In the postwar years, health professionals and sociologists in the Soviet occupation zone determined that many people were having unprotected sex, which was resulting not only in unwanted pregnancies, but also in the spread of sexually-transmitted diseases. The high incidence of unprotected sex was at least partially attributable to the shortage of contraceptives – and the correspondingly high price of those that could be found – but psychologists also attributed it to the chaotic postwar situation as well as the psychological consequences of the preceding war years. This poster warned women against unprotected sex with fleeting acquaintances and described the possible consequences. The text reads: Do you know him? Protect yourself from intimate contact with strangers or fleeting acquaintances! Hundreds of thousands of people are ailing on account of this and are warning you: if you experience abscesses or skin outbreaks, go to a walk-in clinic for dermatological and sexually transmitted diseases immediately. Because venereal diseases are curable when treated early!
