Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Bowman Gum Company (fl. 1951) Fight the Red Menace: The Children's Crusade against Communism trading cards; 41. To the Mines

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC09627.41.02 Author/Creator: Bowman Gum Company (fl. 1951) Place Written: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Type: Trading card Date: 1951 Pagination: 1 collecting card ; 6 x 8 cm. Order a Copy

One trading card from the Red Menace collection, "41. To the Mines" depicting laborers in mines overworked, one laborer leans on another. Reverse side contains propaganda narrative mentioning uranium mines in the "Soviet Occupation Zone of Eastern Germany," requires forced labor in exchange for rations. Working conditions are poor due to malfunctioning infrastructure in the mines, which often leads to floods.

The card is likely referring to the Butugychag Corrective Labor Camp, part of the gulags. It was in existence from 1944-1955 in North-Eastern Russia. Prisoners of this camp mined uranium and other materials that would be used to build nuclear weapons by the Soviet Union.

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