significant component of Czech - Arab relations during the cold war. Czechoslovakian goods produced under the centrally planned economic system, prevalent in communist states, were not well regarded in the west, but because they were much cheaper, there were markets Middle East for Czech manufactured goods.  

Rarity

The map is very rare. We were unable to locate other examples.