Botschaft der Helden von Stalingrad – Allied German-Language Propaganda Leaflet, G.82, 1943 – Robert Hastings / Steve Forbes Provenance.

Original Allied German-language propaganda leaflet, issued in 1943 and identified by the printed code G.82. The leaflet uses the catastrophe of Stalingrad to undermine German confidence in Hitler, the Nazi leadership and the possibility of victory.

The front is printed in bold red and black:

BOTSCHAFT DER HELDEN VON STALINGRAD
“Message of the Heroes of Stalingrad”

The text states that German generals, officers and soldiers of the Sixth Army who survived Stalingrad and were now in Russian captivity had addressed an appeal to the German people and the men of the Wehrmacht. Inside, the leaflet presents a call from captured Stalingrad officers urging Germans to recognise that the war is lost and that Hitler is leading Germany to destruction.

The reverse is headed:

“Das Ende des Krieges bedeutet nicht den Untergang Deutschlands.”
“The end of the war does not mean the downfall of Germany.”

It quotes the Atlantic Charter, Roosevelt, Stalin, Churchill and Eden to argue that Allied victory would not mean the destruction of the German people, but the end of Nazism. Churchill’s quoted statement promises the annihilation of Nazi power but “bread, peace and freedom” for Germans and Austrians.

This is a substantial and historically important leaflet. Stalingrad was the psychological turning point of the war in Europe, and Allied propagandists used the defeat of the Sixth Army as proof that Hitler’s promises were false. The leaflet is also notable for naming senior German officers associated with the Stalingrad appeal, giving it a stronger documentary character than many more general propaganda sheets.

The leaflet is institutionally recorded. McMaster University / Gale records Botschaft der Helden von Stalingrad as 43G.82, dated to the period 8–9 October to 3–4 November 1943. NIOD also records the title among its wartime aerial leaflet holdings, and Hessian archival records describe an example with the same reverse text and quotations from Roosevelt, Stalin, Churchill and Eden.

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 because Churchill’s statement forms part of the leaflet’s central message about Germany’s post-war future.

Condition: Very good. Minor edge wear, creasing and age toning. Complete and legible, with strong red-and-black printing.

Date: 1943
Code: G.82 / 43G.82
Language: German
Format: Folded propaganda leaflet
Size: 21.3 x 13.2 cm
Subject: Stalingrad, German Sixth Army, Allied propaganda, Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin, Eden, psychological warfare
Provenance: Robert Hastings, Churchill scholar and collector; subsequently The Churchill Collection of Steve Forbes.

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