Alliiertes Oberkommando – Proclamation Concerning the French Forces of the Interior. Z.G.32. Churchill and Roosevelt on War Crimes – 1944 – Provenance: Robert Hastings; The Churchill Collection of Steve Forbes.

Original German-language Allied propaganda leaflet issued by Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force, identified by the printed code Z.G.32.

The leaflet responds to German treatment of members of the French Forces of the Interior and declares that the shooting of FFI members will be treated as a war crime. The front carries a proclamation under the heading “Alliiertes Oberkommando”, stating that the French internal resistance forces are fighting under recognised command and are an integral part of the Allied Expeditionary Forces.

The reverse reinforces the warning with statements by Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt, both stressing that war criminals would be held responsible after the liberation of Europe. Churchill’s quoted statement, dated 8 September 1942, warns that Nazi criminals would be brought before courts in the countries where their crimes were committed.

This is a strong and historically important leaflet, linking Allied propaganda, the French Resistance, SHAEF policy, war-crimes accountability, Churchill and Roosevelt. It belongs to the period when Allied forces were attempting to protect resistance fighters by warning German forces that reprisals and executions would be prosecuted after the war.

The leaflet is institutionally recorded. Paris Musées records “Tract Z.G.32 de l’Alliertes Oberkommando” with the same SHAEF heading and text concerning the shooting of members of the French Forces of the Interior as war crimes. Agitka also records Z.G.32 and transcribes the same Churchill and Roosevelt text.

This copy has notable provenance, having formed part of the collection of Robert Hastings, Churchill scholar and collector, before entering The Churchill Collection of Steve Forbes, publisher of Forbes magazine. The provenance is especially relevant here because Churchill’s warning on Nazi war crimes forms a central part of the leaflet.

Condition: Good. Age toning, handling wear and staining. Complete and clearly legible.

Date: 1944
Code: Z.G.32
Language: German
Format: Two-sided propaganda leaflet
Size: 21.4 x 13.2 cm
Subject: SHAEF, French Resistance, FFI, Churchill, Roosevelt, war crimes, Allied propaganda
Provenance: Robert Hastings; The Churchill Collection of Steve Forbes

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