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Text only poster annoucing the execution of French hostages by the German occupation authorities

Object | Accession Number: 2003.189.7

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    Text only poster annoucing the execution of French hostages by the German occupation authorities

    Overview

    Brief Narrative
    Broadside on yellow paper announcing that 50 hostages have been executed and that more will be executed if those guilty of the crime have not been found by midnight on Ocotber 26, 1941. The Germans executed the hostages in retaliation for the assassination of a local German military commander, Hotz, on October 20, 1941, in Nantes, France, by resistance fighters. A reward of 15,000 francs was offered for information leading to the capture of the resistance fighters. This event was called Les Fusilles de Chateaubriant. In revenge for the assassination, the Germans rounded up 100 men from surrounding villages and threatened to execute all of the hostages if the persons who committed the crime were not found. The hostages were interned in the camp of Choisel in the commune of Chateaubriant. Fifty hostages were executed on October 22, 1941.
    Artwork Title
    Bekanntmachung: 15 millionen franken
    Date
    publication/distribution:  1941 October 23
    Geography
    issue: Paris (France)
    Credit Line
    United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection
    Markings
    front, left column, top, title, black ink : BEKANNTMACHUNG [NOTICE]
    front, left column, center, black ink : Am Tage nach dem Verbrechen in / Nantes, in den Abendstunden des 21. 10. / 1941, haben feige Moerder, Soeldner / Englands und Moskaus, einen deutschen / Wehrmachtbeamten in Bordeaux hinter- / ruecks niedergeschossen. / Die Taeter sind entkommen. Auch / die Taeter von Nantes sind noch nicht / in meiner Hand. / Zur Suehne des neuen Verbrechens / habe ich wiederum zunaechst die Er- / schiessung von 50 Geiseln angeordnet. / Falls die Taeter nicht bis zum / Ablauf des 26. Oktober 1941 / ergriffen sind, werden weitere 50 / Geiseln erschossen werden. / Fuer diejenigen Landeseinwohner, die / zur Ermittlung der Taeter beitragen, / setze ich eine Belohnung im Gesamtbetrag / von / 15 MILLIONEN FRANKEN / aus. / Zweckdienliche Mitteilungen, die auf / Wunsch vertraulich behandelt werden, / nimmt jede deutsche oder franzoesische / Polizeidienststelle entgegen.

    [On the day after the crime in Nantes, in the evening of October 21, 1941, cowardly murderers, mercenaries of England and Moscow, shot a German Wehrmacht officer in Bordeaux in the back. The perpetrators escaped. The perpetrators are not in my hands. For atonement of this new crime, I again initially arranged the shooting of 50 hostages. If the perpetrators are not arrested by the end of October 26, 1941, another 50 hostages will be shot. For those countrymen, who help to identify the perpetrators, I put out a reward totaling 15 million Francs. Useful information is accepted at any German or French police station, and will be kept confidential upon request.]
    front, left column, bottom, black ink : Paris, den 23. Oktober 1941. / Der Militärbefehlshaber in Frankreich / von STÜLPNAGEL / General der Infaterie. [Paris, October 23, 1941. The Military Commander in France, von Stulpnagel, General of Infantry.]
    front, right column, top, title, black ink : AVIS [NOTICE]
    front, right column, center, black ink : Au crépuscule du 21 Octobre 1941, / un jour après le crime qui vient d’être / commis à la solde de l’Angleterre et de Moscou / ont tué, à coups de feu tirés traîtreusement, / un officier de l’Administration militaire / allemande à Bordeaux. / Les assassins ont réussi à prendre / la fuite. Les meurtriers de Nantes non / plus ne sont pas encore entre mes mains. / Comme première mesure de repré- / sailles du nouveau crime j’ai ordonné une / fois de plus de fusiller cinquante otages. / Si les meurtriers ne seraient / pas saisis d’ici le 26 Octobre 1941 / à minuit, 50 autres otages seront / exécutés. / J’offre une récompense d’une somme / totale de / 15 MILLIONS DE FRANCS / aux habitants de la France qui contribue- / ront à découvrir les coupables. / Toutes informations utiles pourront / être déposées à n’importe quel service de / police allemande ou français. Sur demande, / ces informations seront gardées confiden- / tielles. [At dusk on October 21, 1941, a day after the crime had been committed in the pay of England and Moscow, an officer in the German military administration was treacherously shot. The assassins managed to escape. The Nantes murderers are neither in my hands yet. As an initial retaliation for this new crime, I once again arranged the shooting of 50 hostages. If the murderers are not arrested in by October 26, 1941 at midnight, another 50 hostages will be shot. For those people of France, who discover the culprits, I put out a reward totaling 15 million Francs. All useful information can be filed at any German or French police station. This information will be kept confidential, upon request.]
    front, right column, bottom, black ink : Paris, le 23 Octobre 1941. / Der Militärbefehlshaber in Frankreich / von STÜLPNAGEL / General der Infaterie. [Paris, October 23, 1941. The Military Commander in France, von Stulpnagel, General of Infantry.]

    Physical Details

    Language
    French German
    Classification
    Posters
    Physical Description
    Rectangular paper poster with printed text in black ink against a yellow background. The text block in the left is in German; the information is repeated in French in the text block on the right, signed "Stülpnagel."
    Dimensions
    overall: Height: 30.250 inches (76.835 cm) | Width: 43.500 inches (110.49 cm)
    Materials
    overall : paper, ink

    Rights & Restrictions

    Conditions on Access
    No restrictions on access
    Conditions on Use
    No restrictions on use

    Keywords & Subjects

    Administrative Notes

    Provenance
    The poster was acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2003.
    Funding Note
    The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
    Record last modified:
    2022-07-28 18:28:29
    This page:
    https:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn513597

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