The Nizkor Project: Remembering the Holocaust (Shoah)

Fifty-First Day: Tuesday, 5th February, 1946
(Part 5 of 14)


[M. FUSTER continues]

At the same time as the Germans tried to gain the confidence of the French population, a second poster, which we are going to show you, was posted in Germany regarding French prisoners of war. This is what they said to the Germans. I read the text of the poster: "Comrades: Retain your national dignity -- Attitude toward Prisoners -- the attention of every member of the Party is drawn to the following points. It is unworthy to show the slightest sign of friendship to a prisoner. It is strictly forbidden to give food or drink to prisoners of war. Your fathers, sons and brothers are fighting with all their strength against an enemy whose purpose is the annihilation of the German people. We have no reason to show the slightest friendship to such an enemy, even when he comes to us as a prisoner. The enemy remains the enemy."

We are now going to show a series of photographs of posters which were intended to show the French who their real enemies were, but first I should like to ask the Tribunal whether they can see the posters sufficiently well, considering the bad light.

THE PRESIDENT: We can see clearly enough, I think.

[Page 77]

M. FUSTER: I thank you. We shall continue.

The first photograph of the series intended to show the population who their real enemies were is entitled, "Rumour always Flies out of the Same Nest." The enemy aimed at is England. The caricature shows, by means of birds with human heads, that the voice of Free France is only rumour, symbolised by Masonic signs or emblems of the Jewish religion. The placards attached to these birds and which appear to defy these slogans of British propaganda are rather entertaining to read now: "The Germans Take All" and "We Have the Mastery of the Seas." It refers to the Allies, etc.

We are still dealing with anti-British propaganda. It is a favourite theme of German propaganda. This photo is entitled, "Thanks to the English, our Road to Calvary." It tries to prove to the French, by recalling certain historical events, that the English have always been the cause of French sufferings -- Joan of Arc, Napoleon, the war of 1939-40, are the principal themes exploited by means of the poster.

This photo represents the English hydra which is encircling Africa; but it is mercilessly beheaded in Germany, in Norway, and rather oddly, in Syria. The text of this poster reads, "The Hydra is still being systematically decapitated."

This poster has the following text, which is almost invisible here: "The ally of Yesterday, Great promises before the war: no help during the war. Retreat and flight of the English Expeditionary Force. Bombardment of French cities and blockade after the debacle. Let us have done with it!"

Poster Number 7, which is also anti-British, is constructed on the same model. There are three parts, "Yesterday, To- day, Tomorrow."

The Germans developed not only the theme of Anglo-Saxon greed, which they represented by a hydra or a bulldog, but also the theme of the prestige at sea of the occupied countries.

On this point we show photographs of French and Norwegian posters.

This poster is entitled, "You won't catch anything with De Gaulle, Gentlemen!" British corpulence and Jewish capitalism bulge out from a fishing boat stopped by the coastal guns.

The style of the wording and the sailor's gesture are purely German Frenchman would have said, "With that Gaulle (fishing rod)," and the allusion would have been clear enough.

Poster Number 9 invites enrollment in the German Navy, "The Time Has Come to Free the Seas."

Here is a Norwegian poster: "Defend Norway. Enlist in the German Navy." The inscription might apply, firstly to all the services of the German uniformed police; secondly, to all the Kommandantures of the German Wehrmacht; thirdly, to German harbor masters and port control officers; fourthly, to the commander of the SS Reserve Corps of Norway, Oslo, etc.

And another Norwegian poster, with the following title, "All for Norway ... Help from England." This poster tries to prove to the civilian population that ruin, fire and devastation are the only benefits of the English alliance.

The second enemy, America, is the subject of the posters we are going to show now.

"The American Press: 97 per cent. in the hands of the Jews." That allows the Germans to kill two birds with one stone: The Jews and America.

In the middle of this poster is the inscription, "They Wanted War," and the persons concerned are represented by six photographs: "Those Responsible for the War." They are not any of the men whom you see in the dock, but six Americans: magistrates, officials, men in the public eye. Their names were not familiar to the French public, who had rarely seen them on the screen, except for Mr. La Guardia.

[Page 78]

Those who read articles on economics knew of Mr. Morgenthau; but it was difficult to persuade the French that Messrs. Baruch, Frankfurter, Wise and Lehman were the instigators of the present war, and Hitler and Goering the victims. As I have said, however, Nazi propaganda did not shrink from any improbability.

This photo is more picturesque. It shows both sides of a dollar bill and consists of two lines separated by a Masonic star with the inscription, "A dollar has no value unless signed by Morgenthau. Here are the texts of the inscriptions showing the imagination of the Nazi authors in this matter.

On the left-hand side we read: "The Minister of the Treasury is Jew Morgenthau, Jr., related to the great racketeers of international finance.

