„Hier gibt es nur ein entweder oder!“. Emocje w politycznych drukach ulotnych z okresu Wolnego Miasta Gdańska (1920–1939)

Since ancient times, the goal of the language of politics has been to evoke emotions among recipients. It is no different in the forms that were created for the needs of election campaigns for Volkstag during the Free City of Gdańsk period (1920–1939). Leaflets were the most important media at that time; they were distributed on the streets, stuck on the walls. Their analysis reveals the language strategies that the authors used to encourage voting. The parties consistently create a picture of a city detached from the German homeland whose existence is threatened. They are eager to refer to such universal values as: homeland, patriotism, community, unity and Germanness. The texts are characterized by language aggression towards opponents, emotional saturation and the dichotomy of choice, the quintessence of which are the words used in the title from one of the leaflets.