“Did YOU give?” WW2 poster
Poster urging people tο donate to a “Social Welfare Fundraising” during the Greco-Italian war of 1940–1941.
It is attributed to the famous Greek engraver Anastasios Alevizos (1914–1985), commonly known as Tassos. As a member of the communist party from 1930, Tassos went on to actively participate in the communist led resistance organization ΕΑΜ Καλλιτεχνών (Artists’ National Liberation Front). EAM was the largest resistance organization in Greece against the Axis forces but only gained legal recognition in 1982, a consequence of the prevailing Cold War ‘red scare’ atmosphere.
Tassos designed the poster at the printmaking studio of Athens School of Fine Arts, led by the Professor Yannis Kefallinos, where he had previously been a student. The studio was the only workshop that used to offer training in what is termed “graphic arts” in Greek (namely a combination of type design, graphic design, book binding, printing techniques) within the realm of Greek fine arts institutions.
It was printed at the V. Papachrisanthou lithographic workshop in Athens (according to the current archival entry of the digital depository of the National Documentation Center).
The typeface that served as the inspiration for the probably lettered sentence “έδωσες ΕΣΥ” is Futura Black. Whether based on a Greek extension or devised by the artist, the lowercase letters and accents are beautifully drawn in the spirit of Futura Black and are perfectly legible by native speakers.