All the Jewish attributes are found on this dollar: the eagle of Israel, the Triangle, the eye of Jehovah, the 13 letters of the motto, the 13 stars of the aureole, the 13 arrows, the 13 olive branches, the 13 steps of the unfinished pyramid. This money is Jewish indeed."

And on the right-hand side:

"This dollar paid for the Jewish war, the sole message which the Anglo-Americans can address to us. Will it be enough to repay us for the misfortunes arising from that Jewish war? The money does not stink but the Jew does.

Mr. Churchill and Mr. Roosevelt are dividing Africa."

This is, properly speaking, anti-Semitic propaganda. We have already seen it mingled with anti-British and anti-American propaganda.

This photograph shows children of a French technical school who were taken to an anti-Jewish exhibition and given anti- Jewish pamphlets to read.

"Behold the Jewish invasion": France is gnawed by a symbolical hydra and figures are scrawled across her.

In 1914, 200,000 Jews;
In 1939, 800,000 Jews,
without mentioning the half-Jews."

"For the Jews the right to live. For us the right to die." Beneath the recriminations of all-enveloping Jewry, are the crosses of the daily growing number of war victims.

This propaganda aims, on the one hand, at collecting the Jews into a compact mass and isolating them, and, on the other hand, at arousing the hatred of the remainder of the population against them. It aims at dividing France.

Finally, we see the terrible Russian foe. A tortured human beast of burden is hauling a barrow-load of stones while a monster in uniform lashes him with a knout and threatens him with a revolver. This picture was first intended for inclusion in a composite picture entitled "The Workers Paradise." This gives it additional interest; but owing to the lack of time, the poster was put out just as it was. We submit the plans for the entire project as Exhibit RF 1151.

This is a lovely Norwegian poster: "No" in the form of a flash of lightning strikes against the Russian hand which attempts to tear the National flag.

"Never!" A romantic picture reminiscent of certain Russian pictures of the last century: Death escorts a train of deportees. The Nazis showed something which they knew well!

A final picture concerning Russia, "What Bolshevism would bring to Europe." Scenes of mutilation, infanticide, rape, hangings, murder -- exactly what the Nazi movement brought to Europe!

"However, this Europe must realise her good fortune in being led by the Fuehrer, must realise its strength and its unity, in order to fight victoriously against the barbarous enemy."

And here is a photograph of a poster, "A Leader and His people." Hitler is depicted, endowed with every charm: sweetness, simplicity, understanding, while the text, unreadable in the reproduction, recalls that he, Hitler, is the unknown soldier of the first war.

[Page 79]

THE PRESIDENT: Could you let the Tribunal know how much longer you are likely to be?

M. FUSTER: About ten minutes, Mr. President.

THE PRESIDENT: Go on.

M FUSTER: In the photograph to the left, Hitler is shaking a little girl's hand and we read underneath, "The little congratulatant." This term, which is not French ("gratulatrice"), betrays the origin of the document.

Here is a poster which was widely circulated in France. "I work in Germany for my family and for France. Do as I do."

"1918-43. History Speaks. 1918, The Debacle. 1943, The Great Unity." This poster is the counterpart of the inscriptions which patriots used to write on the walls in France. The German defeat was rapidly approaching and they could hope that the end of the year 1943, like the end of the year 1918, would bring the final victory.

The Nazis were unable to make any reply to those crushing communiques except by issuing denials and posters like this, affirming the great unity of Europe.

Here is a poster which combines the productive and fighting forces: "The best workers make the best weapons for the best soldiers."

Finally, propaganda attains the level of the conflict of political doctrines, "Socialism against Bolshevism or a free Europe."

Religious doctrine: This is a Norwegian poster which makes fun of the Anglo-Russian alliance. It is entitled, "A Blessed Meeting." An Anglican bishop, armed with a phosphorous bomb, presents a cross, symbolising Finland, to the Pope Stalin. Stalin accepts it, with eyes lifted to heaven and a machine gun in his arms.

A placard says: "Christianity is introduced into the country of the Soviets," and the motto says: "My dear brothers, we wish to strengthen your faith with these beautiful crosses."

"Anti-Christ: Communism, the scourge of civilisation. Bolshevism against Europe. International exhibition, 12th July to 15th August, 1941." The Nazis pose as the defenders of Christianity.

To conclude, this is what the defenders of Christianity did to the Church of Oradour-sur-Glane.

We have now finished showing the films; we have taken the liberty to submit to the Tribunal a few pictures forming concrete illustrations of a tendency whose spiritual character makes it perhaps more difficult of recognition but whose importance is considerable.

In treating a subtle emotional theme of this kind we have used pictures rather than words, as a means of simplification, since pictures can make clear in an instant something which it takes time to put into words.

We hope that inn this way we have contributed towards making plain the truth.

THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal will adjourn until ten minutes past two.

(A recess was taken.)


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