Hashomer Hatzair Poster Designer: Franz Kraus, Eretz Israel (Palestine), 1943
Must Know
The Hashomer Hatzair (The Young Guard from hebrew) is a Socialist-Zionist Jewish youth movement up and running to this day. On the poster we see three lines of hebrew text:
Long live the Red Army
Long live the European Union
Long live Socialist Zionism
Founded in 1913 in Galicia, Austria, Hashomer Hatzair believed that Jewish youth could be liberated though Aliyah to Palestine and live in kibbutzim. They pushed for Jews to change their often merchant lifestyles to become farmers and workers in preparation for a fresh start in the Holy land of the Jews. Influences heavily by the socialist movement they dreamed of creating a society built on equality and social justice once in Israel.
Since the first Aliyah to Israel, many Hashomer Hatzair members immigrated to Israel. The movement was active in leading the establishment of schools, cultural facilities, a publishing house and a daily newspaper. It also evolved into the Hashomer Hatzair Workers Party of Palestine during the pre-1948 British mandate era within Israel. The movement is the oldest Zionist movement that is still operating across the globe.
The designer of this poster, Franz Kraus, was an Israeli graphic designer and supporter of Zionism. Having worked as a designer in various European cities, his expertise in advertisement methods made him one of Israel’s earliest accomplished graphic designers.
More Info
Founded in then-Austria-Hungary, the movement was the merging of two groups, ‘Hashomer’ which was a Zionist scouting group and ‘Ze’irei Zion’ which was a group dedicated to the study of Zionist, socialism and Jewish history. The Hashomer Hatzair movement was influenced by Socialist and Zionist ideas, such as those manifested by Ber Borochov who believed that Jews would (and should) eventually migrate away from European societies to the land of Israel. There, society would be organised in a productive and proletarian basis. This type of Zionism is often referred to as Socialist Zionism or Palestine-based Zionism.
Hashomer Hatzair suffered greatly during the Holocaust as the rise of Nazism destroyed its core and separated local Jewish communities. However, its members were active resistance fighters, leading the Jewish resistance in ghettos and concentrations camps in Nazi-occupied Europe. After the end of World War II, Hashomer Hatzair were among the first to organise Aliyah for Jewish survivors to Israel. Its first members reaching Israel in 1919 they were a part of the first kibbutzim or collective settlements in Israel. Today the Hashomer Hatzair continues to educate Jewish youth groups across the globe.
Franz Kraus’ interests in Zionism developed after hearing a speech by Chaim Weizmann and Ze’ev Jabotinsky – two Jewish leaders. After his Aliyah to Israel, he put his design experience to use by designing posters for various businesses as well as prolific touristic posters about Palestine.
