ence for allegory asamere strategy of concealment in responseto political cen-
sorship.Invisualizations of the future of socialism, positive emotions–mostly
involving happiness and joy–are expressed with little formalrestraint.This is
especiallytrue for the colorful journal covers and popularannualMai-Festzei-
tungen published by the SPD’sVorwärts publishing house.Respondingto
whatFuchs called the workers’insatiable hunger for images, well-known illus-
trators,includingBruno Paul, Max Slevogt, andHugo Höppener (Fidus), set
outto establish the thematic and formal conventions of socialist allegory.They
developedaclass-based visual sensibilityinclose dialogue with mainstream
Wilhelmine cultureand new developments in the graphic arts. Their allegories
of socialism, in particular,attest to the stronginfluenceofhistoricism, including
an enduringfascinationwith the medieval period, and an affinity for the organic
modernism ofJugendstil. Theavailability of allegory to mass culturalapplica-
tions and socialist appropriations was undoubtedlyhelped by its widespread de-
nunciation as an ossified form since the romantic movement,compared to the
rich semiotic complexities of the symbol. The samecan be said about the promo-
Fig..“KapitalundArbeit/Capitaland
Labor,”Süddeutscher Postillon(): n.p.
Withpermission of Deutsches Historisches
Museum, Berlin.
Fig..“Ich bin ein Proletar!/I AmaProletar-
ian!,”Süddeutscher Postillon.(), title
page. Withpermission of Deutsches Histori-
sches Museum, Berlin.106 Chapter5