“Religion Holds Back the Five Year Plan… Religion is a Tool to Enslave the Workers … Join the Organization of Militant Atheists (Apikorsim).”

AUCTION 76 | Thursday, June 14th, 2018 at 3:00 PM
Fine Judaica: Printed Books, Manuscripts, Autograph Letters, Ceremonial & Graphic Art

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Lot 371
(SOVIET UNION)

“Religion Holds Back the Five Year Plan… Religion is a Tool to Enslave the Workers … Join the Organization of Militant Atheists (Apikorsim).”

Text in Yiddish. Linen-backed. 29.5 x 41 inches (75 x 104 cm).

Moscow c. 1928:

Est: $2,000 - $3,000
A red worker wields a hammer and appears ready to strike at the restrictive hands of religion (crucifix, Koran, Torah). A productive city is seen in red, with numerous factories and chimneys, juxtaposed against a gray background of church spires and turrets. The five-year plan was designed for the rapid economic development of the Soviet Union. Stalin frequently blamed failure to meet quotas on religiously inspired laziness, and sought to make industriousness the new ‘god’ of the Soviet nation.