Character and efficacy of national atlases, in particular of the atlas DDR

Lehmann discusses the Atlas Deutsche Demokratische Republik as an example of national atlases’ informational and communicative functions. Its principal maps use a scale of 1:750,000. He describes compilation as close cooperation between subject authors and cartographers from the drafting stage, giving priority to content selection and data analysis while incorporating cartographic principles early. Complex, multilayer maps predominate, placing individual features within environmental and economic relationships; comparability between maps and quantified symbols also received attention. Examples include population distribution, hydrography, relief, forests, and agriculture. Naumann’s “Habitat types of plants” connects potential supplies of water, heat, and nutrients with agricultural evaluation and helps explain soil and climate maps elsewhere in the atlas. Lehmann argues that the atlas’s static representations support comparison and recognition of spatial relationships, providing starting points for further inquiry without establishing causal connections in advance.