Hans Ticha was born in Děčín and became famous for his illustrations of Čapek’s novel War with the Newts. At the age of five, he was displaced with his family to Saxony; he studied in Berlin and, thanks to his illustrations, became a part of German cultural consciousness. He illustrated more than 90 books and worked for all the major publishing houses of the time. Social criticism, particularly of the situation in the GDR, is a very important aspect of his work. Through human figures transformed into faceless puppets with oversized hands, he highlighted senseless actions such as enthusiastic applause for propaganda or raising fists in support of doctrines. He also placed these “puppets” in everyday situations, such as in “The Purchase,” where he tells the story primarily through gestures and asks whether life in the GDR is truly as idyllic as it is portrayed.