The Face of Nazi Propaganda
Churchill as a monstrous creature losing his grip on the world
This propaganda poster published in German-occupied France, was intended to demoralize and discredit the Allies in the early years of the Second World War “Confiance – ses amputations se poursuivent méthodiquement” [‘Have Faith - The Systematic Amputations Are Continuing’]
It features possibly the ugliest octopus ever rendered in print, bearing the face of Winston Churchill rendered as a cross between W.C. Fields and a Japanese demon - cigar gripped between ruby-red lips, tentacles spreading out from Britain across a stylised map of Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
Many of the limbs are cut and bleeding profusely. The names of Mers El-Kebir, Dakar, Libya-Egypt, Somalia, Syria, Norway, and Germany (Allemagne), adjacent to these cuts and amputations, triumphantly declare recent British naval and military set-backs and defeats.
Writers date Confiance to 1941 or -42, but there is some disagreement on the source. Some treat it as a “Vichy” map, but others attribute it to the Propaganda-Abetilung Frankreich, the Nazi propaganda unit in occupied France. The identity of “SPK” (or “PSK”) is not known, but the acronym appeared on a number of other anti-British posters produced at the time.
This poster may have been inspired by this WWI German propaganda poster: Freiheit der Meere [Freedom of the Seas]
This German poster depicts Britain as an octopus threatening the "Freiheit der Meere," [Freedom of the Seas']. Its numerous tentacles reach out to some 27 places allegedly colonized or attacked by the Empire, from "Bermudas" in 1609 to "Archangelsk" in 1917.
The caption adds a mixed metaphor “England Der Blutsauger Der Welt” [England The Bloodsucker Of The World].
Poster Sources ~ Persuasive Maps: PJ Mode Collection
”Confiance – ses amputations se poursuivent méthodiquement” [‘Have Faith - The Systematic Amputations Are Continuing’] Top
"Freiheit der Meere," [Freedom of the Seas'] Bottom
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Western front soldier! This is what you have done! (1945)
A German leaflet congratulating her troops on their victory in the Battle of the Bulge! A rough partial translation: "West fighter! This you have done! . . . The Americans and British wanted to go back for one last great blow to invade via Aachen-Koln to the Ruhr area, and via Strasburg to the south of Germany, and so to force deci…
Only in French could "the systematic amputations are continuing" sound like a pick-up line.
I hate Nazis.