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By Zillah Smith — Friday March 14, 2025 — Blog

Propaganda Art as Pest Control: Eastern European Posters from the 1940s and 50s

Striking Propaganda Art and the Politically Complex Battle Against a Tiny Invader, the Colorado Potato Beetle.

In the late 1940s, Eastern Bloc countries, including the Soviet Union and East Germany, had a problem. We will be limiting ourselves to one problem experienced in these regions, which was solved with art.

An American agricultural pest, the Colorado Potato Beetle, was eating its way across the continent, compounding problems within an already strained food supply.

Colorado Potato Beetle illustration, showcasing the insect’s life cycle from egg to adult, with detailed labels and vivid colors, a classic example of natural history art.

Dr. C. V. Riley’s illustration of the Colorado Potato Beetle, courtesy of Special Collections and Kansas State University. 1870s.

This cute little bug lived in relative anonymity in the Rocky Mountains, eating native tubers and being eaten by native predators. As agricultural cultivation of potatoes and other crops spread from the east to the west across the plains in the 1800s, this insect found its true calling: eating so many potatoes. And eat it did, spreading from west to east, leaving whole fields of devastated crops in its wake.

American entomologist and artist C. Valentine Riley was the first to identify and sound the alarm about the bug in 1874.

A black and white caricature illustration of Professor Riley riding a bicycle, holding a balloon, with abstract artistic elements and a whimsical style, highlighting creative and artistic expression.

Illustration of Dr. Riley by an unknown artist.

High-quality black and white botanical illustration of a plant with various stages of insect pests, including detailed root and leaf structures, ideal for educational or scientific botanical art.

C. V. Riley, Colorado Potato Bug Illustrations for Popular Science Monthly 1875

As early as the 1870s, outbreaks of the potato beetle had spread to England and Germany but were kept largely under control until World Wars I and II.

In the late 1940s, these countries found themselves with a major beetle problem. This precious little yellow bug was happily eating away on both large industrial farms and small family plots. Left untreated this insect presented a genuine threat of famine to a society still reeling from two devastating wars.

But how to communicate the urgency of the problem to the citizens of these countries?

Blame it on the Americans.

Bone-human skeleton reaching down toward thriving green plants with lawn sprinklers, symbolizing environmental activism and anti-American aggression, with a patriotic flag in the background; a political and social commentary artwork.

Colorful vintage poster featuring scarab beetles dressed in American flags crawling across a green subdivision map, with bold "HAIL" text at the top and "AMIKÄFER" at the bottom, promoting arts and political activism.

There were newspaper articles, poetry, newsfeels, and educational campaigns urging citizens to “save the potato.”

Achtung vor Kartoffelkäfern! Vintage poster warning about potato beetles, featuring an illustration of a large, colorful beetle with bold black and yellow stripes. Retro agricultural pest control advertisement.

And, of course, posters!

Bright yellow beetle on green leafy plant with caterpillars, vintage gardening illustration, educational organic pest control concept, from Vintage Botanicals collection.

Posters are a fast and impactful way to share information. Reading a newspaper article or poem requires a certain amount of time and literacy, but a good poster can be seen and understood in seconds. This was the tail end of the golden age of illustration. Mass production was able to distribute art via printing to more people than ever, but photography still couldn’t be as clearly or cheaply reproduced as a drawing or painting.

KAMPF dem KARTOFFELKÄFER vintage poster featuring colorful illustration of a potato beetle with bold typography, highlighting vintage art and entomology themes.

And, man, these posters look so good. Just such good illustrations. I honestly love them so much.

Colorful vintage poster illustrating beetles on a plant with German text, representing visual art activism.

Even without speaking the language – you can get a pretty solid sense of what these are all about.

Yellow and black beetle illustration with a patriotic-themed pin and hammer, set against a light background, highlighting insect art and Americana influence.

I love the nod to insect pinning in this one (both bug and bomber are pinned to entomological standards!)

Karel Kahlofraß und sein Liebesgarten vintage children's book cover, colorful illustration, 20th-century German illustration, nostalgic children's art, farm life story, vintage children's literature cover image.

In addition to being prolific breeders and eaters – the potato bug is weirdly resistant to pesticides. Small family plots didn’t really have access to pesticides anyway, so the best way to stop the bug is to catch them by hand and drown them in kerosene.

Warte-Kahlfraß-Bösewicht, children planting in a field under a sunny sky, vintage illustration capturing community gardening and outdoor education, Featured on Visual Arts Passage.

I particularly love the happy little sun shining on this family working in their field together.

Vintage illustration of bees discovering a spirit bottle with German text, highlighting the whimsical and educational art style related to chemical concepts in classic art.

They were pretty explicit in blaming American imperialism for the appearance of the beetles – although its pretty unclear if the CIA was actually dropping beetles out of airplanes over the USSR. After all, we had and still have our own problems with the beetles here in the states. Regardless, blaming America was very effective propaganda and probably went a long way to getting the message across.

Exploitation of workers illustrated with factory workers, imperialism, and economic inequality themes in vintage artwork.

Airplane dropping seeds onto beetle-inspired insects near flowering plant, whimsical illustration, creative nature-themed artwork, visual arts passage, playful depiction of insects and flowers in art style.

Eradication and quarantine were fairly effective until the late 1950s. Potatoes remain heavily regulated, inspected, and quarantined in the EU, UK and Norway. It’s unclear if Russia is still dealing with the infestation – but Finland occasionally suffers from infestations, allegedly when strong winds blow from Russia.

If you’re interested in learning more about this insect, its ecology, and whether or not the CIA was involved with its spread across the eastern bloc, you can check out this episode of a Podcast I co-host, There Will Be Bugs.

A reminder to close:

A beetle with black and yellow striped body on a light blue background.

About the Author

A woman with short brown hair, wearing black sunglasses and a purple tie-dye shirt, standing outdoors in a grassy field during sunset, showcasing contemporary art and expressive style.

Zillah Smith is an illustrator and tattoo artist living in Lexington, KY. They love motorcycles, cats, drawing, and infodumping about science, history, and the natural world. They are a current student at Visual Arts Passage, although their true calling in life is eating so many potatoes. Zillah also co-hosts the podcast, There Will Be Bugs.