Overview
- Brief Narrative
- Allegorical pro-German propaganda poster depicting France under attack by hostile, foreign elements allied with the Françaises Libres [Free French] movement. France is symbolized by a couple caring for the land, representing the safety and stability of France. They are threatened by three wolves labelled Freemasonry, Jews, and de Gaulle, supported by Lies, a three-headed snake, who seek to stop the regeneration of France. France was occupied by Nazi Germany from June 1940- fall 1944. The Free French were those who sought to continue the war against Germany even though France had surrendered. Most of these resistance forces were eventually united under General Charles de Gaulle. Paris was liberated on August 25, 1944, and de Gaulle entered in triumph the next day.
- Artwork Title
- Laissez-nous tranquilles!
- Alternate Title
- Leave us in Peace!
- Date
-
publication/distribution:
1941
- Geography
-
distribution:
France during German occupation;
France
manufacture: Paris (France)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection
- Markings
- front, top, red ink : Laissez-nous tranquilles [Leave us in peace]
front, bottom border, black ink : G. MAZEYRIE, IMPRIMEUR_PARIS - Contributor
-
Printer:
G. Mazeyrie Imprimerie
Physical Details
- Language
- French
- Classification
-
Posters
- Category
-
War propaganda
- Object Type
-
Posters, French (lcsh)
- Physical Description
- Photolithographic poster on paper with an illustration of a man and a woman drawn in black and white, superimposed on a yellow map of France with a rising sunburst with the date 1941. The man stands with his left hand gripping the handle of a spade; his right hand is raised in a fist as he glares at the wolves. The woman kneels on the ground, ready to place a plant in the hole dug by the man. From the left, 3 black wolves lunge at the couple, labelled in French: Franc-Maçonnerie, le Juif, and de Gaulle [Freemasonry, the Jew, de Gaulle.] Beside them is a 3-headed snake poised to strike, labelled: Mensonge [Lie.] The title is printed across the top in red ink and the artist's signature in the lower right in black: Jé. There is a blue background and an unprinted white border.
- Dimensions
- overall: Height: 45.500 inches (115.57 cm) | Width: 31.500 inches (80.01 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
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- 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:
- 2024-11-07 12:10:25
- This page:
- http://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn513604
Download & Licensing
In-Person Research
- By Appointment
- Request 21 Days in Advance of Visit
- Plan a Research Visit
- Request to See This Object
Contact Us
Also in French collaborationist propaganda poster collection
The collection consists of propaganda posters circulated by the Nazi-collaborationist government in France during World War II.
Date: 1940-1941
Anti-British propaganda poster issued in occupied France
Object
Anti-British propaganda poster issued in occupied France with text explaining that the photographic images and newspaper print have been altered by the British for their propaganda purposes
Reward poster for suspected killers of German security police
Object
Wanted poster offering a reward for the capture of those responsible for the murder of two German security police in Tournai, Belgium. It was issued by the German military commanders of France, von Stulpnagel, and Belgium and northern France, von Falkenhausen. There are photos and descriptions of the two suspects, Henry Talboom (1919-2005) and Robert Lelong (1919-1941), members of the Belgian resistance group Phalange Blanche. Less than two weeks later, Lelong shot himself rather than be captured; Talboom escaped to Switzerland. Nazi Germany conquered Belgium and France in May-June 1940 and set up occupation governments under the control of a German military administration. Allied forces liberated both regions by September 1944.
Text only propaganda poster anouncing the execution of French communists
Object
French/German wartime broadside announcing the execution of Gandon and Texier for their Communist activity.
Broadside announcing the execution of a French saboteur in German occupied France
Object
Text only propaganda poster issued in German occupied France announcing the execution of Louis Berrier from Erne in the Calados for having corresponded with the English by carrier pigeon.
Broadside announcing the execution of Jean-Louis Madec for sabotage in German occupied France
Object
Poster announcing the execution of Jean-Louis Madec, a Frenchman, for having severed a telephone cable belonging to the German Army.
Text only red poster announcing the execution of French hostages after the assassination of a German officer
Object
Broadside on red paper announcing the execution of hostages held by the Germans 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.
Text only poster annoucing the execution of French hostages by the German occupation authorities
Object
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.
Propaganda poster warning of the British threat to French territory
Object
Poster displaying a map marked with places where the British have taken over territory previously under French control.
French propaganda poster mocking supporters of Charles de Gaulle
Object
Poster with a 9 panel color comic mocking supporters of Charles de Gaulle. It imitates posters that were hung in doctor's offices and hospitals informing the public about contagious diseases.
Vichy produced poster denouncing Free French propaganda
Object
Vichy France propaganda poster featuring a bird with caricatured Jewish features carrying banners that read : "The English, our good friends," "The Germans take everything we've got," and "We control the seas," and "Vive de Gaulle."
Anti-British propaganda poster featuring Winston Churchill looming above a mother and child
Object
Anti-British propaganda poster showing a hungry, pregnant mother and child in France while Winston Churchill stands idly by. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. In response, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. Germany invaded France in May 1940. In June, Marshal Henri Phillippe Petain signed an armistice which gave the Germans control of northern and western France, including Paris. The Germans used the industrial and agricultural areas of the occupied zone to produce goods primarily for Germany and the war effort, with the remainder going to the French public. In response to the French armistice, Britain began a blockade against France. The combination of the blockade and the priority production of goods for Germany, prompted France to institute strict rationing which left many people hungry and suffering. Many French people blamed the British blockade rather than the German occupational policies for their situation and German propaganda was quick to capitalize on their resentment.
Battle of Dakar poster featuring a caricature of Churchill fishing with De Gaulle as bait
Object
Propaganda poster referencing the Battle of Dakar in 1940 in which British and Free French forces under Charles de Gaulle fought the forces of the Vichy government of France in Senegal.
