8B

The landscape in the hands of the collective: Forest Week

Forest and Tree Week emerged shortly after the Second World War as a large-scale educational programme intended to heal the landscape's war wounds. Building on older traditions, it transformed them into a matter of national duty in the spirit of the new era. Schools, municipalities and forestry administrations organised coordinated planting and celebration events, accompanied by striking poster designs emphasising shared care for the nation’s natural resources. The event was not just a celebration of nature, but also a strategic tool that used emotion and collective labour to strengthen citizens’ attachment to the socialist countryside. This tradition continued into the 1950s, when tree planting became a symbolic part of creating a new world, one in which each tree was seen as contributing to the strength and prosperity of the state.